Beginner Best Single Bit Of Advice For A Beginner

DeeGee · Mar 3, 2015

There's plenty of good advice on the go but I wonder if you could only give one specific tip or piece of advice to a beginner, what would it be? Conversely, what's the best single piece of advice you were given as a learner?

Greg Strange · Mar 3, 2015

DeeGee said:
There's plenty of good advice on the go but I wonder if you could only give one specific tip or piece of advice to a beginner, what would it be? Conversely, what's the best single piece of advice you were given as a learner?

Practice on a regular basis.

Greg S.

Andrew Sanders · Mar 3, 2015

Blow the thin end and wiggle your fingers a bit (sic).

Jay · Mar 3, 2015

Well, I'm still a beginner. So good advice from my teacher:

'Practice little and often - and it's a journey not a destination, enjoy the process'.

fibracell · Mar 3, 2015

accept that it will take time and effort - try to record yourself and monitor the improvement over the months and years. you'll be amazed when you look back.

try to play with other people as much as you can.

do mouthpiece exercise and overtones.

learn you saxophone geography - that is know where you chord tones are, and related scales.

listen to blues and jazz (if that's what you're into) and transcribe the odd lick or phrase. that you like.

and practise regularly - but take 1 day off a week, and do something different.

jbtsax · Mar 3, 2015

Wow. What a great question. My suggestion would be to put "tone production" ahead of everything else. My approach as a beginning band teacher for 32 years was to have students work on their "tone producer"* until they could play a big, clear, beautiful sound before they ever touched the assembled instrument in class. This involved learning the correct breathing, breath support, posture, and embouchure.

Once they got the required sound on the "tone producer" then they were allowed to move on and "amplify" that sound through the entire instrument. We would then start with a big beautiful sound on just one note on the instrument, and then add one note at a time until a scale could be played with that beautiful sound. Once a scale was mastered, then tunes could be played using the notes of that scale. If ever the tone quality started to suffer, it was back to the "tone producer" for that individual player to brush up on the tone production fundamentals.

Most other beginning band teachers would go through 2 or 3 band books in the time it took my classes to go through 1, but the difference in the tone quality of the groups by the end of the year was obvious . My philosophy has always been, "What good is it to be able to play lots of fast notes if those notes don't sound good"? The speed and technique will come eventually with practice, and the notes will sound like "music" when they do.

*sax - mouthpiece and neck
*clarinet - mouthpiece and barrel
*flute - headjoint
*brass - mouthpiece

Jeanette · Mar 3, 2015

Best piece of advice I received was to take one day off a week which has already been mentioned. If nothing else it gives your brain time to absorb all the new stuff you have learnt in the past week. So I suppose I should pass that on but I would like to add be patient with yourself it isn't a race, enjoy the journey 🙂

Jx

jonf · Mar 3, 2015

Jay said:
Well, I'm still a beginner. So good advice from my teacher:

'Practice little and often - and it's a journey not a destination, enjoy the process'.

That just hits the nail right on the head. I've been playing for well over thirty years and that still rings true.

Pauline · Mar 3, 2015

Find a band that welcomes beginners. You can learn a lot playing with others and it's fun and motivating.

kevgermany · Mar 3, 2015

Go to your doc and get inoculated against gas.

Seriously, record yourself now and again. When you get the feeling you're not making progress, listen to the old recordings and see how far you've progressed.

Colin the Bear · Mar 4, 2015

Practice every day.

fibracell · Mar 4, 2015

Colin the Bear said:
Practice every day.

but with total focus on precision and accuracy. Practise in shorter stints with breaks to maintain discipline and concentration. Practise scales and such, like you're giving a public performance.

In reality, a lot harder to do though....

Nick Wyver · Mar 4, 2015

Don't give up.

Lizengar · Mar 4, 2015

My teacher told me..."don't spend money on another mouthpiece until you can play properly".

I thought that was great advice. People think it is the instrument but it really is the player.

altissimo · Mar 4, 2015

keep at it, you'll have good days and bad days, don't get disheartened and enjoy the experience as much as you can

Matabayahsi · Mar 4, 2015

I probably am also on the receiver side of this advice thing but I would say it is quite important to play actual songs sometimes rather than only improvising or practising scales all day, it is fun and very beneficial at least it is for me.
Playing other songs improves your ability to improvise.