Soprano saxophone is awesome! It's fun to play and can sound warm, screamin' or crystalline. But, the soprano sax G# key pad is notoriously sticky. The Low C# is also prone to sticking.
Why do soprano sax keys stick so much?
- Soprano saxophone is played less often than other saxes so it has more time to rot in the case.
- The body tube is smaller allowing moisture to trap inside more easily. If you want perspective on how smaller bore makes for sticky keys, just talk to an oboe player.
- Soprano sax is a "doubler" horn that is often brought on stage, played aggressively for a few minutes, and then set back on the sax stand wet. That's a recipe for stick.
- Soprano sax is like most other saxes that suffer stuck Eb, G# and Low C# keys - those keys are closed on the tone hole vent to rot faster than open pads. More on this here.
- Always use a quality sax swab to clean your horn after playing. Always!
- Place a Key Leaves soprano key prop under the Low C# and Low Eb after you play. That opens the Eb, C# and G# pads to air dry (because G# and C# are linked). It only takes a few seconds but is proven to help prevent sticking.
- Store your sax at room temperatures whenever possible. This helps prevent big humidity changes that over time encourage metal corrosion and pad wear.
If the sax pad keeps sticking...
Find a trusted band instrument repair tech near you and follow their advice. All sax pads eventually wear out and a great tech can fix up your sax so you sound your best.