A Note on Homework in my Lessons

Generally, the homework I give you will be divided into three parts: 1. longtones, 2. technique (scales, arpeggios, etc.) and 3. repertoire (pieces of music). Right now, you should spend about the same amount of time on each. Getting into the habit of practicing daily is much more important than trying to sit down for an hour at a time every few days and force the music out. At this point I would suggest sitting down for 15-20 minutes for the 6 days you don’t see me in a lesson and playing through the homework material once or twice, focusing on the parts that are hard for you. If you are able to put in more time, great! If you are busy and have to put in less time, try to focus on one thing for the short time that you have instead of jumping between all three items.

Anthony

Good work this week. Here are the goals we talked about for the year:
– Get better tone on the saxophone
– Learn major scales
– Perform at the recital
– Learn 2-3 pop songs in the first semester

Here are some things to look at this week:

  1. Descending longtones (G, F, E, D, C in low octave). Open up your throat and loosen your embouchure when playing low notes! Remember, we want to play with zero tension.
  2. C major scale – one octave ascending from middle C, one octave descending from middle C
  3. Rubank lessons 5 and 6 – starred items. Remember to use ‘bis’ Bb on lesson 6! Don’t tilt your left wrist up in order to hit both B and Bb keys – instead, hit both with the tip of your finger.