Hey everyone, here is the homework for this week:

Aubrey:

  • Start off your practice sessions as you were before, with a chromatic scale with the metronome on 60-70, holding each note for four beats.
  • Review your C, F and G major scales and arpeggios w/ metronome, tongued going up and slurred going down.
  • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ve3uJxMiIDw Here’s a nice version of “Everything Happens to Me” to check out, with a clarinet solo near the end nonetheless! Listen to her “phrasing” of the melody (ie. how she sings the eighth notes with a relaxed, non-rigid feel)
  • Work through “Everything Happens to Me” up to the second ending (this includes the first ending as well). Take it bar by bar, and practice with a metronome after you get a bit more comfortable with the notes.

Susan:

  • Keep working through all of your major scales – you know the drill at this point! Remember to start keeping track of metronome markings, and strive to move each scale along a few BPM every couple of weeks.
  • If you get a chance, try out the different mouthpieces we discussed. Things to remember: there may be a lot of variance between different mouthpieces of the same model (eg. two 5RV Lyres could sound/feel very different from one another); try each mouthpiece with a variety of reeds; play different mouthpieces back-to-back and compare how they feel/sound.
  • Keep working on the page we were on in the Galper book. Focus on speeding up the exercises. When you’re tired of these, pick some new, challenging exercises.

Thomas:

  • I mentioned it to Thomas, but if you could pick up “Rubank Elementary Method for Saxophone” from Long & McQuade that would be great! It’s a great beginner sax method book, and a good starting point for our lessons.
  • Thomas should still be starting his practice sessions with his chromatic scale. It starts on C# and we go down to low C. Each note should be held for 4 beats, or as long as possible, with the metronome at 70.
  • After this, Thomas should be working on his C major scale with the metronome as well. He should play the scale going down first, then up, focusing on getting a full sound with the lower notes like we’ve talked about.