Saxophone beginners Online courses???

[6441]

Bob Reynold's Virtual Studio

I took a look and it opens three times a year. Can you tell us about the pricing?

 

[GCinCT]

I took a look and it opens three times a year. Can you tell us about the pricing?

The cost is $39 US per month. There are no quarterly or yearly packages. You do have to wait for an opening and if you leave and want to come back, you have to wait again.

 

[6441]

The cost is $39 US per month. There are no quarterly or yearly packages. You do have to wait for an opening and if you leave and want to come back, you have to wait again.

I'd really like to come up with a table of prices and description of the main paid courses (not solo lessons), what resources are available, how the material or approach is customised, etc. One thing they all seem to share is that the prices are not immediately apparent.

Here's a list of sites with TTS as number one!

The 12 Best Websites to learn the Saxophone; Free & Paid. - The Home Recordings

There are more and more websites teaching online courses on almost any instrument you can think of, and online saxophone lessons are certainly a part of this trend. While I still believe that actual one-on-one lessons with a real teacher are far better than enrolling on an online course, the...

thehomerecordings.com

 

[mizmar]

I'd really like to come up with a table of prices and description of the main paid courses (not solo lessons), what resources are available, how the material or approach is customised, etc. One thing they all seem to share is that the prices are not immediately apparent.

I find these things quite hard to compare, cost wise. Some are a-z course, others are more lumpy or thematic. Some charge a one off fee for something while others charge "all you can eat" / month ... which raises the question; how much can one swallow per month? Which depends on where you're at, the level of the material; and how much time you want to devote to something. (though I'm sure its a better model for the provider!)
IMHO it's probably better to decide what you want to learn about (blues, improv, beetbox, ii-v-i etc.), decide who's sound and attitude suites you best... and trust to the "free market" that the prices will be fair.

 

[6441]

I find these things quite hard to compare, cost wise.

All that is true. ArtistWorks has a clear pricing page but have so many discounts, it will always be cheaper that what's posted. I can't remember if I paid for one month with McGill or took a short freebie. I think, as well as what you said above, two important factors:

1. How much personalisation can be involved? If you are not showing your work voa video and getting a reply, then it's all in a library of exercises, in which case, free YouTube has most of that, if you're willing to search.

2. How easy is it to jump in and out of a course, or at least to get a decent look before you sign up?

I meantioned elsewhere that I watched the Zoom call of the new Sax Loft school that's about to open. The announced price level was around $30/month, which is an average price. There are three players, but it's unclear to me how that matters in the course: will you chooose one (or will they choose you?) or will it be a mixture you need to sort through.

I've already written a lot elsewhere on this site a lot about why I think ArtistWorks with Eric Marienthal (or in fact, probably any instrument) is the best "bang for the buck".

 

[mizmar]

I've already written a lot elsewhere on this site a lot about why I think ArtistWorks with Eric Marienthal (or in fact, probably any instrument) is the best "bang for the buck".

... for what you need!

 

[6441]

... for what you need!

In principle, I agree, but in point of fact, I'm not sure what AW would be missing for anyone who wants to learn the saxophone. I'd love to hear what distinguishes the various courses from those who have subscribed to them. I can think of one major thing and that is if you want to learn to play like, say, Bob Reynolds, then it maybe makes the most sense to be in his course. Then there's the question of whether anyone, including me, knows what they need.

 

[Polibon]

I would say professional tuition is essential, either online or a teacher in your living room (COVID permitting). Once you get up and running, take a look at ZanySaxophone to help with your practicing. ZanySaxophone

I've been using ZanySaxophone to help with my scales for a few weeks and it helps to focus your timing and scales. There's a game on there too that helps with learning to read music and relate it to fingering.

 

[Polibon]

NewburySax.co.uk (aka Simon Currie) has really good online courses (for a bargain fiver a month!!) and he also does one-to-one sessions which are great value as he pushes you to develop new skills.

 

[Jimmymack]

Wally Wallace has started a year long course called the Saxophone Academy that aims to teach all the fundamentals of jazz at several levels, there are lots of associated videos which he adds to each month, scales, exercises, technique stuff, a blues and a more difficult etude each month as well as a workbook. You can take it at your own pace and it’s free.

He’s also a very droll fellow.

 

[mizmar]

Then there's the question of whether anyone, including me, knows what they need.

Need. Want. Want and so need... What ever it is, what does it for you is going to be quite different to what works for me; which'll be different again to some other, mature, learner.

 

[GarfieldCatUK]

I've been using ZanySaxophone to help with my scales for a few weeks and it helps to focus your timing and scales. There's a game on there too that helps with learning to read music and relate it to fingering.

Thanks for your feedback. I am putting together the features for the next version, so hopefully, ZanuSaxophone will evolve in line with your skills. If you have any suggestions please give me a shout. Cheers, Gary

 

[Gabe]

There are several really good suggestions in this thread already, but I would like to add one more you may want to look at. I have been a member of Bob Reynold's Virtual Studio for about a year and a half. It works really well for me and has helped my progress. It may be worth checking out.

I'll have a look at that

 

[Filip]

He had his little rote thing and barely answered questions. When I switched to online courses, it worked much better. You can work on what you think you need to improve.

Fair enough, I was really against online lessons and nearly signed up to online courses however felt the guidance of 1:1 is worth a lot. For the first year I tried every now and again I would try but it would never be the same.

What changed it was a conversation along the lines of 'in this format it's not working, could we...'. Ever since then it's been an absolute blast again. The hard steps for me was specifying:

• That I don't have as much time now I do 48-60 hour weeks and study.
• I cannot manage developing on 2 instruments, so the electric guitar had to go.
• My practice was incredibly inefficient yet extremely goal oriented. Playing stopped being fun.
• Recordings were twice as sh*t as they should be, for one, I didn't sound good and for two the recording sounded even worse.

... After discussing these with my teacher i ended up tackling it the following way:

- invested in a blue yeti, recording sound a lot closer to what I hear, I tend to practice and record at few days intervals and send these across. (He was somewhat sceptical about the idea)

- No more multiple classical and jazz pieces followed by improv practice prior to long tones and scales. If I have the time I set the timer for say 10 mins scales, 5 mins tonal practice, 20 minutes practicing a piece, it's a lot more productive then spending 2 hours previously. If I don't have time I tend to spend 20-30 minutes on a particular thing and by the end of it, at the very least I feel like I moved forward a bit.

- Lessons are normally based on recordings I send over. There's actually very little playing, this allows us to go into detail or go on a different tangent, whether theory, examples etc alongside feedback. Personally I feel this is nowhere near as efficient as it could be. But I really enjoy learning and the context. These are typically every 2 weeks.

- In my calendar/diary I put what was done and when. Allows me to track progress alongside the recordings.


For me, for now, it seems to have hit the magical sweet spot, it's hard for me to form an opinion on online courses since I've never done them but I'm not sure whether they'd offer similar flexibility.

All in all, I think for a beginner nothing beats 1:1 so my advice would be to always strive towards something closest to that. And don't be afraid trying different flavours of teachers, my first teacher told me "let's be honest, you're not really looking at getting past say grade 3 so we'll teach you in line with that". The next two were absolute gems.

Once you identify your aims and objectives it should be easier to make a decision. For me, absolute confusion with the choices would indicate "Not knowing what you don't know" - but definitely that would be based on my own track record in different disciplines 😉

That being said, after 3 years only now I'm getting comfortable to play in front of an audience, and being stuck as a closet player often leads to feeling like this:

View: https://youtu.be/ziRPO_mcnxs


... Which is why places like the cafe are incredible. It's gopd to get different perspectives on the same thing.

 

[Filip]

Interesting. Thought I was writing this on 'online courses' thread. Apologies for OT

 

[Jeanette]

Interesting. Thought I was writing this on 'online courses' thread. Apologies for OT

Moved 🙂

Jx

 

[6441]

From what I've seen so far, much of the materials out there are the same kind of thing. Oh, the exercises are not identical, but the idea is the same. I know I am not a typical student. But I have also had a chance to look at a lot of work being done by students. I'd be interested to see what the different methods have accomplished

the guidance of 1:1 is worth a lot

It certainly would be and is if you have the right teacher.