If you are thinking of learning to play a wind instrument, there are a lot of choices available. Two of the instruments that you could choose are the saxophone and the trumpet. However, before you look at getting either of these instruments, you need to know more about learning to play them. You should also consider if learning the trumpet vs saxophone will be easier or if it is the other way around.
The Mouthpiece
When it comes to learning the trumpet vs saxophone, you need to consider how the instrument is played. As both of these instruments are wind instruments, you are going to be blowing air through the mouthpiece to make a sound. However, the mouthpiece that is being used will vary and could make one instrument easier to play than the other.
The saxophone is a woodwind instrument which means that it uses a reed in the mouthpiece. The reed is a thin wooden item that is placed on a plastic mouthpiece and vibrates to cause sound. It can take time to learn how to hold the reed in the mouth and blow to get the sound that you want. However, there are many people who feel that playing a reed instrument is easier than the mouthpiece of the brass instruments.
The trumpet is a brass instrument and will not have a reed in the mouthpiece. Instead of the reed, when playing the trumpet you will be using your lips to create the sound that you want. This can be very hard to get used to and it is possible to hurt your lips while you do this.
The Number Of Valves
When you look at the instruments, you would assume that a trumpet will be easier to play than a saxophone. This is due to the number of valves or keys that the instrument has. The trumpet only has 3 valves while the saxophone will have 6 primary valves. However, when it comes to learning the trumpet vs saxophone, you need to look at how the valves will affect learning and playing.
The 3 valves of the trumpet might seem easier at first, but you need to consider that you want more than 3 notes. To achieve all of the notes with the trumpet, you will have to use harmonics which is blowing harder to create a higher pitch. This can be difficult for beginners as you have to blow fairly hard to reach the higher notes that are often required.
Each of the notes on the saxophone is sounded using a different valve. A combination of valve movements will be used to create more than the 6 notes related to the 6 primary keys. This is often considered to be easier for beginners and the location of the keys are often seen as more logical. You will not have to blow harder to create different sounds and will only have to remember which keys to use.
The Personal Preference
When it comes to learning any instrument, it is important that you consider personal preference. If you like the sound of the saxophone, you should consider learning it, but if you like the trumpet more you should look at learning that. Of course, it is also important to note that some people find it easier to play the trumpet while other people find it easier to play the saxophone.
If you are in two minds about which instrument to learn, you should try both of them. Get a few lessons in each of the instruments to help you find out which is easier for you to play and which you enjoy more.
