In the last couple of articles I’ve told you about my journey from out of shape to gig ready, but there’s one bit I didn’t tell you about. In case you missed the start to this story, you can read it here Actually, this probably isn’t new to many of you but it is worth mentioning. In my first gig back after my holiday I had to do a combination of playing by ear and reading written parts. The band were kind enough to send me some music in advance (which often doesn’t happen), so of course I had a look at it. But bear in mind I was carefully building up my embouchure strength, I didn’t want to ..read more

There I was, just a few days until a run of gigs started and I was, post holiday, out of practice! (In case you missed the start to this story, you can read it here) As I said in my last article, the practice I did to get in shape was done through the prism of focussing on a good embouchure and being relaxed with good posture. But what did I actually practice? Well, the first thing to say is, that I knew I wouldn’t get back into top shape in just a few days - that would take much longer. So, I had two main short term goals: To be able to play for long enough. The first gig was x2 45 minute s ..read more

It’s been a busy summer… I managed to get away camping on the North Norfolk coast here in the UK, which was beautiful - as you can see in the picture below I had a load of gigs pretty soon after returning from holiday, so I had my alto all packed up and ready to take away with me to practice still and be ready to “hit the ground running” when we got back. But… …to be honest, leaving for the camping trip was more stressful than it should have been and my alto got left in my work room! By the time I realised, it was too late to go back - arrgghh! I did have a good rest, but I was pretty ..read more

I've just had a great practice session, working at mouthpiece, tuning and timing. After mouthpiece and tuning, I was practising various chromatic exercises with my metronome...but my embouchure was tired and about to give out. So, to extend my practice time I did this: Every exercise I played, I first practised it without blowing - a lot (so, I only played the finger positions). I practised it until I couldn't get it wrong, so that my fingers were dancing on the keys. In this process I was thinking about the saxophone as a percussion instrument. I found that removing the process of blowing an ..read more

I was asked a great question recently about how to tackle a difficult phrase in a fast piece. Obviously, what constitutes "difficult" and "fast" will vary depending on where you are with your playing. But whatever level you're at, I'm sure that the method outlined in my answer will help you out... Question: Playing difficult phrases in fast pieces. I have a piece at the moment which no matter how I try, I just can’t get my fingers to move quickly enough to hit all the right notes!! Any tips? And here's my answer: Good question. There are a few answers... The first, is to say to just keep tryi ..read more

In an email to my SAXOPHONE Studies members this week, I sent out some scales for them to practice to help with a new video and piece of sheet music that was being released. Soon after sending it I realised that I had I made a mistake! I realised because one of my diligent students thought that what I had written looked wrong, so he got in touch. I wrote that the E natural minor scale has a C# in it...well, it doesn't! It is C natural. This is the E natural minor scale: E F# G A B C D E I knew this, it was just a mistake - I guess I wasn't thorough enough in my proof reading. This then sparke ..read more

I was asked a question by a new pupil today about how to create a major scale. I thought it'd be useful to share the answer with everyone in the SAXOPHONE Studies community... Every major scale is created by following the same pattern of intervals. It doesn't matter which note you start on as your root note, you have to follow this specific pattern of intervals for it to be a major scale. This is the interval pattern to create an ascending major scale: root note tone tone semi-tone tone tone tone semi-tone Every major scale follows the musical alphabet, which runs from A to G. e.g. A B C D ..read more

Here's the 4th record to add to my list of top 10 albums. And just to remind you, this is my top 10 albums that have influenced me and my music so far. In case you missed the first 3, you can read about them here Top 10 Album #1 Top 10 Album #2 Top 10 Album #3 My 4th selection is: Delivery Suite - Andy Sheppard Here's a link to it on Spotify I can't find the full album on YouTube, so here's a link to his discography on his website. Andy Sheppard, where to start! Andy has been one of the big influences on me musically. He has recorded so many great albums with many different vibes to them ..read more

Here's the 3rd record to add to my list of top 10 albums. And just to remind you, this is my top 10 albums that have influenced me and my music so far. In case you missed the first 2, you can read about them here Top 10 Album #1 Top 10 Album #2 My 3rd selection is: Jazz Samba - Stan Getz & Charlie Byrd Here's a link to it on YouTube And Here's a link to it on Spotify I first heard this album in my mid-teens when I was still very new to the saxophone, and to jazz. I was instantly mesmerised by Stan Getz's sound; it is so mellow and buttery - that's how I think of it anyway! Also, his p ..read more

Here's the 2nd record to add to my list of top 10 albums. And just to remind you, this is my top 10 albums that have influenced me and my music so far. In case you missed #1, you can read about that here in this blog post. My 2nd selection is: Coleman Hawkins Encounters Ben Webster Here's a link to it on YouTube And here's a link to it on Spotify I first heard this not long after starting to play the saxophone and the sound of these two tenor Giants absolutely blew me away - I was utterly enthralled! I remember it was the Summertime and I used to listen to this album for hours late in to the ..read more