SAXOPHONE
The saxophone is an incredibly popular instrument, as it can be heard constantly in pop and dance music from the last 5 decades as well as being a staple in jazz.
The sax is perfectly suited for teenagers and older pupils. Any younger children interested in the saxophone, may find the clarinet an easier instrument to start with, as the two instruments are very similar. Learning the clarinet first would allow the saxophone to be picked up and played almost instantly.
WHAT DO I LEARN?
With new saxophone pupils, I start them off using Abracadabra Saxophone! This is a great book full of recognisable songs and theme tunes! An added bonus is that it comes with CDs packed full of backing tracks (hopefully moving to downloadable files soon!).
By the end of the book you will already be at Grade 1-2 level of playing!
GRADE EXAMS
I do advise to work through grade exams. For saxophone I work through the ABRSM grades. ABRSM have recently updated their syllabus so that saxophone pupils only need to buy one book per grade and even though most of the pieces are classical, each grade includes 1 or 2 more recognisable pieces (either classical or from film/theatre).
Being a wedding saxophonist, I am always up for working on pop songs/film themes/game themes or anything else. As long as the grade work gets practised I'll always make time for other playing!
