I`ve been playing in the 6th grade band on alto for a little over a month now and my director says I am ready for a harder reed now(a 3 to be exact). I was just wondering how it would be different from a 2 and a half

Thanks

Ah... hey, man... I`m in the same situation, and I`m starting to get used to the 3. The 3 is harder than a 2.5... harder to blow... at first it`ll make your chops hurt, but you`ll get used to it. And it changed my tone some... made it darker and clearer.

Yeah, the 3 is going to be a lot harder to play at first, but after a week or two of playing, you will become more used to it and you will have a better tone and slightly more flexibility in it. But, unless you are an insanely dedicated new player who practices every day and has supernaturally prematurely well-developed chops for saxophone, i would wait another two months or so before switching to a 3; you probably won`t be able to handle it.

And for future reference, unless your director plays sax as his primary or secondary instrument, don`t listen to what he says, because band directors can give pretty weird, stupid, and downright laughable advice to young saxophone players such as yourself. My own 6th grade band director advised our sax section to bathe our horns in water to clean out the bore. Thankfully, i didn`t listen, but my friend did with his bari and had to get all the pads, springs, etc. replaced because they were damaged beyond repair... but, i digress.
-Bleeding Gums Murphy

I think that for now, you should stay with the 2 1/2, at least until you`re done grade 6. The best time to start on a 3 would be in the summer, when you`re not playing as much. That way, you can adjust to it easier. If a 3 isn`t strong enough for you, you can also go up to a 3 1/2 or a 4. I, personally, played on 3`s for about a month before I went up to 3 1/2`s.

Thomas

school is now ending so I guess thats why she is letting me upgrade to a 3. I hope it makes the tone darker...I kinda like a more darker tone.

It`s not just the reed that gives you a darker tone. The mouthpiece, the reeds, and the whole instrument overall must be used in good conjunction with each other in order to produce the desired sound.

Changing the reed size doesn`t really affect tone colour that much, it`s more the cut of the reed that does that.

If you have only been playing one month, you are probably fine on a 2 1/2. The difficulty you may have in moving up to a three will have much to do with your mouthpiece. The more open the mouthpiece, the more difficulty you will have with harder reeds. A harder reed will darken your sound, but reeds with more heart will also darken your sound. The biggest factor is your mouthpiece.

I start my students on 2 1/2 ricos. If they want a more expensive reed I tell them to move to rico royal. Eventually students will choose the type of reed they like for the style they will play. I use Hemke Premiums because they are very consistant right out of the box, and have a thicker middle section (heart).

At your age, with one month experience, I would not be doing much reed experimentation. I would stick with the 2 1/2 for a while longer. By the way, I have been a middle school band director for 10 years, and my degree is in saxophone performance.

I`ve got a plastic read and its a 12, all i think it does is gives you a louder sound, and maybe a little better tone.

a plastic reed.... giving a better tone?

i`ve played for a year and started on a 3. i cant move up to a 3 1/2 though. i cant get all the notes out. any suggestions? there is one girl in my begging band class who plays a 3 1/2 but plays it very badly. how do i tell her she needs a softed reed without being mean?

No-one guided me with sax at first i just sat in my room and taught me off, so I started on a reed 4 and it was fine until I tried 2.5 when it became appart how much easier it was. It was a good experiance tho.

the hardness of ur reed really depends on you and particularly your personal preference. A harder read doesn`t always mean that ur going to get a nicer tone, it can, but it can also kill ur tone and ur technique. But if ur going up a size- go too far for about a week and then come down and it`ll seem easier.

It also depends on the brand you`re currently using.. personally i prefer the vandoren reeds they have a nicer tone than for instance the ricos- different brands also differ in the hardness.. a size 4 rico is about the equivalent to a size 3 vandoren if not less.

another thing that i`ve noticed is that it depends on the saxophone u play- i`ve found, playing both alto and baritone that i often use a harder reed with the bari, i`m not sure why...

but honestly- its up to you, try a few things out and work out what you`re personally most comfortable with