Customer Reviews

Absolute Beginners: Alto Saxophone: The Complete Picture Guide to Playing Alto Sax (Includes Play-along CD, Featuring Professional Backing Tracks)

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Absolute Beginners Guide to the Alto Saxophone is exactly that, a guide for the absolute beginner. If you have little or no experience with music or musical instruments this is the place to start. It shows you how to assemble, care for, and blow into your saxophone, as well as showing you the absolute basics to be able to begin to read music. There is a finger chart, and illistrations of the finger positions for playing each note that the book goes through.

The CD is extreemly helpful, especially if you are unsure as to how the saxophone is intended to sound. The CD goes through the notes so that you can compare the sound, and it takes you step by step through basic notation. It also helps you get a feel for how to count beats.

I have found this guide very helpful for learning on my own. It help in giving me a little direction when all I had was an instrument, an intrest, and a lot of questions.

THIS BOOK IS FANTASTIC. IT HAS PICTURES ABOUT HOW TO BEGIN AND HOW TO STAND ETC. I AM LIVING IN JAPAN AND IT IS HARD TO GET A BEGINNER BOOK IN ENGLISH. I WOULD LIKE TO TELL ANYONE WHO WANTS TO START PLAYING THE SAX TO GET THIS BOOK. IT ALSO SHOWS HOW TO READ NOTES.....GREAT.

The book is good for beginners because it is a picture book. It is very helpful for those who have a hard time reading music and remember note names.

I bought this with several other highly recommended books including "Art of Saxophone Playing" by Larry Teal (also great!). I found this beginners book essential once I actually start to play the sax. It is very clear and practical. It has the best photos of finger positions for specific notes... much better than other books.

You will be glad (like me) to have it right there when you first start to blow notes from your sax...

That's the highest recommendation I can give!

Very good for someone who knows nothing, It does challenge the learner. I thought the CD was very handy, however I was unable to install the program so I just made use of the audio tracks.

This is just what I needed. It answers all my questions and I recommend this to anyone who wants to play an alto sax, but don't know where to begin. A must have.

I'd never played any musical instrument or learned how to read music. I love listening to all kinds of jazz and so decided in late middle age to try the alto sax. This book / CD provides a great starter kit. It's no substitute for having a good teacher, but it does show you all the basics, clearly and informatively, and it's fun. I still use it from time to time as a refresher.

The Saxophone is a very difficult instrument to master! However, using the Absolute beginners alto saxophone book and CD I am playing three notes after one hour's practice.
The CD is nice but due to the tracks being only about two seconds a piece, by the time I have pressed play on my CD player remote and got my hand and finger positions back on the instrument, the track has advanced two or three tracks! Then I first have to stop, rewind, pause, get one hand in position, press play, put CD remote down and find other hand position - see the problem?
Maybe they should sell a foot controlled CD player with the CD? Just joking :)
I would strongly recommend that they add an announcement on the CD, for instance: "Track 2: finger position L1 & L2 play note A" then play the note and keep it playing for 10 seconds. Just a thought.

This worked great for me. It was my first introduction to learning saxophone. The play-along CD was helpful. The only disappointment I had was when I had to move on to find more advanced instructional material. It won't last you more than several weeks. That being said, it was a great first step.

The title described my exact level of competance ZERO! This book works well for someone wanting to play but having no previous experience. The last time I had picked-up a Sax I was in the 5th Grade. By the time I reached the end of the book I knew both left & right hand keys, sharps & flats and two octives! My fingers aren't flying yet, but I'm reading music and playing some things by ear. I didn't use the CD much, its helpful to know what you're playing should sound like, but it takes time to make your playing sound like it should.