Hereby a few tips!

When starting to practice a new piece, a lot of players start with pitch. That seems to be a good place to start, but unfortunately is not a handy strategy.

I always recommend being patient and first find out what kind of music you are going to play. Have a listen, of have a close look at all the clues in the sheet music. Check the style, atmosphere and then what is said about dynamics and articulation. Feel the music before playing by checking the time signature, tempo and the feel (swing, funk, romantic classical etc etc. )

And then: check the rhythm. Do you understand, or can you clap/sing along?

And then: have look at the key and thén the pitch.

And then play.

It seems like a lot but this can take just 5 minutes and the result is a more musical approach and less mistakes.

You can have taste by listening, and study along with this video.
This song and video are part of the online course Learn to Play Sax. In this course my aim is to teach you not only how to play but also how to study!

And for additional study tips check this article.

Have fun and be patient! 😉

Floor Wittink

Het bericht How to practice; thát is the question! verscheen eerst op Floor Wittink.

1.
Stand upright, with your weight evenly distributed on both legs, as if a rope were pulling you up from the crown of your head.

2.
Stand with your feet shoulder width apart. In that way your balance is optimal.

3.
Shoulders, arms, fingers and throat should be relaxed; the tension you need to produce the air to blow into your horn comes from your torso.

4.
If you let your sax hang loose the mouthpiece should come to the height of your mouth and not lower.
Tip: stand upright and then adjust your saxophone, instead of the other way around.

5.
Keep your wrists straight. Tip: have a look in the mirror while playing and check your wrists.

6.
The hands: the fingers should be relaxed and slightly bent as in natural position.

7.
Press the keys with a definitive movement, but do not move your fingers too far away from the keys. Your fingers should stay bent while pressing the keys.

8.
The thumbs should remain still, the octave key is pressed by your thumb tilting your thumb slightly.

Watch this video to see a véry unshakable posture…..…and if you know how to play well, you can play in many different postures as you can see in this video.

Het bericht 8 Tips for good posture while playing the saxophone! verscheen eerst op Floor Wittink.

1.
Practice everyday at a fixed time en keep it up for at least a few months to make it into a habit. Use the power of a habit to remind you of playing and not postpone it.

2.
Always make your practise a combination of both having fun in playing music that you are familiar with (or improvising) and practising new stuff. You become what you practise and making great music is the most important thing. If you only do exercises and don’t apply them into music they have no meaning!
……In addition it is more stimulating for most people to pick up your horn in order to make music than to do just exercises or practising a new piece.

3.
Make a plan before you start playing.
An example:
a. Start with 5 minutes of playing long notes/scales or something that can make you aware of your attitude/breathing/reed etc etc.
b. Then play something you are good at and really like
c. Practice something new
d. Play something that is going quite ok already and choose a focus (tip 5)
e. End with a favourite piece or improvise.

4.
Practice creatively:
Never repeat something more than three times in the same manner but vary in tempo, articulation, dynamics, colour, timing and other things that you can think of. In that way you get really familiar with the music and you learn how to play it really well. But the most important thing is that you learn how to make music in a creative way.

5.
(Don’t just) repeatrepeatrepeat
Repeat a lot ánd choose everytime a new focus. For example pay attention to timing when playing a song you are familiar with. You don’t have to dó something, just pay attention. Without a doubt you will get aware of new things.

6.
Train your awareness through saxophoneplaying.
Make saxophoneplaying into something that makes you aware of your creativity, your way of learning and all the mental issues you come across (f.e.like your mind saying that you can’t do it). In that way you practise something with the saxophone that you can use in the rest of your life. It’s not something additional anymore that takes time, but a, very pleasant, part of your life and development!

Het bericht Six Tips to Practice Music verscheen eerst op Floor Wittink.

Door de neus ademen is beter dan door je mond; dat is inmiddels bekend. Maar wanneer je zingt of een blaasinstrument bespeelt ligt dat wat genuanceerder:

Lengte
De lengte van de uitademing is vaak lang als je speelt of zingt. De tijd om in te ademen is daarentegen meestal kort. De uitdaging is dus om snel en diep in te ademen zodat je de volgende zin kunt uitspelen.

Ademsteun
Met ademsteun is het mogelijk om lang uit te ademen en controle te hebben over je klank, bijvoorbeeld om fluisterzacht te spelen en toch de achterste rij van het publiek te bereiken. Maar dat is een technische uitleg; je kunt ook zeggen dat de adem de klank vormt en dat je samenwerkt om de muziek tot expressie te brengen.

(Ont)spanning

Als je ademsteun gebruikt ontstaat er langzamerhand een onderdruk in de longen bij de lange uitademing. Inademen is dan slechts een kwestie van loslaten en de lucht naar binnen laten stromen.
De uitademing is dus actief en en de inademing passief.
Er is dan een moment van ontspanning bij de inademing. Maar eigenlijk is ontspanning niet de juiste term, want je behoudt wel je energie en vitale houding. Vaak wordt er echter teveel aangespannen en dus geblokkeerd. Je zoekt dus de juiste balans om het middenrif en je lichaam goed te kunnen laten bewegen.

Ruimte

Sleutelwoord is ruimte; om het middenrif optimaal laten bewegen en om de klank te laten resoneren. Probeer maar eens te spelen terwijl je de spieren in je gezicht expres aanspant en merk hoe dat invloed heeft op je klank. Uiteindelijk is wat je doet met je mondholte heel belangrijk voor de ruimte en resonans. Dus wat doe je met je tong, verhemelte en waar adem je als het ware naartoe.

Neus én mond

Maar het verhaal wordt nog iets uitgebreider: wanneer je met ruimte en ontspanning inademt door je mond adem je tegelijkertijd ook door je neus. Misschien is je dat nog niet opgevallen; probeer het maar eens uit en/of voel het verschil met alleen door je mond inademen.

Tijd

Ademen door de neus duurt wat langer dan door de mond. In het dagelijks leven is dat heel goed want dat is gezonder. Maar als je snel en diep moet inademen is dat niet handig; daarom ademen we dan door de mond (en tegelijkertijd door de neus).
Ik heb specialisten horen zeggen dat ademen door de mond zorgt voor een oppervlakkige ademhaling. Ik denk dat dat alleen het geval is bij een snelle ademhaling; dus bij veel ademhalingen per minuut.

Conclusie

Voor musici is het nodig om door de mond (én tegelijkertijd door de neus) te ademen als er weinig tijd is om in te ademen. Ademsteun gebruiken betekent dat de uitademing actief is en de inademing passief. Maar passief wil in dit geval zeggen dat er een optimale balans is van energie die de adem vrij kan laten stromen.

Bekijk deze video van Maria Callas en let erop hoe ze de adem naar binnen laat stromen en hoe een snelle inademing verschilt van een langzame.

Nose or mouth when playing?

When speaking about breathing and health, it’s very clear that breathing through the nose is preferable, but when singing or playing an wind instrument the story is more complicated;

Length
The length of the exhale is usually long when playing. The time to inhale on the other hand is often very short. So the challenge for musicians is to quickly inhale enough air for the next sentence.

Breath support
Breath support is the key to a long exhalation without losing control over your sound and for instance play very soft and still be heard. But this is a technical explanation; you could also say that the breath forms the sound. I see it as a collaboration between musician, breath and music.

Passive
When using breath support, negative pressure is created in the lungs. Inhaling is just a matter of letting go and let the lungs automatically fill with air. So the exhalation is active and the inhalation is passive. Passive seems to correspond with relaxation but of course you have to remain energy in order to play. It’s about the right balance that makes it possible for the breath to move freely and to optimize the fine motor skills.

Space
The key word is space: we need space for the diaphragm to lower and widen and for the sound to resonate. Try to tense up your facial muscles and notice how this influences your sound.
The position of the tongue and soft palate and the direction of the breath (your focus) are of great influence on your breath and resonance.

Nose ánd mouth
But the story is more complex: when you inhale with space and relaxation you breathe in through the mouth ánd the nose.  Maybe you didn’t notice this before: try it out and feel the difference with inhaling only through the mouth.

Time
Breathing through the nose takes more time. In daily life this is very good, because breathing slow is healthy. But when trying to inhale quickly and deep it’s easier through the mouth (and nose at the same time). But also here you could argue that if you inhale and create space it’s both possible.

I heard breath specialists say that breathing through the mouth causes shallow ‘high’ breathing, but I think this is only the case when breathing in a fast pace.

Conclusion
For musicians it’s often better to breath through the mouth (and nose at the same time) when there is little time to inhale. Using breath support means that the exhalation is active and the inhalation is passive. But passive means in this case that there’s balanced energy to let the breath flow.

Have a look at this video with Maria Calles and observe how she inhales; see how she let’s the air flow in and also pay attention to the difference between quick and slow inhalation.

Het bericht Neus of mond?/Nose or mouth when playing? verscheen eerst op Floor Wittink.

Our thoughts are connected to our emotions, and the breath mirrors how we feel. Every emotion affects our breathing. Discover this for yourself: when you see something exciting, your breathing immediately goes up. You catch your breath or you inhale quickly. Then think of a beautiful moment in your life for which you are grateful, and your breathing immediately drops and slows. There is room to breathe. Breathing is actually a processing of what you’re feeling.

But sometimes the processing doesn’t go well, for example because you’re holding your breath in. Or because the stress response no longer stops and on a long-term basis you’re breathing too much. The breath is then the simplest way to let the entire system rest.

In summary: our thoughts and emotions affect our breath, but the same also applies the other way round.

When playing a wind instrument or singing, the breath is the bridge to sound. We as musicians work with the breath to have control over our sound through breath support. But technique alone is not the way to musical magic. Just like learning a new musical piece; technique and practice is required but just as important is the next step of surrender in order to pave the way for the music itself to shine through. When you can’t let go it results in tension and your breath will mirror that.

So in order to develop or improve breathing technique it is necessary to be aware of your whole body and emotions and to be open to what your breathing is telling you. In that way the breath is showing you where you are. It becomes a constant process of becoming aware, letting go of tension, acknowledging how you feel, focusing on the music and work together with the breath to create the music.

In my online course Effortless breathing for musicians (available on my website and on Udemy) I give exercises that will help you to become aware and discover the power of breathing, combined with knowledge about the physical aspects of breathing, breath support and the influence of breathing on our health.

More information

Het bericht Mindset, music and breath verscheen eerst op Floor Wittink.