The Art of Saxophone Playing Review

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(More customer reviews)This book is the widely acknowledged prime source for saxophone information. Every sax player should have it! It brings together a wealth of information about many aspects of saxophone playing that is not available in any other single source. It explains the embouchure (lip) needed to play and even has exercises for helping to develop it. It has a fingering chart including alternate fingerings. It also has a very useful chart of pitch alteration fingerings - if your instrument has a few notes that are flat or sharp (very common), then these fingerings can be used to bring them back in tune with the rest of the horn. The essentials of breathing for saxophone are also discussed, again including exercises for developing breath control. The various aspects of tone control are discussed thoroughly. Also the legato and staccatto techniques and how to properly tongue a note are explained very clearly. Mouthpiece terminology and design considerations are shown. Advanced exercises are also given for "mastering the technique". This involves learning to keep the fingers in contact with the keys, proper hand positioning, etc. Doubling (i.e., playing a second instrument, like a clariniet) is often required of the saxophonist and this is discussed. Altissimo fingerings are also shown, although only the advanced students will be interested in them.

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According to Larry Teal, the best method of learning to play the saxophone is to study with a competent teacher. Teal's studies were mostly of instruments other than the saxophone, but as a student at a Chautauqua summer session, he came under the influence of Georges BarrÞre, the eminent French flutist. He played bass clarinet with the Detroit Symphony, but he continued to be absorbed by the saxophone. As a result of his acquired expertise and growing reputation, he was appointed to a full-time faculty position as a saxophone teacher by the University of Michigan -- the first ever to receive such an appointment from a major university. During his 21-year tenure, he attracted students from all over, thus exerting an ever widening influence on saxophone teaching and performing.

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