Reddit reviews Play Alto Sax Today!: Level 2 (Play Today Level 2)
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Softcover with CD48 pagesSize: 12" x 9"Author: Various AuthorsISBN: 634028928
For what it's worth, I'll tell you what I used to teach myself to play sax. Hope you find this information useful.
I already played clarinet since I was a kid, and had wanted to learn to play sax for many years. Finally picked up a used alto a few years ago, and I taught myself the basics entirely from "Play Alto Sax Today!". I bought what they call the Beginner Pack, which comes with a DVD, a book of sheet music (Level 1), and an audio CD -- currently about $15 US on Amazon. It's published by Hal Leonard. Here's a link...
www.amazon.com/Play-Alto-Today-Beginners-Pack/dp/0634052993
I liked the Level 1 package so much that I when I finished working my way through it, I bought the Level 2 book. It's currently about $10 on Amazon...
www.amazon.com/Play-Alto-Sax-Today-Level/dp/0634028928
It's also worthwhile to pick up a cheap electronic metronome (get one that also has a chromatic tuner, maybe $15 or $20 -- Korg has some decent ones). You can find free metronome and tuner programs for computers online, if you don't want to buy one -- as long as you can sit in front of your computer when you practice.
Spend a week or two just practicing with the mouthpiece, without the sax, just to get a workable embouchure and good air support. You want to be able to blow a nice steady concert A (880 Hz), for about 60 seconds or so, before even thinking about putting your sax together.
I saw a good description of correct embouchure on a sax website. Insert mouthpiece, and then try to saying, "EEE" - "YUU" (pronounce like "you"). It's like your lip and face muscles are doing a tug-of-war between the EEE's and the YUU's. You've got the correct embouchure if you let the YUU's win, with the corners of your mouth pushing in against the sides of the mouthpiece. Hope that makes sense!
There are a few really great websites you might want to look at -- Sax on the Web is a great one, as is Best Saxophone Website Ever.
Finally, I'll mention one really great classic book of sax exercises. It's cheap, and it's worth having. It's called "25 Daily Exercises for Saxophone", by H. Klosé. You may very well be able to find a PDF somewhere, but I think it's worth buying.