I have done both.
When asked to play tenor, I am required to play up in the altissimo register a bunch in order to make an impact. The beauty of the tenor sax is the magnitude and attitude you can put into the overall sound. You just have to have REALLY good chops and EXCEPTIONALLY good altissimo chops.
The other thing that is nice about the tenor is that you are in Bb. That means that you are playing in a slightly simpler key than that of the alto.
My preference, as mentioned in prior posts: The alto.
Why? You are already higher pitched and can play fairly expressive counterpoint melodies without actually having to venture into the altissimo register much at all. Now, if you can play there... WOW is all I can say. It adds mucho energy if you learn not to overdo it. The alto generates a sizzle. Your good notes are heard well... The down side is that so are your bad notes, so practice, practice, practice. Expect to play in some wicked keys if you are playing with a choir. C#, F#, Ab, Eb, etc... practice those scales in with the scales that you normally practice everyday. Play them FULL RANGE. (See below for and example).
Peace,
Wolfram
Full range scales: Why? Because music demands that you know how to play ALL of your horn.
Here is a Eb scale, full range:
going up - start on the lowest Eb, F, G, Ab, Bb, C, D, Eb, F, G, Ab, Bb, C, D, Eb, F, (Top of horn)
Coming down: High F, Eb, D, C, Bb, Ab, G, F, Eb, D, C, Bb, Ab, G, F, Eb, D, C, Bb, start back up C, D, Eb
So, you play every available note in that scale all the way to the top of your horn, back to the bottom of your horn and then end on the scale's namesake. Start practicing this with all your scales in eight notes at about a quarter note = 60 bpm. Increase you speed when you can play ALL twelve major scales at this speed.
Best of luck!!!
Wolfram
