A question for those who play tenor and soprano

[Marc]

Hey, boys…

Having played only tenor for a while, I’m wondering if getting a soprano could be a good catch.
Never had one on my hands, I know little about theb, except the fact that sopranoes are on the same key than tenor, so scores sound identical, one octave above.

So any advice, recommendation or tip from those of you seasoned players of both horns, will be welcome.

Especially about MP and reeds… Is the grade the same for both? I mean, I play 2,5 Rico Royal reeds and feel very comfortable with them. Would the same 2,5 for soprano work? Or should I go up/down the strength?

Thanks,
Marc.

[Jazz Cat]

soprano’s a squeaky little horn that’s much harder to play than alto or tenor; tough since tight embouchure needed; i use same 2.5 reeds. feels like a toy. not manly. tenor’s the only way to go imho, with alto also good. like a guy on another forum said, it’s like a clown car at a circus. I bought one since I wanted to play “Favorite Things” like Coltrane. epic fail, I just found I didn’t want to invest time in a kazoo-like horn.

tenor w/growls like Johnny does is what I’m after

trane sounds great tho

[Marc]

LOL… thanks for your sincere answer.
Sounds like a challenging task… I think it’s worth the effort tho. Since I’m not planning to do extreme sports in the near future, I’m pretty sure I’ll embark on the tough task of playing the smaller horn.

[Michael]

I got to try a Soprano about 2 months ago and decided to get one, it’s coming this Spring around late March, it’s a Selmer Soprano. All of the Saxophones are great, they all have their place. Each of the Saxophones has it’s own unique challenges, and it definately does require some practice; same holds true for the Bari Sax. Different strokes for different folks, but to say the Soprano Sax is unmanly, or like a Clown Car at a Circus, etc.. there’s lots of players out there, including myself, who totally disagree with that. I can guarantee you one thing, if a band was forced to choose between 1 of 2 different Saxophone players–1 of the Sax players played Alto, Soprano and Tenor v.s. a Sax player that plays only 1 horn, 90% of the bands out there are going to choose the player that’s more versatile and plays the 3 horns. King Curtis is mostly known for his stuff on Tenor, but he played all 3 of them. Anytime he did a concert, one of his songs that was in super-high demand during his days was Soul Serenade; which is one of the most memorable of his songs, and it was on the Soprano Sax. It’s a absolutely gorgeous song and it’s on my to-do list when I get my Soprano. Have a look at the video below. Some folks may find the Soprano to be challenging and hate it, others love the Soprano. There’s a great many things we can learn/improve in our playing by using the Soprano v.s. the other Saxophones, and the same holds true with the Tenor, Alto and Bari Sax. The best thing we can do is to try one for ourselves–which is what I did–and then we can make a decision for ourselves v.s. going by what everyone else says. We all express ourselves in different ways. To me, if it’s a Saxophone, then it’s ALL good! 🙂

[Anonymous]

interesting points, most bands i know are more in interested in what the sax player sounds like, than the number of different types of sax’s he or she can play. but i see the point you are making – which is why i would pick up a clarinet & a flute instead, alongside with the keyboards and guitar that i am already familiar with.

[Michael]

That’s a very good point too Sxpoet–it all just depends on the band itself, what they’re looking for, etc.. I know in many regions of the US, most bands prefer to have someone who is versatile; it’s not uncommon to see someone who plays Saxophone and be a keyboard player too. Someone’s whose versatile like that, overall, has a greater chance of getting picked up by a band. That’s the word I was looking for, being “versatile”. The same can go for the kinds of music we play and if we were to play in public like on the Streets, Hotels, Bar/Grills,etc., people love to hear someone who is versatile–can play all kinds of music. Back in the days of the Big Band era, it was common for Sax players to play more than one instrument. The Sax players for the Glenn Miller Band played the Clarinet too–that’s very cool that you love the Clarinet and Flute too 🙂 My wife loves the flute.

[john]

Coltrane and Curtis made me buy and play the soprano for quite some time but Kenny G made me sell it. Kinda kidding but the super smooth thing does not excite me in the least and I find it kinda boring.
the soprano can be a lot of fun but like someone said before very challenging as well. as for the set up you will end up playing won’t be neccessarily identical to your tenor…you may find a completely different mp will work better as well as a different reed type or even size.
when you hear a soprano, do you like it? if yes then by all means you should get one if you can and have fun with it. I borrowed one recently and found I really enjoyed playing it but still am not gonna buy one cause I wouldn’t play it every day like my tenor anyway.

[Marc]

Thanks Johnny and everyone else…
Yes, I like the mellow, woody sound some players can get from the soprano… much like a clarinet.
Someone told me not too long ago: “you may or much probably may not like Kenny G’s songs… but you definitely need to hear his tone and technique”

Interesting facts those about MP/reed combinations not being equivalent for tenor and soprano.

[Anonymous]

Hi Marc, I’ve only played the curved Soprano for about five hours, but the difference in embouchure from Tenor to Alto is as large as the difference from Alto to Soprano. It’s going to be a big change to go from Tenor to Soprano because of the decrease in reed width. You are concentrating on a smaller lip area which makes it much more taxing on the lip. Playing all three instruments I feel that the Tenor definitely has more soul when it comes to emotional expression in the sound.

[Jazz Cat]

soprano is what I’d call a ‘special-use’ horn, agree versatility’s good; personally I like my 1920s C-melody buescher better (it plays nicely, though it’s a quiet horn, by design; they’re only $300ish on ebay), better than soprano. getting a trane/kenny g sound on soprano I realized would take years of practice w/minimal payoff. I’d rather spend time learning tenor growls & altissimo; just a personal prference. good luck with it, seems like a neat instrument; just I would much rather learn rocking tenor than soft/smooth soprano.

well said Michael re “To me, if it’s a Saxophone, then it’s ALL good!” +1

[Author]

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