is there an big difference?

Question

my band teacher asked if any flute players was willing to switch to Tenor Sax since the flute section is crammed... Is there a big difference in it? I mean, notewise....? I am an excellent flutist... I just wanted to know what it felt like to play something besides a flute.

thanks for your help!

Answer 1

Unless you plan a career as a concert flutist and are planning to go to college and major in flute performance; if you're interested then take him up on the offer.

Here are my reasons. You can always continue to play flute as well. Learning to play tenor sax is learning to play alto and bari. sax as well. This then ads a whole family of instruments to your ability to enjoy making music. Playing sax opens a door to jazz band that most flute players don't get as well.

Out here in the real world, unless you're a soloist or a symphony player, woodwind players play sax, flute, clarinet and may play oboe/bassoon as well. It's just the way gigs go. There are more things to play at with a sax though. ☺ and it's all about chances to play.

Learning sax will also set your embouchure up to learn clarinet. While sax and flute (and oboe and recorder) finger very similarly, clarinet does not. But, clarinet embouchure is very similar to sax.

Also, there is a lot of competition in flute sections. Flute players seem to be a dime-a-dozen. Good sax players are not so common. Good sax players who play flute are even less common and it does come up in jazz band and in musicals that a sax player needs to play some flute.

Disadvantages: Tenor sax is heavy! Much heavier than a flute. It's also expensive to get a really good one. Hopefully, this band director is offering to provide the horn -- sooner or later you'll want your own. If you're like me, you'll want a whole set. That can run into some serious change.

A key here though is to take advantage of the opportunity you've been offered to become what we musicians call "a doubler". Keep your flute skills up and ad sax skills and you're no longer a "flute player" and you're not a "sax player"; you become a "woodwind player/specialist" and that's a pretty high demand player in all bands.

Answer 2

All the fingerings will be the same so it should be pretty easy for you. The one difference is that the tenor sax is in Bb whereas the flute is in C. The music will already be transposed into the correct key for you. Just don't worry if you are playing a part written in the key of C and you notice the flute part is in Bb. Basically when you play a C on tenor sax a Bb comes out. If you are an accomplished flautist then sax will be a breeze. Have fun and if you are considering getting into playing jazz I would recommend that you start listening to a lot of jazz recordings. Charlie Parker is a great one. Good luck to you!

Answer 3

Knowing how to play reed instruments will be to your benefit, especially if you later decide that you want to play for musicals and other ensembles that require doubling.

Fingerings will be very similar (or the same) except for the key difference. A BIG difference will be your embouchure and this may take a lot of adjustment if you're going to be switching back to your flute for other music things (other ensembles, private lessons, etc). You may find that your flute tone may suffer because of the differences in appeture (the distance between your lips) when you go from flute to sax. Your director might have some good suggestions on this.

Have fun!