There have been many times as I have learned music that it has been challenging/frustrating/etc.
The year I started, there were other students that had been playing a year already or a few years. Felt like I needed to catch up.
More recently, sometimes when I play a solo over a particular song, it just doesn’t go that well. Especially when compared to times when things sounded better.
Working on altissimo was a lot of work and a lot of sounding bad in the process to get access to a few new notes, one at a time quite often.
Playing low notes on a new (old) tenor took work and sounded like a step backward.
Not too long ago, I got lost in the chord changes of a new song and ended up playing some funny sounding things.
Leave a comment sharing a story about a specific thing that was frustrating for you while learning to play saxophone.
Realize that you don’t master the saxophone in one day or even one year. You can always learn more and advance. Part of what you need to do is enjoy the process of learning. You want to sound good, but you really don’t need to stress out about music. Just dedicate yourself to it if you want results.
For me altissimo and loud notes are the most difficult things, having ability in your fingers it’s practise but what I have said is like impossible for me.
Thanks Carl. Just take it one step at a time, the progress will likely be slow with altissimo, but it may click one day and you’ll have it (a particular note)
At the beginning, it was very frustrating for me to play the D. It never came out in the right way, but was something like “piiiii” out of tone everytime… So many other frustrations are waiting for me beside the corner, but I love playing saxophone and have so much fun in doing it, that I will overrun them!
Thanks Roberta,
D is a tough note to make sound good! That’s a fairly common thing to happen. Depends on the horn too.
Glad you love playing.
My biggest frustration is how hard is to get classes, on line should have spanish subtitles.
The second one is, I don’t have enough time to practice, this week I’m gonna begins to 30mins daily, maybe works for me.
Thanks Rudy-Dario,
Will think about that. Might be able to translate more of my stuff into Spanish.
30 minutes/day should be pretty good, the consistency is important.
I am most frustrated with not be able to either find sax music for songs that I like or finding it transposed so I can play along with my friend when he is playing guitar. Still not sure on how to correctly transpose to sax from guitar or sax to guitar.
Read this post and leave a question as a comment if you still have one,
https://saxstation.com/if-you-have-a-tuner-and-you-are-playing-f-but-it-said-you-are-playing-a-g-do-get-a-different-tuner-to-play-on-the-sax.htm
I just love playing Sax, its part of my life right now. Of course i’ve struggled, and am still struggling with certain issues..ie Tone on low notes, and low notes themselves like C and B. Altissimo, funny enough…i’ve found quite easy, dont exactly know why really. But i try play everyday even for 15-20 mins, and i know i’ll get there!
For me it was learning the notes and scales they were long scales and lots of notes to remember.
Yesterday we had a school concert and well i couldn’t play at all because i had to change my reed which is 2inches to a 2 1/2 inch and i just couldn’t play i was so frustated. Now I’m gonna start practicing with the 2 1/2 reeds, because i already learned my lesson
Hey Novus,
The numbers don’t stand for inches. They do have to do with the strength, how hard it is to play. Some reeds will just be harder to play. Good to be able to play on a 2.5 rather than it be impossible though.
After a while playing, lets say 30 minutes, my lips get a little funny feeling and it seems, as if the mouthpiece gets too wet.
Thanks Okrummel
I do not actually think I was ever frustrated…always wanted to learn more perhaps, but I’m not even that good now, I just like to make moise and relax with my musical instruments.
As I have only been playing for 2/3 years I am still learning some things. So far what has been the most difficult and frustrating thing for me is playing lower notes with faster notes such as 16th notes. We got handed some music with this kind of stuff about 2 months ago and I still start squeaking when I try to do it in time!!!
just starting off was enough to want to quit but im getting better
JOURNEY: Having tried learning one-on-one with a selection of teachers I decided to enrol at a college to see if the more formal setting would help me progress. It didn’t. In frustration and disappointment I quit the class.
MILESTONE: It took me 9 months of brooding to acknowledge that if i truly did love the saxophone, then I would have to take personal responsibility for finding ways to harness that love so that I learnt how to fulfil my aims.
DEDICATION: I want to live the experience of myself making the music that tells about me and of the bond I have with the sound of the saxophone; and i want to do so with a unique eloquence.
Regards
saxendd
I think my only fear is not been able to get the beautifull sound i want to get, however im practising and im confident to achieve my goal thanks Neal .
Just finding a teacher near my house has been the biggest challenge so far.I’m gonna get down the basics and then go for lessons in the city.
My frustration begins and ends with the inability to read/play music in time. If I write the note/letters I can play with some sort of rhythm. Even better when I know the song. The level of play is a bit better than beginner but it is slow going while I try to play with just reading the notes ( without writing the letters above them). I love the sound of my ‘The Martin’ alto sax, almost 100 years old!
The most frustrated I have ever been playing sax was learning to play in the stone by earth wind and fire.
There are so many off off beats. It took so much shedding and mashing and our sax section in our band had a sectional on it.
I finaly got it, today actualy, and it grooves so well now. Now I just need to choreograph some stuff for the brass section and get an afro.
Sounds like it was a very good thing for you to work on then. Music is not always played on downbeats, better to realize that sooner rather than later.
When I try to play the high notes it usually squeaks or the lower note comes out, and it is very frustrating. I keep on trying and my high are starting to sound better every day.
Thanks Nicole. Keep at it, things should keep improving!
I am struggling with the high D, E, Eb, and F (3 octaves). I can play with good sound from lower C and the way up to high C (3 octaves), but once I try playing this notes I loss my wind trying to get a sound. I also have the same problem with lower Bb, B, and C#. Is there any exercise to improve playing these notes?
Hey Alejandro,
Those are probably the hardest notes to play on the saxophone. Possibly the low notes being harder than the high notes. Depends though.
Is your saxophone in good shape? And what is the last time a repair person checked it for leaks, etc?
The low notes are my problems. Am frustrated to the point that I want to stop. But after reading these challenges here, I found out its not only me, so I promise myself that I will keep trying.
Low notes can be tricky, especially on tenor. Realize that many things on saxophone take time to master.