Every student is different, and will require a specialized teaching method for them; however there are some universal concepts that work as good building blocks. The following is a general outline of concepts I will be teaching to mold the ultimate saxophone ninja.

           

           The first step in developing a young saxophonist is developing their tonal maturity. This can be accomplished in many ways. The first step is identifying who the young saxophonist wants to sound like.  Listening is an essential step, not only for developing ones own sound, but also developing a level of artistry and musicianship. When learning a piece I will always provide listening material or other professional saxophonists, and I highly encourage independent listening as students try and find their unique sound.

           

           The next step in developing sound would be to address the issue of proper embouchure and voicing. Each student must develop the muscles of their embouchure and be sure that all four corners of the mouth are creating a proper seal of the mouthpiece. This can be practiced but saying the syllable "uh", taking note of how the corners of the mouth are pulled forward and slightly down. Its also important early on to play on the mouthpiece trying to produce an A concert. If the students are applying too much pressure on the reed the pitch will be much higher, and too little pressure sound wont come out or the pitch will be too low.  The next step is proper voicing. Once again students will be asked to play only on the mouthpiece and produce an A concert. From there the student will learn how to bend the pitch back and forth. After this is mastered the student will be introduced to the Overtone Series.

           

           Long tones are the next step in developing tone. Long tones are great for developing air support and learning how much air the instrument needs to sustain a clear beautiful tone. Once the students can sustain the pitches without waiver; the next step would be to add dynamic inflections and vibrato.

           

            Something unique that I have learned that really helps to develop tone is to transcribe vocal arias. Transcribing these arias helps a few key musical concepts. The main goal of doing this is to closely mimic the human voice. The saxophone is one of the more vocal instruments so mimicking the human voice is an effective musical tool. Performing these arias will also help the student learn how to spin the vibrato with ease as well as teach a whole new level of artistry. Transcribing also helps train the ear.

           

            Along with tone, articulation is another saxophone fundamental that is essential for the developing saxophonist. For articulation there a few exercises I have found useful. Lagenus has a few  articulation exercises which students will become familiar with. The 0 attack is another exercise which teaches the student how the reed reacts to the tongue touching the reed. Once students become familiar with their scales Burst 5s and Burst 9s are fun exercises. For these exercises the student would articulate a note of the major scale, either 5 times or 9 times, and then tongue up the scale. For the Burst 5’s the student would ascend 5 pitches, and 9 pitches for the burst 9s.

           

            Scales are an important study when developing a student’s technique. Students will be learning the following scales: Major, Miner, Thirds, Fourths, Fifths, Whole Tone, Whole Tone Thirds, Diminished, Arpeggios, Altissimo Scales (for extremely advanced students) and Chromatic.  All scales will eventually be able to be performed at a minimum of 120 beats per minute and be played full range.

           

              Études play a major role in developing a student’s technique, musicality, and sight reading. Through learning etudes the student’s ability to perform their repertoire and band music becomes easier and they will learn music faster. All students will start on Melodious and Progressive Studies by Davide Hite. and will quickly advance to the Ferling Book. The more advanced students will begin to perform out of books wriiten by: Bozza, Londeix, Mule, and Lacour. Études will be learned weekly.

           

              As important as etudes, is the learning and study of repertoire. Learning repertoire provides unique learning opportunities that the students may not encounter in band music.  Through the repertoire, the students will be challenged on much higher levels both technically and musically, which will make them better soloists within ensembles. Along with performing the pieces, the students will be expected to know the composer and history of the piece. I believe that it is not enough to perform the notes on the page, but be able to understand the significance of the piece and attempt to perform it as close to the composer’s original intent.

           

              Along with all of these aspects of teaching, the most important lessons that will be taught is how to properly practice. I believe the most important aspect of lessons  is to teach our students to be their own teacher, since the majority of their practice I will not be there.  The teacher can only do so much; the true measure of a student’s progress is effective practicing every day.