Bb Clarinet to Tenor Sax?

Question

I've been playing a Bb clarinet for 3 years, and I've decided to try out the tenor sax because I want to join my school's jazz band in September. What are the transitions? Will I be able to learn the basic skills and notes in two months (I'm taking lessons from a friend) ?

Answer 1

when u blow the reed on the clarinet and sax its the same way but a clarinet is smaller than a sax.  the keys will be different and they are a lot bigger than the clarinet keys.  The finger positions are different.  hope that helped.good luck

Answer 2

go for it.

if you can play one instrument, you can play them all!

lessons should certainly help. because they are both reeded instruments, and have similar fingerings, it should be quite a simple transition for you.

just practice your little heart out sweetie!

Answer 3

Yep, I picked up sax very quickly after playing clarinet for five years.  Your embouchure will probably need to be more relaxed, you'll have to move more air through the instrument (but blow faster not harder) and probably support your sound a bit more, but the fact that you already read music will help you a huge amount.  The fingerings are slightly different - the sax fingerings are all the same as the upper register on the clarinet (ie six fingers down is a D in both lower and upper octaves), as they jump an octave rather than a 12th - there are no "throat" notes.  Above all, have fun with it!

Answer 4

First, when you can play one instrument you CAN NOT play them all.

The main difference in fingering for the notes is that when you hit the octave key on a clarinet, it really only raises the note a 5th. For example, if you play a low G then press your upper thumb down, it is a D. With the tenor saxophone, they are both Ds. I went the other way around and started playing tenor saxophone and moved to bass clarinet. It honestly wasn't that hard of a jump and I learned to play it in about 2 months by myself.

As for the embrasure, usually with clarinet you will cover your top teeth and your bottom teeth with your lips. With saxophone, it's acceptable (and usually sounds better) if you play with only your bottom teeth covered and your top teeth directly on the mouth piece. This, however varies between people. You also do not have to squeeze your jaw as hard to get the notes out of a tenor saxophone, so try not to or it will just squeak.