ok, how do you all practice without waking the whole house or driving everybody crazy. my wife is appauled by how loud the sax is. she`s been putting up with years of guitar playing, but for that i can at least get the volume to manageable levels. isn`t there some kind of mute for sax like trumpeters use?

Mutes exist for the saxophone, but most don`t work very well. By the way, trumpet mutes are used to change the tone and timber of the sound rather than to make it play softer. Mutes work on trumpets because brass instruments don`t have any holes that the sound can come out of except at the bell (the very end). By putting a mute there, the amount of sound coming out is reduced. This technique doesn`t work for saxophone because the sound comes out at various key holes on the body of the instrument instead of all at the end.

I have only heard of two good mutes for the saxophone. One is a doughnut shaped mute that is inserted into the bell. Depending on how you place it, it allows for different levels of muting (I don`t think it will work very well). A better mute is a bag that covers the whole body of the saxophone, thereby reducing the sound equally. This mute cost about $40. You can find more information at Woodwind and Brasswind: www.wwbw.com

Mutes exist for the saxophone, but most don`t work very well. By the way, trumpet mutes are used to change the tone and timber of the sound rather than to make it play softer. Mutes work on trumpets because brass instruments don`t have any holes that the sound can come out of except at the bell (the very end). By putting a mute there, the amount of sound coming out is reduced. This technique doesn`t work for saxophone because the sound comes out at various key holes on the body of the instrument instead of all at the end.

I have only heard of two good mutes for the saxophone. One is a doughnut shaped mute that is inserted into the bell. Depending on how you place it, it allows for different levels of muting (I don`t think it will work very well). A better mute is a bag that covers the whole body of the saxophone, thereby reducing the sound equally. This mute cost about $40. You can find more information at Woodwind and Brasswind: www.wwbw.com

I just use a piece of cloth. I stick it down the bell, and seems to keep the horn much quieter. Just don`t shove it down so far that you can`t close the low B and Bb holes.

yer supose u could try a piece of cloth or just try not to play with so much force lol
saxophones a loud instrument can be pretty hard to make it quiet lol

If you`ve just started, and I think i replied to one of your other questions, it`s best not to practice quiet. Sorry, but it`s a tone thing.