A complete guide to daily saxophone practice

Ⅰ.Common Practice

(1) Long note practice

Long notes are an important basic skill for saxophone practice, which can improve timbre, pitch, control, etc. When practicing, you should combine crescendo and decrescendo, and pay attention to the control of breath and mouth muscle strength. Start with the more difficult lower half notes, such as MI. If you have enough time, you can spend two or three hours to practice only one note. For example, you can start with the MI sound and achieve the crescendo and decrescendo effects by adjusting the strength of the breath. In this process, feel the flow of breath and the tension and relaxation of the mouth muscles, so as to better master the control of timbre and pitch.

(2) Dot practice The tongue tapping position should be fixed and cannot be adjusted according to the volume. Practice with a metronome and note rhythm, pay attention to rhythm changes and syncopation, take notes, and strengthen the practice of weak scales. In the dot practice, determine the tongue tapping position and keep it fixed, and do not change it due to changes in volume. You can use a metronome to practice tapping according to different note rhythms. For example, you can start with a simple eighth note rhythm and gradually try sixteenth notes and various syncopated rhythms. During the practice, you should take notes and record your weak scales so that you can strengthen your practice in a targeted manner later.

(3) Scale practice Practice all scales up and down, focusing on hand speed. You can refer to some advanced techniques for scale practice, such as starting from C major and practicing scales in the order of the fifth circle. This can better cultivate your sense of music, understand the feeling of the tune, and exercise your finger function. You can also practice chords, use chords to cooperate with friends around you, improve your pitch hearing ability, and also serve as a finger reaction training. Semitone practice is also an effective method. Practice scales according to the semitone relationship to test your proficiency in scales. In addition, accent practice is also very important. Master the rules of strength and weakness of different styles of music, practice the changes in strength and weakness in different positions, and improve the expressiveness of performance. When practicing scales, pay attention to the improvement of hand speed. You can start practicing from high do to middle do, gradually increase the difficulty, and practice in one breath, with coherent and powerful fingers, and even sound of each note to achieve the purpose of practice.

Ⅱ.Efficiency Exercises

In the practice of saxophone, efficiency is crucial. We should not blindly pursue the length of practice, but should focus on the quality of each practice. When we practice long notes, we should listen carefully to whether the pronunciation is smooth and fluent. A steady long note cannot tremble, which is the essence of long notes. Pay attention to the shape of the mouth, clamp the corners of the mouth and focus on the middle, retract the lower lip, press the upper teeth on the top of the mouthpiece, and keep the breath steady to avoid fast and slow. You can play back your long notes by recording to check whether they are standard. This can more objectively find problems and make timely adjustments.

Whether the timbre is round is also the key. We can breathe through the abdomen, keep the mouth shape relaxed, and have sufficient air pressure when playing, regardless of strength. In addition, you can also learn the techniques of controlling the timbre by relaxing the lips, such as relaxing the lip muscles, controlling breathing, and maintaining the correct blowing posture. By adjusting the degree of relaxation of the lips and the intensity of blowing, different timbre effects can be achieved, making the timbre fuller, rounder and more expressive.

Whether the airflow is smooth and stable should not be ignored. Use chest and abdominal breathing method, inhale through mouth and nose at the same time, mainly through mouth, inhale air naturally and quickly into lungs, and expand chest and abdominal muscles naturally. When exhaling, exhale air from mouth in a controlled, even and concentrated manner, and use the joint control of chest muscles, diaphragm and abdominal muscles to make the air flow exhale like a steady and unobstructed "air column". At the same time, pay attention to keep the abdomen relaxed during exhalation to avoid uneven breath or sudden interruption. You can also master the correct breathing technique by lying down, sitting down, imitating blowing matches, etc.

Ⅲ.Auditory Training

In the daily practice of saxophone, auditory training is a crucial link. Listening to the performances of masters and masters can help us improve our performance quickly. If you are practicing a piece of music, you can first find the audio and video materials of this piece and listen carefully to the processing methods in the demonstration. For example, in the control of timbre, masters may achieve unique timbre effects by adjusting the mouth shape, throat state and tongue position. At the same time, pay attention to the musicians' processing of phrases in different situations and feel the timbre characteristics of different styles of music.

Then, compare your performance with that of the master to see where the gap is. Compare whether the pronunciation is peaceful and smooth. The masters' performances often have very good breath control, stable pronunciation and no trembling. In terms of timbre, it is round, full and expressive, which may be achieved through techniques such as abdominal breathing, keeping the mouth shape relaxed and controlling the blowing intensity. In terms of airflow, it is smooth and stable, like a steady "air column" exhaled.

Ⅳ.Notes

(1) Don't have too many ideas

For adults learning saxophone, you must not have too many ideas. Many adults often derive their own ideas based on what the teacher teaches during the learning process. However, these ideas are not necessarily correct and can easily lead to being too clever for their own good. When children learn saxophone, they make rapid progress because they have simple ideas and listen to whatever the teacher says. They do not have much self-exploration ability. But adults are different. They think more carefully and have many ideas, and they are easy to deviate from the correct guidance of the teacher. Therefore, when they first start learning saxophone, adults must strictly follow the teacher's requirements and obey the teacher's arrangements. If the teacher says east, don't go west. If the teacher says blow, don't open your mouth.

(2) Use moderate force

When playing saxophone, the vibration of the reed depends on the breath, and the force of the mouth should be appropriate, not too large or too small. Many adults will use too much force when learning saxophone, thinking that the saxophone needs to be blown with great force, which is a wrong concept. If the mouth uses too much force, it will over-squeeze the reed, making it unable to work normally, thus producing an unpleasant sound. When adults learn to play the saxophone, they should first learn to relax themselves and avoid tension that causes the body to tense up and then exert too much force. Tension equals tightness, and tightness equals excessive force. Excessive force will produce an unpleasant sound. During the playing process, you must learn to control the strength of your mouth and find an appropriate strength to make the tone more beautiful. At the same time, you must pay attention to maintaining the shape of your mouth, and your cheeks should not be sore and your jaw should not be stiff. The chin should be relaxed when playing, and the bite force of the lower teeth alone is enough. The muscles of the chin should not be exerted all the time. You can feel the tightness of your mouth through long tone exercises. Once your mouth is tight, stop and rest immediately, adjust your state, and play with a relaxed feeling. This will not only improve the problem of sore mouth, but also have a great impact on the tone and pronunciation of the high pitch.

(3) Pay attention to basic skills practice

Whether you are a saxophone enthusiast or a serious learner, you must pay attention to basic skills practice. Basic skills are the only way and necessary condition to practice the skills well. Many people think that they just love saxophone and just play it casually. They don't need to practice basic skills. It's enough to play a few songs they like. But this idea is wrong. Without solid basic skills, you can't play beautiful and charming songs. Basic skills are like the roots of towering trees, the foundation of tall buildings, and the basic political system of a country. Without basic skills, nothing will work. Therefore, if you want to learn saxophone well, you must lay a good foundation. You can start with basic skills such as long notes, dot notes, and scales, and gradually improve your technical level. In the process of practice, you should pay attention to the method. You can't blindly pursue the length of practice, but pay attention to the quality of each practice. At the same time, you should listen carefully to the sound of your own playing with your ears, find problems and make timely adjustments, and constantly consolidate and improve your basic skills.