All important to playing saxophone is the age of the person playing. 11 Years old is about the average age as the hand span has to be large enough to reach the keys and also the child has to be able to take the weight of the sax as well.
The first step is getting your air into the sax. This is achieved using a reed, mouthpece and a ligature. The mouthpiece fits onto the crook. The ligature holds the reed in place on the mouthpiece where you place your mouth and the vibrations of the reed created by your blowing is what makes the air vibrate down the sax so we can hear it. The quality of the mouthpiece and crook is essential as if it is not designed well it is not possible to get a good airflow through the sax.
Inside the mouthpiece is a chamber which helps with air flow and these must be specially designed for that purpose. The sligtest mis-alignment and the air will not flow as you expect making it hard to play. A sax that is hard to play meant the hardest notes, highest and lowest notes, may not be able to be played. Trevor James use a precision engineerd mouthpiece on their products so anyone wanting to play can have a fantastic start. The Horn revolution and S1 are the recommended starter models.
Of course the mouthpiece is connected to the crook which is as important as the mothpiece as this has to direct your air flow through to the saxophone body. The strength of the bracing, materiaks used and shape is essential to a good sound and easy playability. Again trevor James use specially designed crooks and even use heat treatment to make their crooks perfect for the starter and profesional player.
Trevor James crooks also have extra braced crooks to help strenghten it so it stays perfactly in shape for everytime you use your sax. Remember the slightest change of shape can ruin the sax alltogether so this special braced design helps in combating any problems with it being knocked.
A&C Hamilton Musical Instruments 117-121 Chorley Old Road
Bolton Greater Manchester 01204 497703
A&C Hamilton 946-950 Blackpool Rd. Lea Preston Lancs England 01772 722468
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