A reminder of the upcoming recital on December 2nd. I’ve talked to those of you who are ready about plans for the recital, so remember to focus your energies on that material! It’ll be our focus for the next few weeks.

Ryan

Continue I Want To Talk About You, experimenting with chord-based embellishments and solidifying the melody in your memory. Practice the chords on the page in the order of the song, following the voices of each note in the chords as they descend. How does the melody relate to the chords on the page? Our listening links:

  • John Coltrane Quartet – Lots of embellishment and additions! Listen, and see if you can imitate. How do they relate to the chords on your page?
  • Ella Fitzgerald – learn the simplest form of the melody from this version. Try to internalize the lyrics – this will help you a lot when delivering the melody on the saxophone.

Camille

  1. Continue Eb major scale, building up to 110-120 bpm with a metronome. Aim for consistency in your technique, and isolate the tricky note switches, practicing them slower on their own.
  2. Continue G blues arpeggios (G, C, D). Memorize this week, and we’ll work on using them with Sonnymoon for Two.
  3. Practice When the Saints go Marching In along to this recording: https: //www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ks1Dpjnkovg. Also take a listen to Louis Armstrong’s version (this is in a different key, so you won’t be able to play along).
    • Practice playing the bassline rhythm, melody and improvising in the key.
    • Listen to how the instrumentalists improvise on the recording: They often play with the melody, hinting at it without playing it outright.
  4. Elementary Method: Lesson 27 #2

Eliott

  1. Warmup on neck – take deep belly breaths and aim for a longest, most consistent tone you can make with no embouchure change.
  2. Continue chromatic scale at 100-200 bpm, ascending and descending
  3. Continue étude on page – aim to connect the notes legato
  4. Elementary Method: Lesson 4 #2, 3, 4, 9.
    • Read through all etudes every practice session to work on improving sight reading

Ezra

  1. Play with the deepest breaths you can, filling up deep into your belly. Remember, all good inhales start with a complete exhale!
  2. Continue work from Galper Book. Connect the notes smoothly as much as you can!