I worked with a fantastic Bass guitar player a couple years ago. He was a man in his early 50's. I asked him how long he had been playing and nearly fell out of my chair when he told me he learned to play bass at age 47. He said he had been playing about 5 1/2 years. I think the hardest part to learning an instrument when you get older is finding the time to practice. I know as I've gotten older and busier with other things, I don't have the time to practice as much as I did when I was younger, and lack the discipline to practice as often as I should. If you like the sound of Kenny G. I would suggest buying a Soprano sax like he plays. The Soprano is a little harder to play than a tenor or an alto, but learning to play the Soprano first will better help you develope your embouscher and make you a better player if you should decide to also play alto or tenor. Depending on how much you want to spend, Yanagisawa makes a very nice Soprano. Keilwerth, Yamaha and Selmer also make a nice Soprano. I would try a few different horns to see which you like best. Find a teacher who knows the type of music that you want to play who can help you develope your ear. It's good to be able to read music, but if you want to play like Kenny G, you'll need to be able to play by ear and know how to improvise and figure out a piece note by note. Best of luck. I'm sure you'll do just fine! Happy New Year! Jim

Hi Happy New Year to you also and thanks for the reply. I have had everyone else I speek to steer me away from learning on a soprano first they say Ill get aggrivated and give it up but not you . That is the kind of music my wife and myself like but also like other kinds of sax music to. My biggest problem I guess to start with is finding an instrument I can truly afford to learn on realizing I can upgrade down the road when I can do more than make noise but make music lol. I think sopranos are more costly are they not? I live in the town Saint Louis the people that run this site are in only 15 minutes from them and they have a black LA Sax on here for 800 what do you think of that for a starter sax to learn on honestly can you look at it and tell me your opinion I take all opinions in place one at a time. Thanks agan and we have no children so I truly have the time available for true committment to learn this instrument to the best of my ability. I hope only that it wont take forever to be able to sound like something a little at least more than a squaking duck.

Well, the Soprano IS a little harder to learn, but then again, I started out on clarinet. What makes Soprano harder is that it requires a tigher embouscher to control pitch and play in tune. I think it's considerably easier to play soprano sax than clarinet. My father encouraged me to learn clarinet first, insisting that it would make me a better sax player. After I started playing sax several years ago, I never really played clarinet anymore. About 3 years ago, I started playing soprano, and even though I had been playing alto and tenor for sometime, I really had to adjust my embouscher to the soprano.

Ugh! I had to login again, and only part of my message posted! Here's the rest. I think you should play whatever horn you prefer. I would encourage you to try an alto and tenor also. Typically, you can buy an alto for less than a soprano or a tenor. Tenors usually cost more due to their larger size, and sopranos typically cost more than altos because a little more precision is required due to their smaller size. I think the tenor is probably the easiest to play. Starting on soprano though will force you to develope a tigher embouscher and make you a better player. It's much easier to start with soprano and then switch to alto, than to start with alto or tenor and then learn soprano. It sounds like you are very committed to learing. I have played a few LA Sax tenors altos and sopranos. Some of their earlier horns earned them a less than favorable reputation, but their newer horns are pretty nice for the money. The most common complaint is that many of their saxes are heavily lacquered with wild colors and graphics, and the extra lacquer can deaden the sound. Play it and see what you think. They play nice and don't sound too bad either.

Hi thanks again for the imput, take a look at the LA Sax for sale here under modern sax it is the black one for 800 and let me know what you think of it for the money. Its funny you telling me to play it and see what I think LOL remember now I never even blew in one or had a music lesson in my life so it would not sount to good none the less lol. I really want to eventually be able to play some of the Kenny G style of music I love the soft sax but also realize there is a lot of soft sax in alto and tenor sax music to. I really only hope I can find a willing teacher in my area that actually knows how to tech not just play sinc I hear a lot of good sax players are not always good sax teachers. Any other imput is appreciated especially if you can look at the LA Sax here for sale I told you of it is the black one for 800

I believe we are about 1 year too late to have any impact on this conversation! I don't know how to get in touch with him other than through this discussion thread.

thanks for the answer and the encouragement. I would die to be able to someday play a soft sax tune like Kenny G style of music. I realize he is a soprano player but that there is similarly soft music with alto and tenor. My 2 big concerns are finding a good instrument I can afford to learn on always getting a better one later and finding a teacher that will tolerate an older guy wanting to learn that had never had a music lesson of any kind in his life at all. I am looking at the black LA Sax for 800 on this site under modern sax let me know what you think of it if you can take a moment to look at it and again thanks for imput.