@LuFins-Dad said in A question about singing.:
@Doctor-Phibes said in A question about singing.:
@LuFins-Dad said in A question about singing.:
There’s no such thing as a beginner piano, but there are beginner saxophones/flutes/etc… I would not want my son to start on a Selmer Mark VI Alto Sax, for instance… when you are starting, you need something that will create a tone and pitch easily and is easier to control.
Is that true, though? I learned to play on an old Selmer alto, the main reason for buying it was that it was cheap. When it was produced in the 1930's, it was a top-of-the-line instrument.
I'm not sure I buy the idea of a pro-instrument being harder to play. My experience was the opposite. Cheap saxes generally aren't as in-tune.
I thought the reason for student instruments is that they're cheap, and kids will not typically treat them particularly well. Also, they'll most likely not stick with it, so there's no point buying them a good instrument.
It was the way I was taught… And what I was told in school…When I had Luke start, I had him use my Cannonball. Decent instrument. Not a Selmer Mark VI or even a Super Action, but decent. He was all over the place and couldn’t hold the pitch. He was discouraged. Went out and got him a Selmer AS500 and it was much better. But tye AS500 is a nice little horn…
OK, I hadn't experienced that, but I believe you.
As far as Mark VI's and SBA's go, my understanding is there's really great ones, but also not so good ones. The intonation can be questionable on the less good ones, since there's more variance due to the old-fashioned manufacturing techniques. My old Selmer Radio Improved sounded great, but the action left a lot to be desired - it was very loose. Maybe not the best choice to learn on, but back when I started you kind of got what you were given.
I found the biggest difference when I tried out student horns for a kid I was teaching was in the way it resonated/sang - or rather didn't. They felt fine to play, but they sounded a bit muffled by comparison to a better sax.
