How much does it cost to learn how to play the saxophone?

Like any other musical instrument, the saxophone will cost you for the initial purchase. You can get very cheap beginner saxophones on the internet all made in China. A few of them like Jean Paul and a few others which are new about 400.00 to 600.00 are of a decent quality.

I would recommend starting on an Alto Sax (because it’s the easiest of the saxophones to learn) but I would beware of buying any saxophone under 300.00. All of these are made of inferior metals and poorly constructed. They would be OK if you only want to dabble for a year or so but if you bump them or drop them, many repairmen are unable to repair them properly due to poor quality construction, very soft white metal in the brass, plus the inability to locate any parts that may need replacing.

I recommend buying a used Yamaha YAS 23 in mint condition. If you are patient you can find one on eBay or Buy & Sell Music Gear Online in almost new condition for 500.00 to 750.00. I own 4 of them and I rent them to my beginner saxophone students for 35.00 per month. Most music stores are renting saxophones (and rarely a Yamaha) for 40.00 to 80.00 per month so you’ll have to be careful of the quality of the saxophone they are renting to you. Many of them are in poor condition. I know because I’ve been teaching saxophone for 40 years and many of my students have rented unplayable instruments, which is why I started buying them to rent myself.

The Yamaha YAS 23 is no longer made new by the Yamaha company. They used to be all made in Japan, the new Yamaha saxophones are made in China to compete in price with the rest of the beginner saxophones, so it is also a much cheaper version of the YAS 23.

Also, be careful of counterfeit Selmer saxophones. https://www.selmer.fr/media/FAQ/counterfeit_panpipes.pdf

In addition to the cost of the instrument itself, lessons are an average cost of 35.00 per half hour private saxophone lesson and 60.00 for an hour lesson. The amount of lessons depends on the speed you’re able to learn. In general, it usually takes at least a year of lessons in order to get to a respectable level where you really feel like you can really have fun. At that point you should be able to play at least some simple pop songs and easy sheet music with a decent sound.