I played in a praise band that toured many churches. We were manly a vocal band with sometimes 6 part harmony. But I found that I was called on mainly to do solos or to play the lead on a strictly instrumental piece. As always there are parts to fill once in a while, but unless you are part of a horn section, that is all there really is to do. That's why when I wasn't playing I sang. You can't really expect to have the horn in your mouth every measure of every song. That being said the music follows the rules of any secular music as far as key and scales. I hope this helps.

I recently made the decsion to play my alto sax at church. For some reason, all the music our music director gave me was pretty much all in the lower octaves. I dont like it at all. Im going to talk to him about it, I just havent had time yet. My question is; is majority of the alto sax music written low like that or is it just what he has given me? What kind of stuff do any of you play?

I play a soprano sax as my primay and a tenor as a secondary in a church praise band. Dependent upon what kind of music your church plays, a Soprano does really well in most situations. It adds a lot of spiritual feeling to slow worship songs if you do it right. Only problem is that a lot of times, you will be playing in the lower registers of the instrument, especially on old hymnal songs. It's for that reaon why that i'm switching most of the older songs to my Tenor and Alto. What do you need to know to play? To be honest, when i'm up there playing, the Spirit takes over and most of the time all i'm doing is blowing the horn. If you are really into the music and the mood of the worship, your fingers will do their own thing. I find that the most difficult part is switching up when the song leader unexpectedly changes or combines songs. You don't really have a leader like you do in a marching or concert band, so you have to stay on your toes! We have a bass player, a lead guitar, and acoustic, and a piano player, and a drummer, with four female and one male vocalist. We actualy have two piano players, one for old hymnal songs and one for modern praise and worship. The people of the church really appreciate having a horn player in the band, but i'm praying for the day when we can add a trumpet and trombone to the group.

I play 2-3 times a month at my church - mostly soprano or C-Melody, occasionally alto and tenor. We have a pretty lively ensemble - a fair amount of what I'd call exotic and contemporary music for being a Catholic church. My wife says we give the Baptists a run for their money. We have a choir (10-25 people depending on how bad the flu is going around), piano, organ, 1-2 synths, 1-2 drummers/percussionists, 2-3 guitars, acoustic/electric bass, 1 trumpet and 1-2 saxophones. Soprano is great if there is a fanfare or intro suitable for trumpet. It is also great to add some rich harmony at the lower end of the horn. If you are not already familiar with transposing, you might want to get used to it. Some of the music - a lot of it original - will have a Bb part included. Otherwise, you'll be spending time either playing by ear or playing off octavos or piano sheet music and you'll have to transpose on the fly, which is fairly easy to get used to from Bb to C as it's one whole step. Take some time to find your place in the group if you are given the opportunity to play. The director may want you out front as a soloist or they may just want you to fill-in and harmonize. Hopefully, you'll be asked to do both, right? Better to blend and complement the group initially before sticking your head too far out or they might decide that the sax "just isn't for them". As the ensemble at your church doesn't seem to have any lead instrument, you could be a very welcome addition. Good Luck!

I concur with saxmaniac's response. It all "play by ear" for me. Sometimes it frustrating becuase it can be difficult to find where to fit in. I recently started playing tenor in my church's Men's Choir. I really enjoy this. Although I'm an alto player by trade I decided this was a great opportunity to dust off the tenor that I bought off of ebay a few years ago. The tenor blends in great with the male voices. I plan to buy a new alto soon and as well as a nice used soprano. One thing for sure....everyone loves the sax... and they want to hear you...don't be suprised if someone request a solo... Be prepared to be miked at all times. Good luck.