Teachers!

[Michael]

Hey Dazza,

Not too long ago, I had checked out a Sax teacher at a local music Academy. What I do appreciate about him was his honesty. After our 45 mintute session, he told me that there wasn’t too much he could do for me and he attributes it to the instructor I have! He didn’t charge anything for our first visit, it was like a consultation to see where I was at, where I’m headed, and depending on what he finds we would go from there. And that is a huge compliment to Johnny for sure….even though it’s all been online. As you just mentioned, there was nothing the instructor could say that Johnny hadn’t already told me at some point in time before. Since then, I have recommended him to a few locals who we’re brand new and looking for a Sax Instructor because of his honesty. But I also absolutely direct them to Johnny’s site.

The next time you need to book a private lesson, why not do it with Johnny online? I plan on doing so soon again. As you start on his Altissimo course, Improvisation course, or just playing in general, we’re all bound to come across things that we need help on. Who else better is there to book a lesson with than the one who devised these courses anyway?

[Dazza]

Yep for sure Babs! I need to get my computer into the shop to get some bugs out then I think I might spend the next few bucks on a skype with Johnny. When you break it down the sax is not rocket science as thousands of people have done it and play amazingly well so why not me. Really just follow the stepping stones and do the work and do what those that have done it tell us to do and success is waiting. Most of all enjoy the journey. Hey, when will we see and hear those new shiny TJ’s?

[Anonymous]

That’s the problem with teachers, i’m lucky in the fact that mine is a pro,
whose played sax,clarinet,flute all his life for a living, his playing is as
good as Johnny’s, he’s got a degree in music etc and he still does gigs etc..
But he’s enthusiastic and really pushes people to the limit!
Trouble is i could complete grade 8 sax & be allowed to teach the sax, and i know people
who already do that, but i wouldn’t trust them.
I think you’ve been unlucky in in teacher choice!
Without my teacher for feedback – i would be fooling, cheating myself etc…
My main issue is that if i record something and play it back to find mistakes etc..
is as only as good as the knowledge of music theory i have. The only useful thing i
find from recordings is listening for improvements of tone, but each person is different.

[Michael]

For me, recording myself is very important because it allows me to monitor my progress, what I’ve done wrong and right, etc.. We can look back on what we’ve done too and realize that we are progressing–there’s loads of videos here on Johnny’s blog to look at and we see everyone improving. Go back and look at the Member’s Videos pt.1, all the way up to now. You see everyone progressing–that’s one of the main benefits of recording ourselves.
JAKE: I’ll be uploading very soon. We’re in the middle of a move right now and I’m REALLY looking forward to the open space which includes having my own little spot for Saxophone practice. I started a new collection of Pictures from different eras of great Saxophone players and I’m putting them all up in frames and on the wall for display…right now the count is 21 pictures if I remember correctly, from sizes 8×10 to 4×6. You’ll see my little Saxophone “Wall of Fame” displayed behind me in future uploads. But I most definately will be doing a few here ASAP in the house we’re in right now…even with boxes that are piled up around the house packed with our stuff–so you’ll have to forgive anything on video you see packed and ready to take to our new place. I’ll probably push a few of them aside for the video LOL Johnny sent me an autographed picture and it looks great in the frame we selected. I also am had made a new custom MBII and it’s coming for my Tenor. I had one made for my Alto back in the fall and just love it–but I gotta say the Theo Wanne Durga is just a little bit better 🙂 I wanted to get a Theo Wanne for my Tenor too, but with the $ I spent on buying these Saxophones, it’ll have to wait for little bit–they cost close to $700 for the Tenor. So my MBII is coming for the Tenor, it’s supposed to be shipped to me sometime within a week is what I was told. Having played with a custom MBII on the Alto I know how good they are. And besides, Guardalas are among the best in the world–I have a Guardala Studio model of MP right now that I’ve used in previous videos. But I do plan on getting a Theo Wanne for the Tenor, probably sometime later this year. Uploads coming very, very soon.

[Anonymous]

the thing with music teachers, no matter how well you get to know them,
once your lesson is over, they usually have someone else’s lesson next,
so they don’t always have time for idle chat!

The only thing i can recommend if someone decides to employ a teacher,
is to sit down first and do some soul searching 1st and work out exactly
what you want from them! Then meet up with them and make clear to
them what you want from them – that way both of you are clear as to what
you want & they are clear on what they should be teaching you.

My teacher has lots of people with different requests.
most youngsters want to do grades – so he gears them up for grades.
some people with years of professional experience just go for an hours
jam session.
some people just go along to learn to play specific songs properly.
some just want to be taught theory.
Some have identified problem areas – like bad intonation, problems
with setup, out of time etc – and want to improve in these areas.

Over the 14 months of lessons i have had, i have taken stock & reassessed
continuously what i have wanted from my teacher, its a case of priorities,
one month i wanted to work on dynamics, another month i wanted to recap
some of the work i had learnt previously.
As the months go by, my objects change.

At the end of the day they aren’t mind readers and Like Dazza says,
after a year or so, a lesson every two weeks is sufficient and gives you
more time to practice.

[Author]

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