Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Intermediate Saxophones

     I have a saxophone student who is advancing very well. My saxophone student is finishing middle school and entering ninth grade in the fall. This young saxophone student started the year as principal saxophonist at his school, and is finishing as principal of his section at the end of the year. During his saxophone lessons this year, my student has been promoted to Level IV of the Michigan Music Teachers Association Student Activities Handbook for woodwinds. Currently, my student is preparing the Gene Paul composition Estilian Caprice, and is doing well with that piece.

     Despite my student`s success he is having problems with his instrument. My student plays a King Empire, which is a pretty good horn, but in need of a complete repadding. In other words, this repair is going to be expensive. I spoke with my student`s parents, and they agree it is time to look toward purchasing a new saxophone; an intermediate line instrument.

     My student will be ill-served with a student line instrument, but a professional line Selmer (Paris) Series II
Jubilee at well over $6,000.00 for a ninth grade student? So what`s the answer? Purchase an intermediate line instrument. That makes sense, and that is why instrument makers produce them . An intermediate saxophone will greatly serve the needs of an advance middle school/high school saxophone student, and will make a perfect second horn when that high school student becomes a music major
in college, and enters into a professional career as a musician.


  
     For you parents out there purchasing an intermediate line saxophone, I recommend you avoid unknown brands that are priced extremely low. What may seem like the deal of a century today, may be a Nightmare on Elm Street tomorrow. These cheeper instruments have been known to have intonation problems, difficulty finding parts, and many repair professionals simply refuse to repair and service those unknown brands. Intermediate line instruments can sell from $1,500 to over $3,000, so you want to do business with honest people that can tell you the orgins of the instrument you decide to purchase. Make sure to stick with known saxophone manufacturers. Here are a list of known manufacturers to consider:

Yanagisawa
Yamaha
Cannonball
Keilwerth
Selmer La Viox II
P. Muariat
Buffet

My repair professional who service my instruments recommend the Cannonball Sceptyr (Black Nickel). I have another saxophone student who plays a Cannonball alto, and I must say I am impress with Cannonball, but I do recommend investigating the product offerings from the above mentioned saxophone manufactures.  

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