What are the goals of saxophone lessons?
FOR STUDENTS AND PARENTS - Tips to get the most out of lessons
Strategies & Advice for Success
Practice every day. There are no two ways around it - successful music students commit themselves to regular, daily practice. Practice must include time to complete your full warm-up, solo repertoire (etudes or solos), and music you are preparing for ensembles and other performances. And don’t cram on the day before a lesson or performance - that never works.
Develop a practice routine. The hardest part of practicing is getting started, and if you always know how you’re going to start practicing you can remove a layer of stress and dread from your practice routine. A great practice routine usually starts with a long tone exercise, scale practice, and articulation exercises. Now, you are a better saxophonist than when you started, and you are warmed up and ready to tackle your repertoire.
Practice slowly and isolate the problem notes. These are the two golden rules of practicing, and they will help you out of the trickiest situations. If you are failing on a musical passage, devise strategies for slowing the tempo and/or figuring out what small chunk of music should be repeated successfully.
Listen to recordings of the music you are preparing. Check out YouTube, Spotify, and of course published physical media (CD, Vinyl, etc.) of great artists’ work to gain context and inspiration. This will make a huge impact on your growth as an artist!
Professionalism
It is never too early to start presenting oneself in a professional manner. Students should attend all lessons, be on time, have instruments assembled and be warmed up, and generally be prepared to play for up to 30 minutes. If you have an emergency or a conflict, communicate this to me by email or phone at the earliest opportunity.
Concert Attendance
Attend as many saxophone performances at school and around Austin as you can, wherever possible. Showing support of your saxophone colleagues is just good juju, and viewing live performances of more advanced students and professionals can be inspiring and highly conducive to future growth. Examples include performances of fellow students, Dr. Gadgil, the Austin Saxophone Ensemble, The University of Texas Saxophone Ensemble, and other solo and chamber music performances that come up. I will do my best to update you on the goings-on of the Austin saxophone community.
Sheet Music
Please ensure that you own the music you perform and build your own library. Photocopies are not acceptable as study or performance material due to violations of copyright law.
FOR PARENTS - Billing/Scheduling Info
Payment You will receive an invoice for each month of lessons. Payment is due in advance at the first lesson of the month. Payments more than one week late will incur an additional $10 late fee. Cash, check, or online Paypal payments are accepted (sunilrgadgil@gmail.com).
Supplies/Equipment/Sheet Music, required at every lesson
Other supplies such as mouthpieces, ligatures, and recordings may be discussed as needed. Where to order supplies: from Woodwind & Brasswind (wwbw.com), Weiner Music (weinermusic.com), or Pro Winds (prowinds.com). Where to order sheet music: Pender’s Music (penders.com), JW Pepper (jwpepper.com), Eble Music (eble.com) or Dorn Publications (dornpub.com).
Attendance/Cancellations It is important to be consistent with attendance as well as practice. Please make sure your student attends every lesson. If cancellation notice is given more than 24 hours in advance, you will be credited for the canceled lesson. Please make every effort to notify me in advance about testing days, school trips, and other conflicts.
I have a busy performance schedule that will sometimes require me to cancel or reschedule a lesson. If this is the case, I will give you adequate notice and you will be billed appropriately or credited for the canceled lesson.
Emergency Absences If your student must be absent for illness or emergency, please text me (preferred) or call me at 512-775-7869 or e-mail prior to the lesson to cancel or reschedule. Payment of the full cost of your lesson is required for missed lessons and cancellations with late or no notification.