Sorpano or alto

[bradshawm]

I wasn't sure where to post this question, so here it is.

I have played soprano for about 1 1/2 years and absolutely love it. My soprano died, and at the recommendation of my repair man, I am going to bury it. I have ordered an AW 590LQ from Dave Kessler which should ship out on Monday.

This is my dilemma: I want to start playing with the worship team at church, and although I don't play alto, I have heard a couple people say that the alto is more flexible and would go better with more songs, while the soprano is a lot more limited as to what songs it sounds good with. I love the soprano, but since I will not be in a position to buy a second horn for a long time, I want to be practical too. I played tenor and bari over 20 years ago and then did nothing until picking up the soprano.

Any insight you all wise and experienced people out there have would be greatly appreciated.

[M Exner]

For the praise worship team, I am inclined to agree with the alto as being a bit more flexible. However the soprano can be used quite often in the orchestra and as a solo instrument on offertories and preludes. Subsitute for oboes in combination with choir anthems, and similar voices.

When it comes to praise songs though, I think the alto would have the edge. You can play both saxes in the church, it's just a matter of how you can best fit in to do "His Service". Mike

[danm]

In our praise team I play soprano and tenor. I do not play alto at all. I transpose the music and in guitar keys it is easier for me to do. Less sharps to play in on the Bb instruments. We play contemporary Christian music and either the soprano or tenor usually fit in nicely. If neither fit I will play some percussion or just worship with the team. I guess I just am not an alto player at heart. I know you will like the Antigua as I have played mine for the last 3 months and it is a great horn. I am in tune with all of the other instruments finally.

[SaxyAcoustician]

Any of the saxophones--soprano, alto, tenor--will do well in a praise band...when played well. God-honest truth. :)

[Fred]

If you're a capable sax player and the Praise Band doesn't have capable sax players running out their ears, I think soprano would work fine. The problem, of course, is that there may be an alto part that someone needs to cover. Are you going to play the tenor part or transpose the alto part? Or just play?

We have a great sounding group and the primary sax player is extremely talented - and he plays soprano most of the time. But he would sound good on kazoo as well . . . :lol:

[bradshawm]

Thank you all so much for your input. Our church is small, and the worship team consists of three vocalists and a piano. I will be the only instrumentalist. With my lack of experience, and theirs, we will be figuring it out as we go along. I have decided to stick with the soprano for now since it is what I know. I will probably be looking for a mouthpiece that will allow me to blend a bit better, so if you have any suggestions on that, I would be grateful.