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.
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.