Learning to play the saxophone

I don't think that I've mentioned it here before, but one of the activities that I mean to do in my retirement is learning how to play the saxophone. I have registered at the local academy which is all of 200 metres from my home; lessons will start some time in September.

I thought that I should get a head start and so I looked for some on-line books that would explain various aspects. "How to play saxophone in easy way" by Louis Harris and Carla Tyler seemed to fit the bill, but when I read it, I was quickly dissuaded. The title should have given me a hint but I only saw it now - the word 'in' should probably have been replaced by the word 'the'.

This book reads as if it were written in some language then badly translated into English. For example, what does "The body is cone like fit as a fiddle, like the oboe, however the bend is progressively particular at the chime." mean? The same paragraph continues "Saxophones might be straight or bended, however straight ones are progressively normal." What sort of copy editing has been done to allow the following phrase? "The Alto saxophones are littler", or "While purchasing a pre-owned saxophone, guarantee that the keys aren't boisterous or spilling."

It was around this stage (and I've quoted from only the first few pages) that I gave up, and if I had a physical copy of the book, I would have thrown it at the wall. It's bad enough trying to learn about with saxophone without having one to hand, but I shouldn't have to try and translate this nonsense as well.

I await my lessons (an hour a week) with baited breath.

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