Saxophone beginners Bad Habits To Watch Out For As a Beginner

[kernewegor]

Jock Craig, my old teacher, once expressed curiosity that I was playing perfectly in time while tapping my foot in a completely unrelated rhythm. I explained that I hear percussion in my head. I still do. It's probably the band on my hat.

I am a crap reader, having always learned heads, though now working on it with reasonable determination. Odd that I never became a good music reader before, because I can read furiously in a couple of languages and reasonably in a couple more - I even learned to speed-read, and once read 'War and Peace' in twenty minutes - story about some Russians, apparently.

Being unable to take metronomes seriously.

Wondering why symphony players don't swing.

Trying - and failing - to play like Charlie Parker without taking the precaution of spending fifteen hours a day practicing for four years first. At least.

Trying hard - and failing - to make some of the remarkable sounds Eric Dolphy makes before allowing the cats to vacate the room.

Not buying a flute. And then not learning to play it like Eric Dolphy.

Not being excited by Coltrane's music. I'm never in the mode, I suppose...

Thinking that I can have another couple of drinks without affecting my playing, and then finding my lip refuses to work.

Not getting around to fixing up my alto and clarinet...

Singing out of tune, even though sense of pitch tests OK. No ambition that way, I s'pose...

Playing blues on the uilleann pipes - a bad habit, an Irish purist friend tells me.

Using my son's crowst box as a djembe while waiting for the bus.

 

[muzza]

Other than spending too much time reading this forum, I live unaware of most of my faults. However, one thing I am working on is getting my fingers under control and staying on or near the keys.

I have a bad habit of my octave key thumb moving from where it should be and fingers, especially from my right hand, flying off the keys when accenting a note or when finisning a fast run.

 

[Melissa]

Mine is reading, my ability reading the dots, I can read them, I know how they are supposed to sound and work, but then that's it, my head goes blank, like who put the lights out. I can however play the tune by ear as long as it is not manic like below, and nothing insanely fast- I still cannot get my head around some riffs, I would die to be able to play : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0u39sQtilk As is my genre that I love to play, but wait until 2.30 and what, I just can't get anywhere close.. I am still at St James infirmary speed! sob.. I feel so useless. That tune Crazy Rhythm gives me such a buzz!

Perhaps I should stick with ballads, Danny boy and such..

 

[BigMartin]

Mine is reading, my ability reading the dots, I can read them, I know how they are supposed to sound and work, but then that's it, my head goes blank, like who put the lights out. I can however play the tune by ear as long as it is not manic like below, and nothing insanely fast- I still cannot get my head around some riffs, I would die to be able to play : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0u39sQtilk As is my genre that I love to play, but wait until 2.30 and what, I just can't get anywhere close.. I am still at St James infirmary speed! sob.. I feel so useless. That tune Crazy Rhythm gives me such a buzz!

Perhaps I should stick with ballads, Danny boy and such..

Don't beat yourself up. Rhythm is hard. I seems like it ought to be simple but it really isn't. The key to playing fast is to play slow but accurate. If you don't already, use a metronome. It seems like a staitjacket at first but will set you free. You need to really know/feel where the beat is before you can start pulling it around.

 

[gladsaxisme]

Don't beat yourself up. Rhythm is hard. I seems like it ought to be simple but it really isn't. The key to playing fast is to play slow but accurate. If you don't already, use a metronome. It seems like a staitjacket at first but will set you free. You need to really know/feel where the beat is before you can start pulling it around.

Think I would need to watch how someone works with metronomes I've never been able to use one they just put me off,I'm so busy concentrating on the click click click I lose track of the actual playing ......John

 

[BigMartin]

Think I would need to watch how someone works with metronomes I've never been able to use one they just put me off,I'm so busy concentrating on the click click click I lose track of the actual playing ......John

Start with some thing simple (a C major scale? Happy Birthday?) and play it at a slow tempo. At first you'll be listening for the beat so you'll play a little late every time. Then you think you've got the hang of the pulse so you start anticipating. Sometimes you get it bang on sometimes you're a bit early and so on. When you 've got one tempo nailed you can set it a bit higher and so on.

I practise all my big band parts with the metronome. It's very revealing. You think you know how some thing should go, check it and find out how it really shoud go, and suddenly it's easier to play technically as well.

 

[MandyH]

Bad habits could include not getting your embouchure right, adjustment of your sling, biting the mouthpiece, not enough/ too much mouthpiece in the mouth, slouching, your posture, moving your fingers / hands / body too much so that it affects the instrument, blowing too hard / not hard enough, not using your diaphragm, breathing incorrectly.....
It's a long list, and a couple of sessions with a tutor will help ensure you avoid doing these things wrong.

 

[jimmylh]

One bad habit I have is the little finger of each hand moving all over the place when I'm playing. I'm not even aware of it while I play. My tutor pointed it out. Fingers not keeping in contact with the pearls are not efficient. He had me tie rubber bands on them to keep them down as a training exercise.

 

[kevgermany]

Biting your lips.

Only using one fingering for Bb.

Adjusting lip pressure for playing higher/lower notes (I was taught to do this, but most schools say don't)

Breathing from the chest, not diaphragm

 

[Colin the Bear]

To develop bad habits, first we must develop habits. My rule of thumb is... If it's hard something is wrong.

 

[ESJohn]

On a recent flight, our chief flight attendant went through the usual litany of the rules and then summed it up by saying 'do the dos and don't do the don'ts.' I've learned plenty here of some very specific "dos". Since I started without being taught by a professional, what are some of the "don'ts"? What habits should a beginner/intermediate player avoid?

 

[JayeNM]

1) Don't soak your reed in bourbon before playing.

(This is for intermediate-advanced players only....)

 

[Jeanette]

Good question, some thoughts:
Don't
1. Lift your fingers high off the keys
2. Bite the reed
3. Don't play with tension or bad posture
4. Keep messing about with different mouthpieces 🙂

Jx

 

[Wonko]

The most important do (in my experience):
"keep up the good work"

Meaning, whatever happens, keep at it. keep practicing every day (that you can).
some days it will feel as if you are regressing instead of progressing. never mind, just keep going......

 

[nigeld]

what are some of the "don'ts"? What habits should a beginner/intermediate player avoid?

- Practicing altissimo long tones on a soprano saxophone
- Wearing shades for an evening gig
- Buying lots of saxophones
- Listening to Coltrane records

 

[U CAN CALL ME AL]

Don’t eat, drink and blow.
Don’t attempt to fix something beyond your understanding.
Don’t ever pick up a case without checking the closures are secure.
Don’t ever tell the wife what you really paid for it.
Regards Al

 

[Nikki]

Don’t worry about what others think of your practicing . Just keep practicing
Don’t worry about what you look like while playing. Just keep playing.
Don’t compare yourself with others so much that you become discouraged
Don’t tell your husband what you really paid for your instrument ... lol

 

[s.mundi]

Important Doees:
Be impeccable with your word..
Practice selflessness..
Gently experience silence..
Look in the mirror and say "you are sexy"...

 

[jbtsax]

Here are a few of the "poor habits" I observed in my teaching over many years and how to correct them.

• Poor posture - sit upright and bring the saxophone to you, don't bend over to go to the saxophone
• Moving the jaw or chin while tonguing - move just the end of the tongue the smallest distance possible, practice looking in a mirror
• Raising the fingers too high from the keys - practice slowly and/or in front of a mirror focusing on this problem
• Inconsistent angle of the mouthpiece - adjust the neckstrap so the tip of the mp touches the curve of the chin, tilt head down a bit
• Inconsistent amount of mouthpiece in the mouth - you can tell by the "teeth tracks", use a thick mouthpiece patch with a groove in it
• Tapping the foot in a loud, exaggerated way - just tap the toe inside the shoe to keep the beat
• Taking shallow breaths - raise the rib cage, relax the shoulders, and expand the abdomen when you breathe
• Lifting the thumb on and off the octave key - rest the thumb on the thumb support and "rock" it forward to press the octave key
• Using different embouchure for different registers - play arpeggios 2 octaves up and down starting on low Bb and go up chromatically using same embouchure throughout.

Those are my serious answers. For those who haven't seen it yet, here is a list of my "tongue in cheek" suggestions for beginners. 🙂

10 Helpful Tips for Beginning Saxophone Students

1. Blow in the small end. It is important for two reasons, first you look much more “professional” to the teacher and other students and two it is far easier to get your lips around the small end.

2. Put the mouthpiece on with the reed facing down. A more satisfactory sound can be achieved when your top teeth are not on the reed, and if you hold the saxophone so that the lower lip contacts the reed, your arms will tend to get tired very quickly holding the saxophone above your head.

3. Have the left hand on top and the right hand on the bottom. It is quite possible to play some of the notes the opposite way, but like batting “cross handed” it doesn’t work as well and you could injure yourself playing fast runs.

4. Swallow what’s in your mouth BEFORE you blow. This is critically important. You paid good money for that candy bar or those chips. You don’t want them wasted stuck down inside your instrument.

5. When there is a substitute teacher day, always play a different instrument. The substitute will never know the difference, thinking the class always sounds like that, and you get a chance to try a lot of different instruments. Who knows, you might want to be a band teacher someday.

6. Be sure to tell your mom at 6 pm the night of the concert which starts at 7:30 that you need dark slacks and a white shirt. If you wait till after 6 to tell her it would be inconsiderate, and might result in you being the only one not dressed the same.

7. When you squeak in the rehearsal, turn and give your stand partner a dirty look. The director will think he did it, and your stand partner won’t know for sure.

8. When you break your only reed right before the concert, be sure to tell your director as you go onstage. He will appreciate you caring enough to let him know.

9. Play very softly in all of the practices and then really loud in the performance. Your mom and dad paid a lot of money to rent or buy that saxophone, you owe it to them to hear you in the concert over everyone else in the band.

10. Always stop playing immediately when the conductor stops waving his arms. This is true even if you are only part way through the song. It gives the director the false impression that he is in control of the music. This rule doesn’t apply the night of the concert when you are far too nervous to look up.

 

[MikeMorrell]

Good question. A lot of great do's and don'ts have already been suggested. And there is a lists of similar discussions in the 'similar threads' section at the bottom of the page.

I truly believe that it's much more helpful to ask 'what are the good habits beginners/intermediate players should strive to develop?" For each 'bad habit', there is an alternative 'good habit'. It's much easier (and more productive) to learn to do something good than it is to learn not to do something bad.
I really like @Jeanette's tips and - just as an example - I suggest turning these around into 'good habits' like:
1. Keep your fingers resting lightly on the keys that are not depressed.
2. Maintain a firm but relaxed embouchure
3. Loosen up any tension you feel in neck, shoulders, arms, hands, fingers before playing; maintain a good but relaxed body posture
4. If you have a good quality mouthpiece that's comfortable to play, stick with it and focus on developing your tone and playing skills

OK nr 4. is - I admit - a bit contrived, but you get the idea.

On a recent flight, our chief flight attendant went through the usual litany of the rules and then summed it up by saying 'do the dos and don't do the don'ts.' I've learned plenty here of some very specific "dos". Since I started without being taught by a professional, what are some of the "don'ts"? What habits should a beginner/intermediate player avoid?