What usually happens at the first lesson?

[AltoSaxophoneMan]

Well as you read in my other post where I got my Sax, ect., ect.
So I was wondering for awhile "What and how usually happens at the first lesson"? Does the instructer take a look at your sax and play it himself? Does he or she ask where you got it from? How long will it take for me to learn how to blow the sax "properly"?

Those are a few of my many questions.

[Brendan Muse]

Well, that depends on how much you know already. He might test your horn to make sure it works. He might set some pieces of music in front of you to sightread, just to see where you are.

[Chris S]

What Brenden mentioned is usually what I do in a first lesson. I just try to guage where the player is, and ask the player what s/he wants to do (be a classical player, jazz, rock, etc), and if s/he's heard any pieces/tunes that s/he'd like to learn.

Now that I'm in an academic setting (I teach lessons at a little community college), things are a bit different. The school sets the standards, and it's up to us to work up to that (depending on the semester).

It depends a lot on the teacher though, I know a few who have the agenda and the goals set before you ever meet for your first lesson.

Best,
Chris S

[swede_peter]

Well as you read in my other post where I got my Sax, ect., ect.
So I was wondering for awhile
1. "What and how usually happens at the first lesson"?
2. Does the instructer take a look at your sax and play it himself?
3. Does he or she ask where you got it from?
4. How long will it take for me to learn how to blow the sax "properly"?

Those are a few of my many questions.

1. At my first lesson, i had played for a year by my self, but my teacher pointed out some things that i made wrong (how to hold the horn, how stand, how to breath, etc) and we went through the C, F and G major scale. Got some homework (simple tunes), I was very nervous and the horn (to me) sounded much worse then at home, but after time, it wasnt such a big thing to play with a "real" player.. :D

2. I asked my techer to play it, bevause it sounded squeeky in the altissimo ( :D ), i think its good if you ask your teacher to do so, the you know if there is some problem with your horn or if it is you that causes the strange sounds.. ;)

3. ? Why should he? Maybe if hes curious, or if it is a nice horn i suppose.

4. It will take... Forever. :D But in a year, maybe you will be able to play some standards, ballads and that stuff, if you practice E v e r y d a y or something like that. That is important. On regular basis. I found out that 3 hour practice every 3 days isnt good, its better with half an hour a day, in that way the horn isnt a "stranger" to you when you pick it up. If you let it be for a couple of days, it takes a while to "get in" to it again i think. But that is just my opinion. Some other cats may disagree.

Take the struggle with learning, its very awarding, ive been playing for 2 yrs now, and i just love it. And it gets better all the time. Make small goals: maybe to play some scales real nice, work on a perticular note that you dont like (yet), buy sheets of your favorite tune and learn it. To have a single BIG goal (im gonna learn to play the horn) may take a while, but along the way, to achieve small steps, thats nice. Aprecciate small pieces of achievment too.

My humble 2 cents ;) . Good luck AltoSaxophoneMan.

/Pete.

[cleger]

When I had my first lesson ~10 months ago I knew nothing beyond how to put a reed on the mouthpiece and make some godawful sounds. I had picked up some fingering charts from the internet but they didn't mean much to me since I couldn't figure out what exactly the markings were (I was fingering the front F key when the chart showed the B key for example) add to that I couldn't read a note of music. All this to say that I was below a rank beginner.

My first lesson began with posture, emboucher and fingerings. Then a little bit about basic reading of music. In addition to that my instructor went over my horn and fine-tuned it and showed me some maintenance tips. We talked a bit about reeds, mouthpiece etc. We also talked about why I wanted to learn to play and what I wanted to play. I was sent home with some scales to play, long-tone exercises and a tune to learn (When the Saints Come Marching In).

I feel like that was a lifetime ago even though it was less than a year. Last night I recorded Blue 7 (http://www.freewebtown.com/claude15/gallery/140225/aud-142516.mp3), a Sonny Rollins tune that I enjoyed long before I started playing. So if I can play a tune (even if it is quite amateurish) in less than a year, I'm sure that anyone can do it.

[jimmehMarkVI]

Take the struggle with learning, its very awarding, ive been playing for 2 yrs now, and i just love it. And it gets better all the time. Make small goals: maybe to play some scales real nice, work on a perticular note that you dont like (yet), buy sheets of your favorite tune and learn it. To have a single BIG goal (im gonna learn to play the horn) may take a while, but along the way, to achieve small steps, thats nice. Aprecciate small pieces of achievment too.

My humble 2 cents ;) . Good luck AltoSaxophoneMan.

/Pete.

Well said.

[Bennie]

"Does the instructer take a look at your sax and play it himself?"

Yes. In order to make sure that the sax is working properly, it's best that you ask your teacher to check it out.

"Does he or she ask where you got it from?"

Mine did. I guess he was just checking to see if I got it from a reliable retailer or if I got it second hand.

"How long will it take for me to learn how to blow the sax "properly"?"

Well, you dont actually "blow" into the sax, as the air you put into the sax comes from the back of your throat. This is where the warm air is...and the sax loves warm air. ;) You're not actually "blowing," but your teacher will explain more on that depedning on what level you are at. Some things I did in my first lesson were to learn about how to hold the sax, where to put my hands and fingers, how to hold the mouthpiece in my mouth, how to generate the sound from the sax, and then when I could get some sounds, I played a couple of simple melodies involving 2 or 3 notes (b,a,and g).

And I agree completely with swede_peter on perserving with it. I've only started myself, but it's really a very enjoyable instrument to play. I've been playing for 3 months and I feel like I am doing quite well. Getting a teacher is a great thing. Mine has helped me a great deal.

[CMelodyMan]

On the first private lesson I had, we worked on embouchere exercises. I also did some sightreading.

[ironflippy]

I can't remember my very first lesson, apart from when she told me how to affix the reed to the mouthpiece (turns out I did it wrong from the start :shock: ). Then I had some private lessons when I was in junior high which were of no value to me (I wasn't all that interested at the time). Now in college, my first lesson started off with the teacher asking me to play a bit (scales, noodling, etc.). That way he could see what needed work and what was I was doing properly. In my case, I had known for quite a while that I wasnm't attacking properly, but no one taught me how to do it properly. So after around 10 years of playing it wrong, I had to relearn how to attack. It was really embarrassing in the practice room because people in practice rooms next to me could hear me struggling to get out a note. They were probably thinking "How the hell did he make the audition playing like THAT?", haha. Oh well, you have to learn sometime.

Anyway, in your first lesson, the teacher just gets to know you and your style. There's nothing to be nervous about, it's a no-pressure lesson (as they all should be). Good luck!

[Razzy]

My first lesson was in late May three and a half years ago, with the same teacher I'm still studying with now in my second year of college. I had already been playing for about 6 years on my own but I was doing a lot of things incorrectly and inefficiently.

The first thing I was asked to do was to play something that I knew, so I chose the third etude (I think) from Lennie Niehaus's "Advanced Jazz Conception" or whatever that book is called, with the swirly black and white lines on the cover, the Advanced version. I was using a pretty smeary vibrato all the time and my articulations weren't accurate, biting, breath support not happening, etc. So the next thing he did was to push on my stomach real hard while I played, forcing some breath support to happen so I knew what it felt like. Then he told me about the concept of embouchure in which you think about focusing in from the corners of the mouth and nothing else, advised me to purchase the Klose 25 Daily Exercises for saxophone, and finally asked me what I wanted to do with music. I told him that I wanted to be a professional, and he said "from here on out, we will work towards that goal, with a series of smaller goals along the way". He then gave me a routine to work on including long tones, scales, etude study, and learning jazz tunes.

That was the turning point of my life and the best investment I've ever made... that's probably why I remember it so clearly!

[tbone]

My first lesson was 34 years ago. I wasn't even allowed to touch my sax on the first few lessons but I did get to toot on the mouthpiece though. Had to listen to the instructor babble on about it all starts with the mouthpiece and you have to learn to play the mouthpiece before you can learn to play the sax! After three weeks of tooting on the piece I thought my parents were going to throw my horn in the trash! :x Toot, toot, toot, toot, etc. etc. :shock:

[Vortex]

When I'm giving someone their first lesson, typically I try to gauge where they're at before I do much. After some initial chitchat about music in general, how long they've been playing, scoping out their instrument, etc, I have them play either a piece they're comfortable with (preferably several, in different styles, or a bunch of stylistic excerpts) or some material they would want me to work with them on.

My students' goals and ability levels vary widely from one to the next, as some are directionless players with an interest in their instrument, while others are driven with specific goals and want to straighten out their playing. Some are aspiring to the college level, some are kids and don't practice enough (I make sure it's up front to them that if they just want to keep spending money on me to teach them, that's fine by me, but it's really a waste unless they practice with a passion). Some of the kids just can't accept that they're too small for their instruments (a 7th grader trying to play electric bass well? egads!) while others switch between instruments and spread themselves too thin. Rarely will I refuse a student, pretty much only if they have a horrible attitude.

As a teacher, you've gotta put yourself in the student's position, thinking primarily of their interests/goals as a player, what they're expecting from you, and how you can maximize their growth and make sure they stay motivated and have fun. Ours is sucn a noble profession.