Saxophone Teachers

[philippe]

Hello All
I'm interested by the quality of teaching in general, and music teaching in particular. I find that a lot of kids that take up an instrument are taught really badly... anyone care to share their experience of what works/doesn't for them?

For example, when I was a total beginner who wasn't sure which way to blow the saxophone in, I had a few lessons with some guys who were probably quite good on the horn, but basically gave me some lead sheets (not very good ones either), mumbled a few things (as I remember it) and told me to get on with it. They were really incapable of teaching - maybe because they couldn't think like a beginner.

For those of you that have good teachers, what makes them so?

 

[ken]

Philippe,

A little contradiction I guess, but I believe I have a good teacher, however...

...... maybe because they couldn't think like a beginner.

I agree with that 'maybe' 100+% (including my teacher).

 

[Rogerb]

Mine is good for me because(among other reasons):
1. he's a good player, so I can hear how I should, eventually sound;
2. he uses a really good 'teaching system', ie Leslie Evans', which mixes something fairly easy with some sneakily tough bits, and has good written notes;
3. he accepts, and often says, that we all progress at different rates, so "don't expect too much too soon";
4. he's even-tempered and very knowledgeable about the sort of music I'd like to be able to play;
5. he's about my age so we can be Grumpy Old Men together 😛

I come away from his lessons full of enthusiasm and motivation(which sometimes even lasts until I get home 😉 )

 

[tengu01]

I have had 4 "real" teachers.

At the beginning of my "playing" life, I was around 12 and the school woodwind teacher was an older gentleman. (I must add, I was starting on the flute) who was an amazing player but was a little intimidating. I could play well by ear but had never learned to sight read. He used to bark at me for making reading mistakes. For him it must have been a little frustrating, but for me it was terrifying. Every now and then he would try my flute to see if there was something wrong with it and leave a little lip-slobber on it. :x

Needless to say, I started bunking lessons and playing tunes by ear. My theory didn't get anywhere, but I certainly enjoyed NOT being in lessons 🙁

He left and a wonderful lady teacher called Jenny replaced him. She was a rock chick teacher (red lipstick, big hair, leather jacket 8) and she really inspired me to play. We'd go through the head of a tune and then jam for the rest of the lesson. I learned loads of standards and spent loads of time memorising them so I could spend more time jamming Again, my theory didn't develop much but my "playing by ear skills" really took a leap. What made her such a great teacher was that she homed in on what I really loved about jazz and worked with me on it

Fast forward around 10 years of bedroom playing and jam band at university. I went to a jazz jam session with a certain cocksureness that real ignorance brings. "I know the standards, I can improvise" >.< Got spanked, realised that there was more to it than noodling and that I needed some direction.

Looked up another teacher who took a more traditional approach. I played a tune, he gauged my level then got me to sight read. The instantly horrible results gave us a starting point. He told me "You're not a beginner, but we need to work on some basics", which I agreed with. He was a wonderful guy who started me on some basics of sightreading and intonation, standards and melodic improvisation. I always enjoyed turning up to his flat, sharing a joke or two before getting down to the fun stuff. What made him such a good teacher was that a certain benevolent wisdom that made him kind. He knew how to make a point without belabouring it and let you run with a mistake before stopping you and pointing out how you could improve. Almost like a favourite uncle who you wanted to show off to and so would practice really hard for 🙂

My last teacher was a young dude I went to in order to learn about improvisation. We started with scales and the basic structure. He listened to me, then summed up my improvisational ability: "You're waffling. We need to work on teaching you how to say something with your improvisation"

I really liked his directness. He was able to explain a lot of the mystical terms that I had seen on several other well-known saxophone websites such as "tritone substitution" and broke loads of things down as an explanation and then showed me what he meant by playing it. And then getting me to play it.

Another thing I liked most about him was the fact that you could see he was interested in making sure I understood the concepts and why they mattered. He never spoon-fed me, but would give me enough information for me and then make me work it out. Additionally, if we were on a roll, we often went over time and he never minded. It was more important that we reached understanding.

Unfortunately, my job kept me from keeping a regular timetable with him and then I left the UK and have been teacherless since. However, from each of these teachers, I have learned the following:

Teacher 1:
The best players do NOT always make the best teachers and lip slobber is nasty if left it on the flute being handed back :x

Teacher 2:
If your teacher makes it enjoyable, it stops being a lesson and becomes fun. You want to practice.

Teacher 3:
Basics are important. The difference a good grounding in fundamentals can make, even at a late stage, is not to be underestimated.

Teacher 4:
Jazz is a like language. You need the tools (scales, arpeggios, articulation, tone) in order to be able to say something. It's obvious when you waffle :whistle: Instead of playing everything that'll fit the chord, stop and think about what you want to play. That element of deliberation will give shape and character to your solo

Sorry about the long post, but you did ask 😉

 

[ken]

Tengu, thanks for posting that.

I think it points out that there are many aspects to teachers/teaching and IMHO I think it rare if not impossible to find all of those attributes in one teacher.

Ken.

 

[rs2sensen]

My first year of playing I was in a school where I was mainly working with a band director who was a trumpet player. Luckily, I moved the next year where I was under Richard Anderson, a band director with a masters degree and who's main instrument was the saxophone. The next couple years, I was under Jennifer Nofs, who was a fairly new teacher and a flute player. Throughout the same time as those two, I also worked with Mark Greer, who is darn near close to achieving his doctorate and also a sax player. For a time, he taught at North Dakota State University.

Mr. Greer, Mr. Anderson, and Miss Nofs were all absolutely excellent band directors. Each one was exceptionally passionate about their job and their music, and I didn't find any of them to be inadequate in any way. Through volunteer work, I have worked with many band directors, and I wouldn't change them for the world. They made music fun, they made us good musicians, and even more importantly, they made us good people.

My school's choir director, David Hook, who I work with on a regular basis (I play the school musicals and at other events) is also quite skilled. He has helped out school's choir to stand out as one of the best in our region (as is the band program, mind you) and has passion for what he does.

My first private lesson teacher, David Suhusky, was certainly a good teacher, but was much more of a clarinet player than a saxophone player, and I only took lessons from him for one year. After that, I moved on to Professor Trent Kynaston, who seems to be fairly well known, and I couldn't be happier. My lessons with Kynaston have in a very short period of time truly transformed my playing. I had gotten to be fairly good on my own, but by "re-learning" the basics with him, I have made good progress and gotten a more "polished" sound.

Here's my beliefs...

Good players do make good teachers. It's all about what sounds the best, and even if some methods may be unorthodox, as long as they can show what is considered the "proper" way to do something, they are good in my book. Also, good players tend to be rather passionate about their music, and that rubs off on the students. Bad players often make poor teachers.

Passion for music and teaching is absolutely essential. They need to love their job and have a strong desire to work with students.

They need to make music fun. Through several years of playing with the same people, an incredibly strong sense of camradre tends to form in many band programs. This is an important aspect of music education. The job of a band director isn't just to teach music, it's to teach dedication, teamwork, etc. ie. to help make good people. In fact, I would give a fair amount of credit to my band directors for helping to raise me. In band we are all a family, and the music we make, it's powerful. There's something truly special and beautiful about that.

 

[Natalie]

most 'sax' teachers iv had are clarinet/flute/bass players firstly so sax teaching is terrible! iv only had one amazing teacher and hes an alto player onlY! thats the problem i think, others cant give you as much depth and detail as a sax player can
theres loads of crap teachers out there
just got to drop lucky i think 😛

 

[Linky Lee]

I've had around 14 teachers in 10 years of flute playing, which is pretty dire. I've had two that I regard as good teachers. Both I'm still in contact with. One who left to run a county scheme and the other who is still teaching me and helped my interest in saxophone playing along. She's the only saxophone teacher I've had and I would never change if I had the choice.

I think good teachers are very hard to come by, as for every type of teacher there is, there are as many types of learner.

It's finding one who works for you is the hard bit.

part of why her lessons are so successful for me is that we get on very well and as someone has already said the lessons become fun, even social.

She is very good because she teaches, she doesn't preach and force her opinions and ideas upon the pupil. She lets them explore and find out for themselves. For example when she was showing me how to play the saxophone she showed me four different embouchure types, told me how to do them all and spend a week using them all and see which ones work the best for myself. She didn't say "do it like this, this is how it should be."

She tailors the material to me and chooses music that will interest me and keep me going and also cover some fundamentals that everyone needs to have an awareness on even if it doesn't interest them. There is structure but also flexibility.

She goes about teaching in a way to make you understand. The questions all beginners have begin with 'why?' If she picks up a problem or I notice something or ask a question, then we go about exploring it and trying to find a solution. It's like leaving space for self development and she just guides you in the right direction like a compass or map, if you will.

She understands that I'm a bit of a perfectionist where my playing comes and caters for that. She can judge a situation well and adapt to make the learning efficient.

She also takes a personal interest in her pupils, not just in their saxophone playing and regularly turns up to their concerts and will help them with anything she can if you ask and so on. She's even told me of when I've neglected my studies in favor of some saxophone playing!

Apparently exams are important or something, hence the revision all holiday... well most anyway you can't have a holiday without some serious saxophone playing.

She's more of a guide or informant than a teacher, but I'd also have to say she's more of a friend than either of those. It works for me, but I can see that it wouldn't work for other people.

She's one of these people that have a kind of presence and you listen to them very intensely even if they were talking about the most mundane subject.

She's also my flute teacher and I knew her for a few years before I started my saxophone lessons which helps as well I guess.

 

[phil_edwards]

I had a 'classical' (Guildhall) trained teacher when I started playing who was excellent for working on the theory and timing etc. Just right for a complete novice as I was learning about music (from the beginning!) as much as playing the sax at that stage.

When I came back to the sax after a brwak of a few years I found by chance the most incredible teacher. Leo is in his seventies, went into military band straight from school and has played Jazz ever since; that's all he's ever done all his life.

He plays tenor 85% of the time with some alto and a bit of clarinet. For me the most important thing is he really understands all jazz and can articulate (and demonstrate) whatever it is he's trying to get across. We worked on all manner of things, sometimes he'd give me some classical pieces just for variety or to work on something particular. Other times we'd spend most of the lesson just talking through concepts and theories. And like others have mentioned, lessons did overrun sometimes. Lessons were fun, sometimes damn hard work, but we knew where we were trying to get to.

One thing he started (and any others with teachers might like to suggest this) was getting the first and second tenor and alto parts from big bands he worked with, and putting 4 students together into a quartet (or more if you share a pad). Everyone knew they were all at similar stages, we all had a common link through Leo, and their was no intimidation of joining in with a load of experienced musicians and consequently holding back and never progressing. We'd meet monthly and just have fun, but gain valuable experience in playing with others.

In my view having a teacher who really understands where you want to be is vital but, yes, they do have to be able to communicate.

Phil