Saxophone or Clarinet

Clarinet can be more Yiddish sounding.

viola obviously

I’m not sure I understand the connection of the clarinet being more Yiddish sounding and you wanting the play the sax, but I will say that the sax is a much heavier instrument, so it would depend on your physical makeup. If you are bigger and stronger, then you could play the sax, but if you are smaller and not as strong, then I would go for the clarinet.

But still, if you’re a frum girl, why wouldn’t you want to go with a more “feminine” instrument, just to buck the system?

BTW, the viola is a string instrument just a bit bigger than the violin.

On a more serioso notation, a clarinet has more room for expression of feeling.

I’d think the oppisite is the case as a sax is often played as a lead instrument while the clarinet is often a supporting instrument. (That’s just my perception, which may or may not be true.)

I think the choice may depend upon several factors.

1) personal or professional

Are you looking to play in a band or is this a hobby/pastime?

If in a band, you need to check what’s needed so as not to train unnecessarily.

2) do you have space to practice? The instruments may be fairly compact, but a saxophone can be too loud to practice with if you live in a building.

3) where do you envision playing the instrument? If you want something very portable, a clarinet might be more practical, as you can carry it everywhere and play it almost anywhere (not so a saxophone).

There are probably two “regular” saxes the bflat Alto and the Tenor, the Alto is smaller, but definitely a little bit bigger and heavier than a clarinet, it has the same fingering as the flute btw not as easy to switch to clarinet as mentioned above.

Have you ever heard of the definition of a gentleman?

Someone who knows how to play the saxophone, but doesn’t.

I vote for the clarinet…

Both, if you learn clarinet first you have an easier time with sax afterward its harder to blow a clarinet.

If you must choose one, I would go with the sax its got a much richer/fuller sound as compared to the clarinet which is a higher pitched somewhat skweaky sound.

The clarinet is only a higher pitched somewhat skweaky sound when the high notes are played (kind of like a soprano sax). The clarinet’s lower notes are rich and sonorous, and the bass clarinet is a warm, unassuming instrument (very suitable for bnei Torah, LOL).

The clarinet is much more versatile (as was mentioned) – klezmer, orchestral, jazz, wind band, woodwind quintet…

There aren’t many orchestral pieces written with sax parts, for example Night on Bald Mountain and Lt. Kije Suite, which are very nice pieces, but the clarinet repertoire is much richer. And no, I don’t play clarinet, or sax.