Absolute Beginners: Alto Saxophone: The Complete Picture Guide to Playing Alto Sax (Includes Play-along CD, Featuring Professional Backing Tracks) Sheet music – October 1, 1999

Excellent beginners book. Just as the name of the the book "Absolute Beginners." I've learned a lot with this book. The CD that comes with it is great. You get to listen to the song and practice it as well on your own which i think is great. It also teaches you how to read musical notes and if you forget some notes and where they go in your fingers, it also has a page with all of them with pictures to help remember (it has been pretty useful to me). So if you are planning on learning how to play Sax, you definitely should get this book, you won't regret it.

I bought this with several other highly recommended books including "Art of Saxophone Playing" by Larry Teal (also great!). I found this beginners book essential once I actually start to play the sax. It is very clear and practical. It has the best photos of finger positions for specific notes... much better than other books.You will be glad (like me) to have it right there when you first start to blow notes from your sax...That's the highest recommendation I can give!

The Saxophone is a very difficult instrument to master! However, using the Absolute beginners alto saxophone book and CD I am playing three notes after one hour's practice.The CD is nice but due to the tracks being only about two seconds a piece, by the time I have pressed play on my CD player remote and got my hand and finger positions back on the instrument, the track has advanced two or three tracks! Then I first have to stop, rewind, pause, get one hand in position, press play, put CD remote down and find other hand position - see the problem?Maybe they should sell a foot controlled CD player with the CD? Just joking :)I would strongly recommend that they add an announcement on the CD, for instance: "Track 2: finger position L1 & L2 play note A" then play the note and keep it playing for 10 seconds. Just a thought.

Great guide and instructions on learning as I myself am a beginner in the alto sax, I find the book very helpful as I use it very frequently to practice. The CD that is included is also very helpful due to how you can hear what the notes or songs are supposed to sound like. A nice feature is that the CD also includes some background music so if you're speakers are loud enough, it can stimulate a real life band playing alongside you.

This book was recommended to me by a friend who plays sax professionally. My husband, who has never studied music, is thrilled with it. I find that this book progresses at a great pace for the beginner & gives excellent, easy to comprehend lessons in music theory. And the cd is a fantastic addition. Highly recommend!

I'd never played any musical instrument or learned how to read music. I love listening to all kinds of jazz and so decided in late middle age to try the alto sax. This book / CD provides a great starter kit. It's no substitute for having a good teacher, but it does show you all the basics, clearly and informatively, and it's fun. I still use it from time to time as a refresher.

Not what I expected, I have found much better book's than this one, it's just okay for a beginner. I kept looking for a better book.

A good book for a student or adult who wants to learn to play the Saxophone. The photos and diagrams are large allowing the beginner to know exactly where to place the fingers, how to put the mouthpiece together, and how to hold it. The fingering charts include diagrams plus photos of the fingers on the keys. Musical tunes are also included.