Dents in an instrument can be stressful. I think that a lot of saxophonists can become stressed about how dents in their instrument will affect their ability to play. If this is an issue you are currently dealing with, then hopefully I will be able to help you. So, do dents actually affect the sound?…

The question of whether saxophones improve with age is an important consideration for appraising the value of a saxophone. One might consider buying or selling an instrument on the basis of whether it will play better in the future, and thus have more value. So, do saxophones actually get better as they age? Saxophones do…

It is extremely common for beginning saxophonists to puff out their cheeks while they play. I believe that this is a bad habit that should be corrected. This problem usually goes away with experience, but at first it can nonetheless be frustrating. So, how do you stop your cheeks from puffing? The easiest way to…

You may have noticed that if you play saxophone for a long time in a single sitting, it can become physically difficult to continue playing. Face fatigue is a common problem for saxophonists – eventually the muscles in your face just become too exhausted to keep going. So, how do we deal with facial fatigue?…

Lip pain can be a frustrating issue for a saxophonist. I’ve dealt with my fair share of it, and at times it would get so bad that I had to stop practicing for a few days. We’re going to discuss how to prevent lip pain, and what you can do if your lower lip starts…

Many saxophonists consider whether a saxophone is lacquered to be a major factor in deciding what to purchase. It is worth asking: does this actually make a difference?  Lacquer only slightly affects the sound of a saxophone. In particular, lacquer has a dampening effect that may make the sound somewhat darker. However, the difference is…

You are probably here because you’re looking for options to polish your saxophone, and you’re considering using Brasso. While this might at first seem reasonable given that saxophones are often made of brass, this is actually a terrible idea. Never use Brasso on a saxophone. The ammonia in the Brasso is harmful to the lacquer…

You’re probably looking for an easy way to deep clean your saxophone, and one of the options you considered is using your dishwasher. This is a clever idea, but unfortunately it also happens to be a terrible one.  Never put any part of your saxophone in the dishwasher. The high heat of a dishwasher will…

Boiling may seem at first like a tempting solution to the germs and other gross stuff that sometimes winds up on mouthpieces. However, it is a terrible idea and it is one that you should not try under any circumstances. You should never boil your saxophone mouthpiece. When the hard rubber of the mouthpiece is…

One of the most dreaded occurrences for a saxophonist is for their instrument to start smelling bad. If this has happened to you, you’re probably wondering why it happened and what you can do about it. So, what’s going on? Saxophones start to smell bad due to a gradual buildup of saliva in the absence…