Your saxophone ligature is a very important part of your set-up and is often overlooked by students that are just starting out. I know I was guilty of this as a young student of the horn until my very good sax repair man told me about a new sax ligature that had just come out on the market.

I think my first reaction was something like ” ligature?.. does the type of ligature you use even make a difference?”… YES! This was ignorant thinking. After trying the new ligature though, I just couldn’t believe the difference it made in my sound not to mention more ease and control in my playing.

There are several types of saxophone ligatures available for us today, available in several different materials such as leather, metal, brass, gold and silver plated mesh. If you think about the standard type that’s made of thin brass or metal, they simply wrap around the reed and mouthpiece clamping the reed in place. This type of ligature just doesn’t cut it as far as how the pressure is spread along the reed, making it more responsive.

The standard type or “stock” ligatures that normally come with the mouthpiece are the possible worse ones you can get. These are the ones that wrap around the mouthpiece and reed and are tightened by screws. The sooner you get away from these the better off your tone will be.

A couple trusted names for ligs are the Rovner and Vandoren brand. Unlike the typical standard metal ones these are made with a hi tech polymer material that will let your reed vibrate more freely giving you better and easier control of your sound. They’re made with a double-textured polyester fabric to secure the reed gently in place and with more even pressure.