People who love music, not just listening to it, but actually playing music, creating it, writing it, immersing themselves in it, are a completely different breed than the average non-musician. Musicians are, for all intents and purposes, a bit outside of the norm. Musicians tend to really focus on their music, their first love, and everything they do is music related.
My daughter is a music major in college, and her and her music major friends all hang out together, and it seems everything they do, from their schoolwork to their extra curricular activities like attending concerts and chorals are all music related.
Therefore, buying a musician a music related gift is a pretty safe bet to be a great gift. In this article, lets focus on the music lover who plays the saxophone and explore the top ten gifts you can buy for the saxophone player in your life.
1. Reeds (or Plasti Reeds)
Reeds are really expensive and to use them properly, you need a new one about every week of so. A box of reeds can cost upward of $60.00. You should be sure to check with your saxophone player to make sure you get the right reed strength (this is a number, 1,2,3,4 etc that determines the hardness of the reed), and the right brand. Especially for a student, reeds can be one of the most expensive parts of playing the saxophone after the sax has been purchased.
2. Mouthpiece Caps
These break easily, get lost easily, and are relatively inexpensive. These mouthpiece caps cover and protect the very expensive mouthpiece, but also protect the reed from crack and chips. This is a great little stocking stuffer type of gift.
3. Fancy Reed Cases
To cover and protect the reeds that are not in use, the reeds usually come in small clear plastic cases. These cases are plain and simple. Girls/woman especially seem to really enjoy the hand painted, colored, or themed reed cases that will really make them stand out in music class.
4. NeoTech Neck Straps
Arguably, this brand is the best neck strap for playing saxophone. It is cushioned, so it’s much more comfortable on the neck, and they come in a variety of colors, so you can buy several to color coordinate to their outfit of the day.
5. Gift Card or Credit at a Local Music Store
Always a crowd pleaser. You may not know what the saxophone player in your life needs or wants, but surely they do. Buy gift cards or set up a pre-paid account at the local music store for your saxophone player, and then you can be sure they get exactly what they need and want for themselves.
6. Cleaning Kit
Saxophones have pads on them, and they need to be cleaned, or the keys/pads will stick. Additionally, spit gets caught up inside the instrument too. Cleaning kits contain all the necessary items to clean a saxophone. Cleaning kits have to be replaced regularly, as they wear out or run out of solution too.
7. Chapstick
Saxophone players use their mouths regularly, in ways most of us don’t. This can lead to dry and cracked lips. A saxophone player in a school band is generally not allowed to wear lipstick that is colored, but chaptstick is okay. Assorted flavors or styled, including medicated for when lips are really sore.
8. Cork Grease, Pads, accessories
Cork grease is used to place on the cork where the various parts of the saxophone come together, to keep the cork from drying and cracking and to make connecting the sections of the saxophone easier, as well as making tuning easier. Pad sets are expensive, but buying a set will help if the student saxophone player ever needs to have pads replaced, because then they only have to pay for the labor.
There are many other fun saxophone accessories available in most music stores too, so just browse around and see what suits your fancy.
9. Tickets to a Jazz Concert
Most Saxophone players started playing the sax because they heard someone who played jazz really make the saxophone talk. The saxophone is one of the staples of jazz playing, so you probably won’t go wrong with tickets to a local jazz concert. Be sure to buy at least two, because no one wants to attend a concert alone.
10. Jazz Mouthpiece
Most saxophones come standard with a regular concert mouthpiece. Mouthpieces can often cost well over $100 bucks and some even much more than that. A jazz mouthpiece is a bit different than the concert mouthpiece, though many jazz performers use only one or both. The jazz mouthpiece helps give the saxophone that more ‘jazzy’ metallic sound that makes it really talk and sound bluesy. Since saxophones don’t come with a jazz mouthpiece usually, this is a great gift choice.
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There you have it, ten gift ideas for the saxophone player in your life. For additional music and saxophone gift ideas, visit your local music store and look around or ask the music specialist there for more information.
Happy shopping!
