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Just for the benefit of other beginners on here I thought I would report on my progress.
Started October 21st last year and bought a YTS 275 tenor. After a couple of weeks at home I was making noises and running C major up and down thinking I had the thing cracked (naive is my middle name!). Following one of those 'Play sax in a day' type books etc where after 50 pages your an expert...Then I worked out that the tongue was part of playing a sax and went for some lessons!
The teacher started me on that Pete Wassell book that takes to you to Grade 3. He said it was going to be nasty and sure enough it was! I didn't have the one with the CD as I thought it is cheating a bit; I therefore split all the timings down into the lowest common denominator and played them slowly at first. Practising half an hour to an hour each day and 2-3 hours on Saturday and Sunday I finished the book 2 weeks ago. The wife and kids haven't left yet either. After every lesson (where I basically just played all the stuff I had learnt myself) I looked on the next 4-5 units in disbelief, like I would never be able to play them. It's been very hard work but I can now hit all the notes on the normal register and my sound is apparently 'mellifluous'whatever that means..
The best bit was at the end of my last lesson where the teacher put on some 12 bar blues and asked me to play in D major. I instantly thought 'how, I have no idea what to do' but then had a go and was playing some decent licks over the backing track. I had a smile on my face a mile wide when I left. Charlie Parker I ain't but I am amazed what I have learnt in the last 3 and a half months. Now have 5 new books (studies, sight reading, scales etc) to work towards the grade 4 exam..
Good luck all.
Started October 21st last year and bought a YTS 275 tenor. After a couple of weeks at home I was making noises and running C major up and down thinking I had the thing cracked (naive is my middle name!). Following one of those 'Play sax in a day' type books etc where after 50 pages your an expert...Then I worked out that the tongue was part of playing a sax and went for some lessons!
The teacher started me on that Pete Wassell book that takes to you to Grade 3. He said it was going to be nasty and sure enough it was! I didn't have the one with the CD as I thought it is cheating a bit; I therefore split all the timings down into the lowest common denominator and played them slowly at first. Practising half an hour to an hour each day and 2-3 hours on Saturday and Sunday I finished the book 2 weeks ago. The wife and kids haven't left yet either. After every lesson (where I basically just played all the stuff I had learnt myself) I looked on the next 4-5 units in disbelief, like I would never be able to play them. It's been very hard work but I can now hit all the notes on the normal register and my sound is apparently 'mellifluous'whatever that means..
The best bit was at the end of my last lesson where the teacher put on some 12 bar blues and asked me to play in D major. I instantly thought 'how, I have no idea what to do' but then had a go and was playing some decent licks over the backing track. I had a smile on my face a mile wide when I left. Charlie Parker I ain't but I am amazed what I have learnt in the last 3 and a half months. Now have 5 new books (studies, sight reading, scales etc) to work towards the grade 4 exam..
Good luck all.
