a Good Teacher "Your Opinion"

[retromom]

I was thinking about sax teachers and wondering what some of you think constitutes a "good one" :? :?

I realize that the term "good teacher" of anything is very subjective and also a relative term but I have nothing to compare mine to.

I was asking in general terms--- however I did want to ask specifically should the fact that the instructor doesn't have a Saxophone at the present time put up a red flag?

Some days I leave there wondering what I've been taught . My teacher feels that I have a Good sounding horn {Selmer Student Rental}but when I took it in to have the cork replaced the tech said the horn was way out of key :? :?

The teacher also said that the cork has nothing to do with the way the Sax sounds ------NOW I'm certainly not a pro at this but how could that be if I have no where to go in terms of moving the MPC up or down.????
Please don't think that i'm being a know it all here, that's not the case at all and i'm not saying that she's wrong and i'm right, I am simply asking for some other opinions.

Longtones have never been mentioned in 3 months of lessons and learning scales well "there's just no reason to have to memorize them"

There may very well be a method to her madness and I appreciate that but if any of you have any thoughts or opinions, please bring them on :D . I'm already 50 years old and I may not have years and years of lesson time left roflmao.
Thanks

[kcp]

however I did want to ask specifically should the fact that the instructor doesn't have a Saxophone at the present time put up a red flag?

Not necessarily. My "saxophone" teacher was a trumpet player and I came-out allright. However he had(has) knowledge of other instruments such as woodwinds, could play several instruments and had many years of experience coaching concert bands, high school and collegial Big Bands and such.

Longtones have never been mentioned in 3 months of lessons and learning scales well "there's just no reason to have to memorize them"

Each teacher have their own teaching approach and they may also very well adapt their method for each student independently. The first time I hear about longtones is on this forum here. I never did longtone excercises in my entire sax-playing life and I never suffered from it. However, keep in mind that each person is different. I never needed to do longtones but I had to work harder on other things such as rythym for instance - By all means, if you feel that you would benefit from longtone excercises, talk to your teacher about your concerns and ask what he/she hasto suggest. Maybe he/she'll suggest longtones or perhaps some other method.

As for the scales memorisation thing goes, in a sense he/she is right, you don't have to memorize them. You have to understand them. It's just a different approach but some people feel that it helps to memorise in order to begin to understand. Again, if this applies to you you should talk to your teacher about your concerns. Keep in mind that it take time for a teacher to get to know his/her student and adpt a teaching method that fits you.

:)

[JL]

I agree that every teacher has their own method and probably takes the student into account also. Perhaps she thinks her students would be bored with long tones or something. I wouldn't second-guess her, but I think you are correct to be concerned about the issues you brought up.

Intonation: It is very important to play in tune, although initially you are just trying to get the fingerings and a decent tone. I still think it's a good idea to play some long tones with a tuner. The long tones will help with intonation, good tone, and endurance. Sort of a 3 for 1 package. I think you could do this on your own. Get a tuner and start in on it.

Memorizing scales: I guess it amounts to what you mean by "memorization." I do think you need to be able to play all the major scales by "ear," without having to read them on paper, especially if you want to be able to improvise at some point. If this means you've memorized them, then so be it.

In fact imo it's best to "memorize" everything, but that's just the approach that works for me. I put memorize in quotes, since there are some licks and heads I play that I have under my fingers but I would have to think pretty hard to spell out the notes, one by one, without actually playing the phrase. I "know" it by ear, but maybe I don't have it memorized in terms of isolated notes. I know that sounds crazy, but there it is.

[retromom]

Thanks Kim, Sounds like I have a good thing going on here after all.

This same lady taught my daughter piano lessons and it was looking like the same type deal {with the exception of the missing instrument, she obviously had a piano there :D } but she learned to play very well in what seemed like a relatively short period of time. I was impressed by the fact that she was learning at all given the fact that she didn't really want to be there to start with :x

This teacher also has two student sax players in the first chair positions {is that the right term or is it seat} in two different schools and I thought that was good but at the same time I knew that they were also in band at their respective schools , therefore I started to think that they were learning the scales and longtones in that setting. If it isn't a given and longtones are not the standard of every teacher then so be it. just thought I would ask.

I would never want to second guess her or make her think that I question her methods as they have been very successfull for many a student before me.

[retromom]

Intonation: It is very important to play in tune, although initially you are just trying to get the fingerings and a decent tone. I still think it's a good idea to play some long tones with a tuner. The long tones will help with intonation, good tone, and endurance. Sort of a 3 for 1 package. I think you could do this on your own. Get a tuner and start in on it.
.

I will do that but I'm also not familiar with how that works. Am I to understand that the notes on the sax should sound the same as the same notes on the tuner? I don't have one and I really don't know the dynamics of it yet.
thanks

[baritone]

I think considering ur age (no offence)....she might just want to give you fun and interest in saxophone....so she never urge u to do longtones or scales........

what saxophone are you using? is it a bundy? maybe she either dun want u to to spend the money to buy a new neck and put on a bundy that wont yield too much differece......or she just want you to tell you that u can make any sound out as long as u r good enough..<-----however this seems contradicting with the absence of longtone practice......

i think some advanced saxophone players can be nice teachers for a beginner as well, because they just oversome the stage of beginner and exactly knows what u should andwould need.......

[singlereed]

I think if you are feeling uneasy, then maybe it's time to find someone else. Having said that, it is partly up to you to dictate what you want and maybe you need to have a bit of a chat about your aspirations, concerns etc? Possibly, your teacher thinks you want an easy time and underestimates the effort you are prepared to put in? if you clarify your goals, that might help give clarity, but then again, I rely on my teacher to challenge me as well as to reassure me when I think I'm to old to learn something....

[Face Ache Mike]

Vicki, My tutor has a sax and uses it to demonstrate what he wants me to do. We also play duets and if theres something I`m struggling with, I ask him to play it first then I try to copy. I find it very useful for him to use his sax in the lesson. My first tutor didnt and I ended the lessons with him after the first one. We learn best, I believe, by being shown - not just told. :)

As for long tones and using a tuner, I do this only when I`m warming up or having embouchere/tone troubles. I use AP Tuner which you can download and use for free. The idea is to play a certain note and hold it so that the needle reads zero. If you can do that for, say 5 or 6 seconds, you`re doing well.

Scales, yeah, I know maybe 2 or 3 but it doesnt stop me playing tunes. My tutor was keen for me to learn them all but I was more keen to just play tunes :)

Mike.

[Old Charlie]

Hi Vicki,

It is good that you are asking questions to find out how your tutor compares. I did that and let mine go (I'm still between - long story). But what I have found by continuing to talk and read about what a good tutor is like, is that they are there to support you and answer openly any questions you have.

The "ideal" tutor also will not expect any more than you can play. Mine didn't. He just kept assigning more studies, regardless of the fact that I couldn't play last week's assignment with no mistakes.

Personally, since I quit my tutor, I have started an hour practice session each week based on saxlessons.com's recommendations. 5 minutes long tones, 15 minutes scales, 15 minutes method book, 15 minutes songs, 10 minutes fun stuff.

I play long tones to a tuner to develop my ear to what is the correct pitch for each note and how I have to "lip" that note to bring it into tune from where it falls naturally. On my horn, not all the notes fall exactly on "0" and I need to bring the note up or down as required.

I practice scales to get proficient and play faster. Since starting, I have had less problems learning tunes and studies because I don't have to stop to think about which keys I use for the key I am in.

And finally I play fun stuff just to keep it fun. When I was with my tutor, I wasn't having fun because I had to practice an hour a day all week just to learn 3 studies halfway decent (only 5-10 mistakes per study). That is crucial to me. That is why I took up the sax after almost 50 years of not playing.

You keep at it. With your determination and enthusiasm, you will go far! :)

May you be blessed with excellent instruction and lot of fun in your sax life,

[JL]

This is really an interesting topic to me: How people learn. I think Charlie's points are right on. It is not too useful to keep moving on if you haven't learned a fundamental step that is needed to move on. One thing about teaching is that a good instructor knows not to overwhelm the student with too many "bits" at once. Far better to learn one or two scales perfectly than twelve of them poorly. Also the mind tends to start shutting things out if you try to take in too much at once. So perhaps your instructor is trying to keep within what she thinks is a manageable limit. But it may be that you are more motivated than some and can handle more. Talk to her about that.

Using a tuner is pretty simple. As Mike & Charlie point out, play the note and keep the needle on zero. Most tuners also have a green light to tell you a given note is in tune. So to practice a long tone, take a deep breath, then play the note with a STEADY airstream, while watching the tuner to hold the note in tune. And listen closely to your tone as you do this. Another very good exercise is to match tones with another instrument, since this is ultimately the reason to play in tune. Have your daughter play a note on the piano while you play the same tone on your sax and listen closely to see that it matches. If it's out of tune, you'll hear a wavering sound resulting from the slightly different wavelengths. Try to get rid of the waver and get the two tones to combine into a steady solid tone. You don't need to spend hours on this. A few minutes of each practice session should do the trick. You're trying to train your ear and to develop a muscle memory in your embouchure that will result in a good tone that is in tune.

You can combine this with other studies as well. For example, play a major scale slowly while watching the tuner (or with someone else playing it on the piano, if you have that option), keeping the notes as close to in tune as possible. Play a chord arpeggio doing the same thing, etc. But don't become a slave to the tuner.

Then there's the metronome!