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The People Want Tenor

28K views 144 replies 64 participants last post by  PoorButSaxy 
#1 ·
Is there a reason why people/society/the music industry prefers tenor over alto, soprano, and bari? I'm primarily an alto player, but I've played all four. I'm not sure if its just how history worked out, but I feel like tenor has been the preferred instrument in more commercial music like jazz, R&B, and rock, but not classical. Is it because of orchestration since its easier to write and transpose for tenor, is it because of the sound, or is there some other reason?
 
#116 ·
Folks, let's omit the cheap shots at one another.

Count me among those that don't like to be told what I should (or should not) like to hear. Where does that stop?

Tenor - It's all that matters to me, in my not-so-humble opinion. You can have your personal preference too.

Be well.
 
#121 ·
I'm late to the party but this thread reminded me of when my previous teacher told me he started playing mostly tenor when he moved to Lake Tahoe because there was more demand for it. Also, if I must include myself as "the people," then I certainly agree that we want tenor!
 
#124 ·
Hey .... your personal taste is just as valid as anyone's, I don't really care if you like the work or not. But, to suggest that Coltrane shouldn't have made the album, and "retired"--someone whose life was cut way too short--and then questioning his sincerity in creating the music is what pissed me off. You made the comment looking for a reaction .... you got one.


Turtle
 
#125 ·
Hey .... your personal taste is just as valid as anyone's, I don't really care if you like the work or not. But, to suggest that Coltrane shouldn't have made the album, and "retired"--someone whose life was cut way too short--and then questioning his sincerity in creating the music is what pissed me off. You made the comment looking for a reaction .... you got one.

Turtle
+1
 
#137 ·
This thread just made me wonder which is older (first designed by Adolphe Sax)? Alto or tenor?
Tenor was the first sax Antoine (Adolf) Sax built. He then created the family saxes around it. i don't think that in it self gives more importance to the tenor.

as a side note: all that Kum-by-ya, groovy love stuff doesn't wear very well. i mean, Woodstock was a long time ago and you can see all the good that came from that. :bluewink2:
 
#134 ·
My take.

Alto is easier to be found at funk, soul maybe. Jazz (whatever the genre), tenor and alto are equal. Rock,tenor. It has more harmonics unless you master the sound on alto. Alto might be sweeter but you never know how an alto is going to sound.

About range, well, I still have not shared the stage with a tenor player that has beaten me on the top tones, this is, at concert or each horn's key. Of course, I have not shared the stage with Lenny.

About fulfillment of the room.... mmm... at 122 dBA that I have measured in my alto.... nope, it is not a quit instrument.

About human voice.... I cannot recall many singers that sing at low Bb of my alto....

I started on tenor. Switched to alto and discovered its embouchure to be more demanding. The smaller the mouthpiece, the more control you need IMO.

I listen to music. I listen to saxophones. I love stories told through anyone's instrument.

And about Coltrane, yes, one of my heroes. I have seen many of his albums at many homes. I doubt they have been played nearly once...
 
#138 ·
I don't know if people want tenor. In fact I don't know what people want. I suppose it depends on who the people are. If you are referring to the general public, I seriously doubt they even know the difference between an alto and a tenor enough to distinguish one from the other either by appearance or sound. Many non-musically aware people can't even tell the difference between the sound of a sax and a trumpet. So basically to my mind, why should we give a flying rat's posterior what they might want if they actually knew what it was.

As to people who play saxophone, it is perhaps the truth that these people want tenor more than alto, but there again more young people begin on alto than on tenor. Of course that is more often than not the result of the advice of band directors, parents and/or music store sales people than the desires of the would-be player who probably doesn't know much more than the aforementioned "experts". Very often it is due to the size of that person based on the erroneous idea that a person of small stature or a female can't handle a tenor due to its greater size and weight.

However, frankly, I personally don't care what other people, whether laymen or saxophonists want or don't want, because I know from having played S,A,T that I prefer tenor by quite a lot and that is what I always want to play most.
 
#140 ·
Once I had mastered the tenor altissimo registers I couldn't see much of a need for the Alto anymore. The range of the tenor is so much more versatile from its lush low end to almost a screeching dog whistle..... but defending the notion of individuality its all down to taste, all the saxes sound good and played well add their own unique voice to the party.
 
#145 ·
What the "people" want is someone holding any kind of sax jumping around on stage and blowing a simple riff. There don't care what kind of sax it is or how it sounds.
More than 80% of the time when someone hears that I play sax for the first time they ask wether I know how to play the happy sax guy stuff or careless whisper.
 
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