Hi TL, In my school they require you to play in the band, the choices I had were pretty much standard orchestra instruments, french horn, tuba, saxophone, percussion, flute etc. etc. No piano/guitar

I have a little musical background (piano for like 4 years) and after fiddling with all the instruments I chose the saxophone, liked the way I sounded, and I can play solo if I like it, unlike a tuba or w.e.

So what instruments do you guys play? And what instrument would you recommend for me?

rawb

United States252 Posts

September 09 2011 04:27 GMT

I played the violin for ~7 years. It was pretty cool, I got frustrated when other people in the section screwed things up and made rehearsals waste time on really simple things.

Your point about playing solo is a really strong one, I find solos a lot more fun and rewarding than most of the music you'll play in an orchestra.

TheAmazombie

United States3714 Posts

September 09 2011 04:30 GMT

I have taught music theory and fundamentals plus played in tons of bands with a variety of instruments. Here is what I tell people:

When you want to pick an instrument, try a few out, see if any call for you. If not and you still want to play, start with piano or guitar because they are the best to teach notes and scales along with how the instrument works. It is all right there in front of you. Since you don't have that option though, that is a hard one.

Percussion is what I would go for. You get to play, hit things and whatnot, but on top of it, you can focus on only learning one main part of music, the rhythm. Then you have a secondary focus on dynamics. I would go with that if nothing else calls to you.

EDIT: What I play:
Drums, guitar (acoustic, electric, 12-string), accordion, banjo, mandolin, uke, piano and various keys as well.

unit

United States2621 Posts

September 09 2011 04:38 GMT

i play alto saxophone (my main instrument, getting a new one soon :D) guitar, tenor saxophone, piano, bass guitar and trumpet, in order of skill level

sax is by far the best instrument ever...if you ever need some inspiration just look up dave koz or jeff kashiwa (there are others but these are my favorite) i started sax in high school and put so much into it to the point where i got to be 2nd chair (we got straight 1s/outstandings ^_^ - out of 5 in the top band of my hs, a little under 20 total sax players in the program)
as for instrument recommendations, since you're starting it wont matter much...all of my starting instruments were far from the best shape (except piano...but that's because everyone in my family played at some point) so long as its not falling apart on you (had a key [as in the metal part you press down to control pitch

] fall off in a marching band competition once T_____T) it should be fine, it takes a while to get to a level where the instrument really makes a difference, after a year of playing if you decide you really want to be serious buy a Selmer C* mouthpiece (they're a bit expensive so i dont recommend getting one to start with) and from there as you become better you will eventually reach a point where the instrument really is holding you back (this should be after you decide to devote genuine time into improvement outside of practice regardless of 'natural talent' so dont just think that a better sax = a better player because it doesn't) you should really know what to look for in a saxophone when you go out to buy a high quality one (which is the stage i am now at, though i could've done it a while back lol)

that said, glhf
"music is what speaks to the soul, in ways no words can"

Nairul

United States262 Posts

September 09 2011 04:40 GMT

I've been playing the saxophone for 12 years, ever since 5th grade. It is my passion. I started on Alto and switched to Tenor 4 years ago. Which did you choose?

The saxophone was a great choice! If you haven't already, I recommend checking out Jazz music - as with your choice of saxophone, if you decide to stick with it, you will typically end up playing Jazz sometime down the road. Saxophone is a rare breed in the real-world with respect to OTHER musical genres besides jazz.

valdor4

United States56 Posts

September 09 2011 04:43 GMT

i played the french horn for 7 years, in middle and high school. i really liked it, because of how difficult it was. especially senior year when we got invited to the midwest clinic. looking back though, i kind of wished i played the saxophone. i didnt get to play in the jazz band or stuff like that, so i kind of regret the french horn. but then again, it has the best sound of any instrument in a concert band (at least i think)

unit

United States2621 Posts

September 09 2011 04:46 GMT

On September 09 2011 13:40 Nairul wrote:
Saxophone is a rare breed in the real-world with respect to OTHER musical genres besides jazz.

yeah, this makes me a bit sad..but its still soooo good for jazz
if you're playing orchestral music dont be surprised if you get a horn or clarinet part as the saxophone did not exist several hundred years ago when the music was written
the reason you would get a horn part is because there is a 1 step difference so it's easy to transpose (i had to in my head once sight reading lol)
the reason you would get a clarinet part is because many of the parts are playable on the saxophone (this tends to happen a lot more often with soprano sax though due to sop sax being Bb and higher octaves than alto/tenor/bari)
^the above is ofc assuming alto sax, with tenor sax you're in Bb so you dont really need to worry about transposition with low brass parts available in Bb

prOxi.swAMi

Australia3091 Posts

September 09 2011 05:03 GMT

It sucks that your school forces you to play in the band. They should just make learning a musical instrument mandatory - thereby allowing students to play guitar and piano.

unit

United States2621 Posts

September 09 2011 05:11 GMT

On September 09 2011 14:03 prOxi.swAMi wrote:
It sucks that your school forces you to play in the band. They should just make learning a musical instrument mandatory - thereby allowing students to play guitar and piano.

the school probably has its reasons, such as its band being in desperate need of more people or something like that...though i would be willing to bet that there would be ways to get out of it, such as being on a sports team or something

Makaveli1

United States118 Posts

September 09 2011 06:34 GMT

#10

nah its you HAVE to play in the band, its a small christian school in maui so not the regular school.

and its a alto sax (90% sure), just got it today and i really like it

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