Saxophone beginners I can't count

[kevgermany]

Most northern Europeans and North Americans are brought up in a pretty rhythmically challenged environment. Our brains are culturally more attuned to melody.

i recommend Louis Belleson's Rhythmic exercise book. Dont play your instrument just sing whistle, moo (or any other noise you choose) your way through each exercise. 15 minutes a day starting at the beginning and dont move on to the next one until you have the one you are working on perfected. Set your metronme to 120 with strong beats on 1 and 3 weak beats on two and four. Each strong beat is quarter note (or other divison as set in time signature) and each weak beat is the and. So counting would be 1-&2-&3-&4-&. Etc.

if done diligently you will find major changes in a month or so. Work it through to the end and you will have basically mastered 4/4 and 3/4 rhythm.

Was looking for this. Do you mean Louis Bellson? Amazon also have a few things from Louie Bellson, but appears to be the same person.

Couldn't find rhythmic exercises, maybe you can give us a few more details. Ta.

 

[Jazzaferri]

Sorry Kev

spent most of last night in hospital and brain is a bit slow today

Louis Bellson
Modern Reading Text in 4/4 is the book to start with. We use it here at our Conservatory for musicianship courses.

published by Henry Adler Publications

 

[Jeanette]

Sorry Kev

spent most of last night in hospital and brain is a bit slow today

Louis Bellson
Modern Reading Text in 4/4 is the book to start with. We use it here at our Conservatory for musicianship courses.

published by Henry Adler Publications

Thank you,my tutor has had me buy selected duets for saxophone by Rubank. As we will be playing different parts I will have to count but will give this a go too.

Jx

 

[Jazzaferri]

Jeanette, i am a bit confused by your post....could be my brain...LOL

this is something you do on our own. The notes are all the same pitch. It is meant for rhythmic training only. Notes are all the same Bass clef E. can work in a small class but needs a skilled techer to do that. Best by oneself.

 

[Jeanette]

Jeanette, i am a bit confused by your post....could be my brain...LOL

this is something you do on our own. The notes are all the same pitch. It is meant for rhythmic training only. Notes are all the same Bass clef E. can work in a small class but needs a skilled techer to do that. Best by oneself.

Sorry didn't mean to confuse. I just meant to let people know what one of my tutor's solutions was. I understand the book you recommended was to be used on my own, though I guess if I struggle he can help me with it.🙂


Jx

 

[Tenor Viol]

Additional thoughts. I realised it was unhelpful to not make some suggestions. Here are a couple of inexpensive options. Either buy or borrow through the library something like the vocal scores for Fauré Requiem (pub. by either OUP or Novello - cost about £5) or perhaps Handel's Messiah (New Novello Choral Edition ed. by Watkins Shaw - less than £10).

You can follow the orchestral accompaniment in the piano reduction and you have the vocal lines to follow as well.

 

[kevgermany]

Sorry Kev

spent most of last night in hospital and brain is a bit slow today

Louis Bellson
Modern Reading Text in 4/4 is the book to start with. We use it here at our Conservatory for musicianship courses.

published by Henry Adler Publications

Thanks, hope it wasn't anything serious.

I saw that one. But the 4/4 put me off when you said working at it would get both 4/4 and 3/4.

Hope you're well soon.

 

[Colin the Bear]

Go dancing. And listen to some Basie. Both the same time would be great lol

 

[Jazzaferri]

For those who might appreciate....using the Bellson book in class with students using moos ....was hard to get through a whole page without breaking down nto laughter. By the way rests should be done quietly with another sound...we use the gentle escaping of held breath (...uhhhh) and each sound must be held for the proper duration.

Once the book gets into 16ths then using the metronome in 16ths with strong on 1 weak on two mid on 3 and weak on 4 with each 1 representing 1 quarter note (crochet) helps to get the syncopations. Tat along with the one for odd time signatures covers it all.

For a beginner in reading at 15 minutes a day waorking diligently I would guess at a year or more to go though it two to master it.

dancing will help feel and such and is very useful but nothing beats a logical progression of syncopations that require nothing other than focus on rhythm. Mooooo moo moo-moo

 

[Profusia]

Its great to know that I'm not the only person that finds sight reading syncopated passages a bit of a handful!

By the way Jeanette, have you seen how many views this thread has had?!? Must have struck a chord somewhere. That's an awful lot of people who now think you're a terrible accountant ;}

 

[Jeanette]

Its great to know that I'm not the only person that finds sight reading syncopated passages a bit of a handful!

By the way Jeanette, have you seen how many views this thread has had?!? Must have struck a chord somewhere. That's an awful lot of people who now think you're a terrible accountant ;}

Lol I'm pretty quick on a calculator though🙂

Jx

 

[ArtyLady]

One of the best ways I find to teach people is by writing in underneath the notes (say in 4/4) 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + or and if there are semi-quavers then 1 e + a 2 e + a 3 e + a 4 e + a, they then speak these out loud while they clap on the notes so they can hear the actual rhythm, takes a while to get used to but works. hope that helps

 

[jbtsax]

Along the same lines as what Arty Lady suggested, there is a system of counting called breath impulse that some band directors in the U.S. teach to their students. It is based on the simple concept of "feeling" the underlying subdivision contained inside each note (and rest) to measure its length.

A whole note (semi breve) would be played tu oo oo oo oo oo oo oo
A half note (minim) would be played tu oo oo oo
A dotted half note (minim) would be played tu oo oo oo oo oo
A quarter note (crotchet) would be played tu oo
A dotted quarter note (crotchet) would be played tu oo oo

A similar system can be used to vocalize the value of rests
A quarter note (crotchet) followed by three counts of rest would be tu oo uh uh uh uh uh uh
A syncopation followed by two counts of rest would be tu tu oo tu uh uh uh uh

The breath pulse in the sound is similar to learning a breath (diaphragm) vibrato. Once the system is incorporated into one's playing and counting then it is done mentally so that the pulses are felt, but not heard.

Two sayings that stand out in my rhythmical musical training are these:

- "If you can say it, you can play it".
- "The last thing you want to do in a rest is rest".

 

[Tenor Viol]

A rest is as much a part of the music as a note and you should 'play through' the rest as part of the tune - that's a way of saying the phrase shouldn't get chopped up by the rest.

 

[Colin the Bear]

As in "give it a rest"?

 

[Jazzaferri]

We all need to keep the rest close...the music isn't found in the notes....it's found in the spaces between the notes.

 

[Profusia]

We all need to keep the rest close...the music isn't found in the notes....it's found in the spaces between the notes.

Tell that to Rimsky-Korsakov ;}

 

[kevgermany]

We all need to keep the rest close...the music isn't found in the notes....it's found in the spaces between the notes.

It's probably why I'm not a Charlie Parker fan - too many notes and nothing else

 

[old git]

We all need to keep the rest close...the music isn't found in the notes....it's found in the spaces between the notes.

As illustrated by Four Minutes Thirty-three?

 

[Tenor Viol]

It's probably why I'm not a Charlie Parker fan - too many notes and nothing else

I'm with you on this one - I'm not a fan of what seems to me (personal view) to be 'empty' virtuosity. You see it with some modern classical musicians too - blistering technical proficiency but it's soulless and does nothing for me.