Maybe I made up that last word….
“Doubling” generally means playing a second wind instrument when you’re a saxophone player – flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon, etc. It’s usually not your primary instrument.
Having some skill on multiple instruments will make you more marketable in some musical situations. So a lot of professional saxophone players are fairly developed on multiple instruments.
It will also help you as a musician if you play some piano, and for that matter bass, drums, and other instruments that are quite different than saxophone. Piano allows you to see the harmony in a way you just can’t do on saxophone.
My personal recommendation would be for all saxophone players to play at least a little piano. And I’ve been told by several great musicians to play ‘a little more’ when I say that I play a little.
In terms of doubling, if you’re not a professional musician, I would actually tend to advise against doubling. Mastering the saxophone takes a lot of time….
So mostly I play saxophone, tenor saxophone at that. I spent some time on clarinet recently and after playing it consistently for a month, it was going all right. But then I came back to my saxophone.
It’s much easier to master one thing at a time!
What are your thoughts on this?
Doubling/Tripling is essential for a musician who makes a living playing. Playing just saxophone is a pipe dream. There are so few jobs that people want JUST a sax player for…..you can count them on one hand.
However, if you play flute, clarinet, oboe, etc…….there are substantially more jobs to be had. In the SF Bay Area, with the economy so sucky, a lot of guys who haven’t played theater gigs in a LONG time are doing them. I mean, guys who 4 years ago were playing clubs, etc……now have dusted off the doubles and are donning all black and doing shows.
Plus, honestly, playing clarinet or flute only helps one’s saxophone playing. There is a LOT of good things to be learned by taking flute lessons, or clarinet lessons….things like support, vibrato, finger techniques, tonging…..
Hey Eric,
Thanks for your input. It does seem like a very useful thing for professional musicians.
I agree that playing flute and clarinet will help you musically.
But I also think that non-professional musicians will get better on saxophone by focusing on saxophone.
-Neal