My friends are trying to convince me to play sax in a marching band, but i don`t know much. So I was wondering, how long does it take to play to a decent level, and what type of sax should i learn?

it depends, do u play any other instruments? sax is quite easy to learn but harder to get a nice tone. play tenor its the best one!

i play the acustic guitar.

hmm, guitar. If you really practice a lot you can be pretty good in a few months. If you had played the clarinet previously I could have told you otherwise, I played clarinet before the sax and I practiced for 2 and 1/2 weeks before jazz band tryouts for my school and made first. But sax is pretty easy on the basics, but does take a while to get good tone. If I was going to play in a marching band I would play the alto just because it is the lightest.lol.

Sopranino is the lightest and then soprano is heavier than that and then the alto. But our band only takes alto and tenor.

Ya, that`s what I ment, the lightest of what they take. mine they have bari, tenor, and alto, and maybe one time out of a thoushand there is one soprano part.

Same here, i played clarinet before i started sax and it took me 2 months to get into are Sinior Jazz Band. It should`nt be that hard because you already know how read music.

Good luck

yeh i played clarinet first and sax is quite easy after that

I did play clarinet before I started saxophone as well. I think most people do.

Now that I`ve decided to learn how to play, what brands of sax would you suggest i buy?

hi allie---
playing saxophone is quite easy, but producing a great sound is hard to achieve. i underwent training for about 3 months before i started joining the band. i play alto.

for begginers jupiter is okay, selmer bundy is good but a bit expensive i think(i used to rent one) go on ebay

Kc,
you said it only took 3 months before you played in band, Congrats! Did you play any instruments before that? And do you feel that you played well enough compared to the others in band?

i started off playing tuba and now i play bari sax.

Allie, if you decide to buy a sax, do not get a Jupiter. I`ve heard that they have terrible pitch problems. For that matter, buying off the internet is not a wise idea either. I would never buy an instrument that i couldn`t look at and play on first.

By what you were saying i`m assuming you are in high school. Why not see if your band director has any saxes you could rent? That way you can decide if you have a preference over tenor or alto.

As far as buying one, keep an eye in the classified`s in the paper for saxes. I bought mine (a Vito) from an ad in the paper for only $650 dollars. It`s not top of the line, but it works well for my purposes as a sophomore in high school. Also check with your director to see if they know of anyone trying to sell their sax.