Saxophone

One big concern for most parents is if the saxophone is too difficult to play. This might be because of its sophisticated appearance and the equally pleasant music that it produces. Fortunately, the saxophone is not that difficult to play. In fact, it is noted to be very accommodating especially during the early stages of musical development in children.

This is because in a saxophone, notes respond easily; that means even someone with no music experience at all can make a saxophone sound. Other things to learn when playing the saxophone such as the correct positioning of the lips to produce a tune and the correct breathing technique is also relatively easy to pick up. Unlike instruments such as the trumpet or the clarinet, the saxophone is not prone to produce senseless noises. The focus points that would need attention in playing the saxophone would be manual dexterity, correct posture, support, breathing technique, and embouchure.

Choosing a Saxophone for Your Child

When considering some of the more popular instruments today, the saxophone would inevitably be in the picture. Because it is such, it is important that you deserve the best option when making a very important investment for your child's first saxophone. With that, it is very important to seek advice from experts while making decisions.

With the wide variety of options you have when it comes to details of your child's saxophone, it may be very difficult for you to make the necessary choices so that your child would end up with the saxophone that would fit him or her best. Therefore, you have to know how different each option for selecting a saxophone is from another.

Here are some details that you have to choose from when picking a saxophone for your child:

The Ideal Student Saxophone

Because of a significant increase of people getting interested in playing the saxophone, manufacturers have been taking great effort to produce student saxophones that would be affordable but satisfying in terms of musical performance. For beginner saxophones, these produce considerably pleasant tones and are easier to play than the advanced models. If your child is a little too young, make sure that your child would not find it too difficult closing keys.

A student horn is very much ideal if your child is still young or if his or her commitment is still unknown. If your child shows good signs of firm commitment in playing the instrument, you can have your child move to a better and more advanced model. For this, try to wait at least 3 or 4 years.

Choosing Between Plating or Finishing

Most saxophones have lacquer for their finishing. Lacquer comes in a lot of different colours which would give your child the opportunity to have a saxophone with the color of his or her choice. While that is so, finishing has no effect at all to the tone produced by a saxophone. The primary purpose of finishing is only to make the surface of your child's saxophone more durable and resistant to scratches.

If your child prefers a louder and clearer tone, you can opt for a saxophone with silver plating. This is widely used by those who play saxophones in the military or in marching bands. Gold plated saxophones have the best performance when it comes to enhancing the tone of your child's saxophone however, the price cannot be afforded by almost all saxophone players.

Brand New or Second Hand

Although it cannot be denied that your satisfaction is surer with brand new saxophone than it is with second hand saxophones, the price gap between these two options will still have you thinking and reconsidering. If you are considering second hand instruments, you would have to be more careful in purchasing.

If possible, you should have an expert with you when making a second hand purchase. When purchasing a used saxophone for your child, make sure to check all areas for dents or scratches. While looks are important, what really matters is the performance capacity of the instrument. Since that is so, have your child try it or to even increase the chances of satisfaction, have an expert whom you trust try the instrument.