#selectjazz

[williamhollifield]

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#lick #lickoftheday #lotd #michaelbrecker #tenorsax #saxophone @henriselmerparis @selmersaxophones #markvi #ottolink @daddariowoodwinds #daddarioreeds #selectjazz #tenor #tenorsax #sax #saxo #saxophon #さぉpほ #サクソフォン #サックス (at Atlanta, Georgia) https://www.instagram.com/p/B5Dsg96pdKS/?igshid=1e57oodiz4n21

[thewoodwindmethod]

Solo & Ensemble Performance Tips | by Krista Weiss

Solo & Ensemble is a day that requires months of preparation but that goes by in a flash. For many young musicians, it’s also one of the few times each year that offers a chance to perform a solo piece in public. Because of this, the preparation leading up to a Solo & Ensemble performance should be a bit different than how you would normally prepare for a concert as a member of a band or orchestra. Here are some tips to having a successful (and enjoyable!) day.

Slow and Steady - Nailing tough technical passages is always a concern for musicians, especially when you factor in the nerves that sometimes accompany a public performance. However, the key to mastering these types of passages is slow, methodical practice habits. If you’re consistently having trouble with a particular spot, don’t allow yourself to play the same mistake over and over again at full speed. Instead, slow the passage way down until you get to a tempo where you can play through it perfectly multiple times in a row. From there, slowly build your speed back up. Even if you’re not able to get the passage up to your goal tempo in time for Solo & Ensemble, the benefits of slow practicing will absolutely show in your performance.

Run Straight Through - One of the pitfalls many young musicians encounter with Solo & Ensemble is the amount of endurance and concentration required to play straight through a piece of music.  If you’ve only ever practiced your piece in short chunks, the experience of playing it all the way through for the first time can be very difficult. Two weeks before Solo & Ensemble, start playing straight through your piece at least once each day. Don’t allow yourself to stop, even if you make mistakes. It may be tough at first, but the more you practice this the more you’re setting yourself up to succeed on the big day.

Do a Test Run – You can never control every factor of a performance, but you can do your best to make sure you’re feeling comfortable and confident when the day arrives. If you’ll be performing your piece standing up, make sure to practice it that way beforehand (this is especially true of clarinetists who don’t use a neckstrap). If you have a particular outfit picked out for Solo & Ensemble, do a run through of your piece in that outfit to make sure you feel good. (Can you breath normally? Do your feet hurt?)

The Big Day – Once Solo & Ensemble actually rolls around the majority of your work is done! Just make sure to set yourself up to have a great day. Eat a decent meal a few hours before you perform and bring a snack with you (you never know how late the time slots will be running). When you enter the room, make sure to take a few seconds to catch your breath and focus before you start playing. Though it may seem like it in the moment, there’s no need to rush. Once you’ve tuned to the piano or the rest of your ensemble, hear your opening tempo in your head, take a deep breath, and enjoy the fact that all of your hard work is about to pay off.

[williamhollifield]

A=440 📷: @gmcgowen . . @selmersaxophones #markvi #ottolink #daddarioreeds #selectjazz #horns #hornsup #tunesquad #tunesday #saxophone #sax #saxo #saxophon #さぉpほ #サクソフォン #サックス (at 529) https://www.instagram.com/p/B42MDQyJUuF/?igshid=t7ajtf9p0n6q

[williamhollifield]

New Lightning ⚡️ Orchestra sounds #comingsoon. Playing tonight at @529_eav with @jitwam, @yapercaper, and @sadfishatl. . 📸: @manonhillmedia . . . @lightningorchestra #hornsup #hornsection #justthehorns #fluffypipes #lightningorchestra #saxophone #sax #saxo #saxophon #さぉpほ #サクソフォン #サックス #baritone #barisax #bari @yanagisawasaxophones @berglarsenofficial @daddariowoodwinds #selectjazz (at American Sushi Recording Studio) https://www.instagram.com/p/B1_ly6rp3ed/?igshid=1p0xvprr13dnu

[williamhollifield]

#Repost @rahmusicatl @fractalaudiosystems @appliedmicrophone @selmersaxophones #ottolink @daddariowoodwinds #selectjazz #daddarioselectjazz #nofilter ・・・ Sun night on the @hotelclermont Roof Top was so amazing. Thanks to @dearwoodlandcreatures for crushing. Thanks to the Clermont, Whitney, BJ, Taylor, Valerie, and the staff for the amazing treatment. And especially all our friends for coming and throwing down with us. It was an amazing turnout. This photo is by our bro @carlrstoltz. We would love to see you at our next get downs. #ImprovLife Sat. Aug 24th 4pm Summer Shade Festival- Grant Park, ATL Fri- Nov 15th Smith's Olde Bar-Atlanta Room 8pm See you soon! R.A.H (Ross.Aberle.Hollifield) (at Hotel Clermont) https://www.instagram.com/p/B1JggO2J9jP/?igshid=1kyzfkhxktvnb

[williamhollifield]

B&W (sorry for the bun) 😉. @rahmusicatl has a show on Aug. 11th and some new music out. Go check it out! . . . 📸: Carl Stoltz @appliedmicrophone @fractalaudiosystems @henriselmerparisofficial @selmersaxophones @daddariowoodwinds #selectjazz #balamstrap (at The EARL) https://www.instagram.com/p/B0o0OyWp3jz/?igshid=1l5lp665i6qiz

[williamhollifield]

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A post shared by William Hollifield | Sax (@williamhollifield)

"It's Wednesday, my dudes..."... Get it 😉 . Funkin' out with @danielwytanis, @zack.albetta, and @codymatlock_ last Mardi Gras . . . #jamband #atlantalivemusic #atlantafunk #superband @selmersaxophones @daddariowoodwinds #selectjazz @appliedmicrophone #markvi #ottolink #saxophone #sax #saxo #saxophon #さぉpほ #サクソフォン #サックス (at Atkins Park Restaurant & Bar - Smyrna) https://www.instagram.com/p/B2W2QU9JMSC/?igshid=nzq13547hpee

[williamhollifield]

@thewesleyflowers recording session with @primeministerdmike . . . #petsounds #horns #atlantasongwriters #indiemusic #sax #saxo #saxophone #selmer #markvi #ottolink #daddario #selectjazz @snarejordanrocks @kj_thetruth @jonahswilley https://www.instagram.com/p/BqlA9CcA9qn/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1s5q8k6bgnyfd

[thewoodwindmethod]

What the Kids Are Listening To These Days: Confessions of a Former Music Snob | by Elizabeth Rosinbum

There’s a funny thing that happens in conservatories.  While learning to become an amazing musician, you can easily get sucked into a mentality that alienates music from popular (e.g. anything other than classical) genres.  

For me, this train of thought first took root when I stopped listening to the radio, frustrated with the uninspired, monotonous, commercially-produced noise blaring from every station.  Soon, however, I deemed almost everything that wasn’t art music or classical saxophone literature “illegitimate,” spreading from pop and hip-hop to video game music and even some movie scores (John Williams I have always loved you and will love you forever).  With a narrow, closed-minded worldview, I settled into the role of a music snob.

In the nearly five years since I graduated with my masters degree, my views have thankfully expanded.  This is in large part due to the fact that I am surrounded by young musicians.  The wonderful, tender-hearted young people I work with have helped me realize that demonizing music - even in small amounts - is a huge disservice.

I recently started a high school saxophone choir and will start one for middle school students in April.  As I prepared to launch these ventures, I was stuck between being excited for the launch and the dread of figuring out what music to play (a fun, exciting, and simultaneously daunting task).  In the weeks leading up to the high school saxophone choir launch, I had the seemingly obvious epiphany: if the goal of this choir is to get students excited about playing the saxophone, why should I have sole input of picking and arranging music?  So, I had the wild idea to ask students what THEY wanted to play.

As a result, our repertoire includes a Star Wars Medley, “Happy” by Pharrell Williams, and the theme from Toy Story “You’ve Got a Friend in Me”.  It’s easy to see that list and think “there’s no ‘legitimate’ repertoire in there!”  How could a trained, disciplined musician like myself allow THAT kind of music!?  

The music is not for me.  The music that brings me the most joy is different than that of my students, and that is ok.  The music that brings these kids back to rehearsals each week is full of excitement, and is music that they know, love, and can connect to.  Of course, playing repertoire that is standard saxophone literature is important.  But, if the best way to deepen a student’s love for music and their instrument is through video game themes, then sign me up.  I’d rather help a thousand students develop a lifelong love of music than help a mere handful improve without passion.

[thewoodwindmethod]

How to Do a Mouthpiece Trial | by Larkin Sanders

The winter months and spring semester are the time for new beginnings.  Many people have made new years resolutions, and make significant efforts to improve their lives.  It is also the season of music educators’ conferences all across the United States, where music teachers everywhere inspiring their own new beginnings.  As the Artist Clinician for Florida, I had the pleasure of working at good ol’ booth 2008 at the Florida Music Educators Association’s Exhibition Hall on behalf of D’Addario Woodwinds.  Many of the visitors who came into our booth were curious about mouthpieces, and many didn’t know that D’Addario was making mouthpieces.

One of my favorite things about my job as a Reserve Method Artist is being a part of equipment trials.  I really enjoy listening for subtle differences in mouthpieces and ligatures, in particular.  Most importantly, there is nothing more satisfying than aiding a fellow musician in finding his/her unique and beautiful voice.  However, proceeding to an equipment trial can be a daunting and overwhelming task.  Here are some tips for conducting a productive mouthpiece trial and selecting the best mouthpiece for you.

Don’t trial alone.  The sounds we make on our instruments sound much different to us than they do in the large spaces in which we perform.  It is valuable to get as much feedback from as many different ears as possible.  If possible, have them take notes, but don’t tell them which mouthpiece is which.  It’s like a little blind audition.

Use a decent reed that is broken-in. You don’t have to select your best reed for this project, but it is important that you sound your best when selecting a mouthpiece.  Do not change reeds for the duration of a trial round.

Be in good shape.  One of my teachers told me that clarinetists must have a solid set of fundamental skills before they embark on an equipment selection journey.  New equipment won’t necessarily fix your problems; it should make playing easier.

Use your current equipment as your “control.”  When trying equipment, you’re essentially conducting a scientific experiment.  Embrace the scientific method!

Select accessible repertoire to play.  Almost every mouthpiece trial that I have conducted with younger/inexperienced players involved some insane noodle.  That is, the player picked up their instrument and just played something as fast as they possibly could.  While it is fun to play fast, it is impossible to hone in on sound quality that way.  I recommend the following selections (a bit clarinet centric. Sorry saxo-friends!):

3 octave F major scale, slurred, at a reasonable tempo.  I usually do the scale in sixteenth notes at 69-72 BPM.

3 octave F major scale, articulated, at the same reasonable tempo.  I find it most difficult to sell people on the reasonable tempo for the articulated scale.

1 or 2 phrases of a 1 or 2 solo that demonstrates range and multiple characters.  In the past, I have used the sonatas by Brahms, Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto, Debussy’s Premier Rhapsody, excerpts from Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6, and other standard pieces.  Pick pieces that make you comfortable—if the excerpt from Mendelssohn’s Midsummer Night’s Dream freaks you out, don’t use it!

Switch quickly, but carefully.  You want these new sounds to stay fresh in everyone’s mind so that you all can quickly determine which sounds best.  Don’t get in a rush, though.  You don’t want to buy more mouthpieces than you set out to!

Repeat. Do the trial multiple times.  Use a March Madness style bracket until there is one winner remaining if you like.  Switch between A and B-flat clarinets.  Be creative, but be consistent!

[thewoodwindmethod]

Performing From Memory: Part I | by Zach Stern

It goes without saying that when we as musicians prepare for a performance, we need to know the music extremely well regardless of whether or not the piece is memorized. However, when we do make a concerted effort to memorize our repertoire, it helps us internalize the music at a much higher level. When you decide to perform a piece from memory, you are agreeing to learn ALL of the parts in the piece. For instance, as the alto player of the Donald Sinta Quartet, I have to know the baritone part just as well as my own so that I know exactly what he is going to do (and if he messes up, I know that, too…). Unfortunately, accidents will always happen in any performance, but when you take away the safety net of the printed page, the danger of having the whole thing falling apart is much higher. By thoroughly learning the music at this level of preparation, you will have significantly increased knowledge and awareness of your musical surroundings, and will likely have a much more fulfilling performance.

Having stands on the stage creates a physical and musical barrier between both you and your audience, but perhaps more importantly, it hinders communication between you and your co-performers. By breaking down that barrier and getting rid of the stand, your audience will be more engaged in your performance, and you as a performer will have liberty to move around more, to communicate visually with your ensemble mates, and even to choreograph your movements if you are so inclined. Your eyes will no longer be fixed on the stand, so you are free to use your eyes to communicate with your band, which is always much more engaging to watch than the unbroken gaze toward the stand. The aural product should be the most important part of your performance, but the reality is that the visual aspects of any performance have the potential to enhance the experience greatly.

Memorization will not automatically make your performance great, but if you put in the time and effort, it will have positive effects on your performance. My next post will include several strategies and tips for efficient and effective memorization. For those of us who are always looking for ways to make memorization easier, stay tuned!

[thewoodwindmethod]

May The Odds Be Ever In Your Favor | by Jeffrey Collins

I'll never forget the time that Glenn Cason told me to never play wrong notes when I practice. It was the summer of 1985 and we were driving from our hometown of Clinton, SC to the World Saxophone Congress in Washington, D.C. I was 19 years old and had just completed my freshman year of college at the University of South Carolina. Glenn had recently graduated from Carolina and was studying with Fred Hemke at Northwestern University. I had known Glenn for many years because he was best friends with my older brother Gene.

I seriously thought Glenn was a deranged man when he told me that I should never play wrong notes in the practice room. I thought to myself, how on earth do I practice without playing wrong notes? Wrong notes were all I knew! But then he started to explain it to me. He told me that when many people practice, they will play passages wrong before they play them right. Often times, the passage will be played incorrectly multiple times before playing it right. So, we play something wrong once, and then twice, and maybe three times. Then we might play it right, but, really, the damage has already been done. We have three times wrong to one time right. Right? What are the chances of getting it right the next time? Not very good. Chances are, the next time the passage is played, it will be wrong. Now, we have to go back and undo the damage that was done by playing it wrong before playing it right. How do we do that? We play it many, many times correctly, in a row, without mistake. Maybe 20 times correctly, so slow that it is impossible to play it incorrectly. Mess it up? Go back and do it 20 more times, so slow it makes you fall asleep. Play it so many times that the dogs and cats leave the house. Play it so many times that your spouse seriously questions the decision to marry. Play it again, and again, and again. Correctly, without mistake. Without fail.

We must always practice so that the odds of playing something correctly greatly outweigh the odds of playing something incorrectly. Be smart about your practice habits. Don't waste time with wrong notes. Perfect practice makes amazing musicians, imperfect practice makes mediocre musicians. Be amazing! May the odds be ever in your favor!

[thewoodwindmethod]

Value of a Good Warm Up | by Corey Mackey

Many students ask me what they can do that will enhance their playing.  I have a 3-tier approach to warm ups that I do every day and many of my students have found great success with this outline.  You can start small and simple with a 5-10 minute warm up and it can go over an hour depending on where you are in your musical life.  I break it down to three areas to warm up: air, fingers and tongue.

1) Air/embouchure

Long tones are a great way to build embouchure strength and develop a consistent and natural tone.  Work with your private teacher to find one that works for you.  Play in front of a mirror and make sure your embouchure does not move and that your hand position is relaxed and efficient.  Relaxed breathing is also very important.

2) Fingers

As a woodwind player, a lot of my music revolves around the tonal system. With that said, learn your scales – yesterday!  Start simple with all your major scales, one octave.  You can then add more octaves as you learn more notes and eventually play your scales for the full range of your instrument.  Continue to add more scales and arpeggios and thirds.  There are always scale patterns you can be working on.  Work with your private teacher for good exercises that are at your level.  

3) Tongue

Like any muscle, the tongue needs to be used often to become more accurate and flexible. The key to a good articulation is the limit the motion of the tongue in the mouth.  Keep the tongue close to the reed and use the tip of the tongue. With the help of your private teacher, strive to achieve a relaxed legato tongue stroke and from there you can gain speed and various styles of articulation. The key is to work on a tonguing exercise every day.   Try to find several different warm up options and change them up every few months so you do not become bored or complacent.  Talk with your private teacher about good warm ups to do, or contact me via my website coreymackey.com for some additional ideas.  

Happy Practicing!

[thewoodwindmethod]

You Are The Best Teacher You Will Ever Have: Optimal Practice Techniques to Prepare for Performances- Part I | by Bradley Grasl

This time of year it seems everyone, no matter their age or experience level, is getting ready for some of their biggest performances and auditions of the season. High Schoolers and Middle Schoolers are getting ready for Solo and Ensemble, college auditions and summer festival are on the horizon and professional orchestras have their last chance to fill empty positions before the summer and the beginning of the following season. Whether you are a 6th grade preparing for your first solo performance or a 36 year old taking your 60th professional audition, this article can be used as a tool to educate and to remind us of some of the fundamentals to auditions preparation that we have at our disposal.

In my first lesson with my teacher in college, Yehuda Gilad, one of the first things he told me was that the best teacher I would ever have in my life would be myself. I can honestly say that as time by that statement holds more and more water. Yes, we do need to always seek the best teacher possible to teach us the fundamentals of clarinet and music making, but who spends more time hearing our playing than ourselves? That may be a bit facetious to say, but, at best, our teacher will only hear us an hour or two per week. Taking that into account, we must find a way to maximize the efficiency and productivity of our time spent alone.

Living in the 21 century, we are fortunate to be able to have extreme ease of access to recording devices. Ideally, we should always seek the highest quality recording device possible, but just simply for everyday “practice recording” anything from a computer to a phone recording app will more than suffice. Some people say, “well, I listen to myself the whole time I play, why do I need to record myself?”. Yes, you can listen to yourself while you play, and we should always strive to be as critical as possible “in the moment”. However, there is no substitute for being able to listen back, taking an objective standpoint, and knit­picking the way you can while listening to a recording.

A suggestion for when one is listening to a recording of themselves would be to have the music in front of you and make notes, in pencil, about what you are hearing. After listening to the recording go back and pick one or two things to work on. I would suggest spending no more than 4­6 minutes on each correction before playing and recording that section again to see where you stand. Setting a “time limit” on our correction sessions helps push us to find a solution as quickly as possible and it also helps to keep one’s mind from ruminating too much and creating more problems that weren’t there in the first place.

If I told you that you could be twice as efficient and effective with your practice sessions, learning the same amount of music in half the amount of time, would you want to know how? Why is it that the day before we leave for vacation or the day before exams start we get twice as much done as we normally do? I would contend that this is because we plan out of our entire day, we know exactly what needs to be done and we set out a plan to ensure that it all gets accomplished. What if we were to do the same with our practice sessions? A football team would never consider going out on the field without literally drawing up a play to be executed and I suggest that we do the same with each and every practice session. If we have an hour to practice, before even taking out your instrument, take 5 minutes to ask yourself, “What EXACTLY do I want to accomplish in the next hour?” and then write down your response, literally, with pencil and paper. The more specific you can be, I guarantee you, the more productive you will be.

Taking the time to record ourselves and to set up a specific plan for each practice session may seem like a hassle, and yes, it will take an extra few minutes than simply just playing through the music over and over, however one can be absolutely assured that taking those extra few minutes will pay large dividends, immediately. Recording yourself, especially, can be hard to deal with mentally at first because it forces you to really be honest and “look yourself in the mirror”. If you find yourself struggling with what you hear and then struggling with the desire to record yourself again, try thinking about it this way, if it was easy, everyone would do it. It isn’t easy, but it is absolutely worth it.

“If we do what is easy, life will be hard. But if we do what is hard, life will be easy.”

[thewoodwindmethod]

How to Inspire & Motivate Students Whose Goals Aren’t to Become a Professional Musician | by Laura McLaughlin

The other day, I hit a plateau with one of my students. I felt as though this student was lacking the motivation and drive to do their best on their private lesson assignments. As their clarinet teacher, I had an instinct to tell them they need to be practicing more. But the longer I thought about it, the more I realized telling them they need to practice more won't have the greatest impact. (Plus most students know they need to be practicing more.) Instead, I needed to find out why there is a lack of motivation and commitment.

One thing I already knew, was this student did not have plans to become a professional musician. So as their teacher, I really wanted to know what their current life goals were so that we can see how clarinet fits into those goals and work ethic. I also wanted to re-visit their own personal clarinet goals. Identifying what these goals are, helped to intrinsically motivate my student.

As a teacher, if you feel like one of your students would benefit from having a similar conversation like mine, here are a few questions I would suggest asking:

1) What is your main life goal or what is one of your main life goals?

2) What are you passionate about?

3) How long do you see yourself continuing to play the clarinet and in what capacity? (Let them know there is absolutely no right or wrong answer.)  

4) What interests you about your musical activities? (I.e. private lessons, large ensembles, honor bands, chamber music.)

5) What are your clarinet goals? (This is important to re-visit multiple times a year.)

I don't believe in having students work hard in order to please me–the teacher, and I don't believe I need to scare them into working harder. What I have found, is by asking the right kinds of questions I can inspire, motivate, and engage my students.

[thewoodwindmethod]

Rhythmic Displacement | by Neal Postma

All too regularly I field the question, “what is the trick to playing fast?” I always hate to be bearer of bad news, but there is not secret. There is no self-help book on how to master your instrument in 90 days. But there are some practice techniques to help utilize your time in a more efficient manner that can speed up the learning the process. Today I would like to address the idea of rhythmic displacement.

This is far from an original idea as I have had worked on the technique with a variety of teachers over the years. If you utilize the standard saxophone scale book by Jean-Marie Londeix, Les Gammes Conjointes et en Intervalles, he encourages you to practice your scales using this technique. And as a side note to saxophonists, if you do not have this book, but it now!!! The concept is basic, you want to practice playing fast, slowly. This technique is most applicable on passages that have a constant rhythm (ie straight sixteenths or eighths). Take this passage from JS Bach’s Partita in A Minor for solo flute.

Of course you want to simply practice this passage slowly (and with a metronome) and slowly work up the tempo. But try changing the rhythm to this. I would advise only slurring when using these displaced rhythms!

And then reverse it to this:

You will want to start this slowly and work the tempi up. What you are essentially doing is playing every other interval at a very high speed. And when you reverse it you are covering the other intervals. Try this for a few days in your practice routine and see how it improves your technique!