Author: briankauth

When I work with students, I often encounter this question: “How do I practice?”.  There is no single “correct” way to practice, but I’ve used a simple methodology that works for me, and I share it with my students.

I begin my practice sessions with simple tone building exercises (long tones with a metronome, tone imagination, and overtones). These exercises develop not only proper breathing, but also stamina, pitch awareness, and flexibility. I set the metronome at a very slow tempo (for me, quarter-note = 46) and attempt to stretch how long I can sustain a tone. For students who haven’t developed their lung capacity to this degree, I generally have them set the metronome at quarter-note = 72 and work backwards to a slower tempo. I use exercises from Sigurd Rascher’s “Top Tones for the Saxophone” and Donald Sinta’s “Voicing” to practice overtones and pitch bending exercises. Daily practice of these exercises will increase your tonal flexibility, ability to hear tones before playing them, sense of pitch, and overall breath control. I also use a mouthpiece pitch bending exercise to develop embouchure focus.

Articulation and technical work is next. Using Rascher’s “Scales for the Saxophone” and “158 Exercises”, I pick certain scales/arpeggios that I want to work on that particular day (i.e. major, minor, or whole-tone). Simply practicing scales/arpeggios in sixteenth-notes at various tempi is not enough. Everyday (or every few days, depending on difficulty) I choose a rhythm from the “Scales for the Saxophone” text, one that I made up myself, or one from a piece of music that I am studying, as well as an articulation pattern (from any of the previous sources). This then becomes the pattern to practice the chosen scales/arpeggios. Very often, I need to begin at a slower tempo to focus on all of these parameters before it becomes comfortable. I then apply the same articulation and rhythmic pattern to arpeggios from the “158 Exercises.”  Additionally, I practice a line or two of the altissimo tone exercises out of “Top Tones” and/or “Voicing” to continue developing my proficiency in that register.

Finally, I practice the repertoire I’m studying. I try to incorporate Bach (or another composer from the common practice period) into my daily practice regiment, in order to practice good phrasing and sensitivity to the musical line. Recital pieces (i.e. sonatas, unaccompanied works, chamber pieces, etc.) are also practiced. I generally don’t set any limit on how much of the music I’m going to practice. I begin with the first phrase, and if I meet with some success, I’ll move on to the next phrase, and so on.  Singing the phrases is a great way to develop your inner ear and overall concept of a work. I cannot emphasize it enough.

These are just some of my thoughts regarding how to practice. It’s by no means a comprehensive list of techniques, but I have met with some success implementing this method into my practice regiment. If anyone has any comments, please don’t hesitate to let me know what you think.

I’ve posted tracks from my May 9th recital in NYC.  It turns out that Brandon Nelson’s Adolphic Vignettes was the big hit, at least judging by the number of plays on my Soundcloud page.  Thank you so much Brandon for writing such a wonderful piece!  I can’t wait to perform it again!  On a related note, there were so many people in attendance at the recital that it really made me feel special.  Between my wife, students, and colleagues, there were even people on the street who stopped by to hear me.  It was a wonderful day, and I’d like to thank everyone who was in attendance.  I’m greatly looking forward to next semester’s performance.

Here is my list of potential pieces for next semester:

James Willey – Mood Swings

Heitor Villa-Lobos – Fantasia

Paul Creston – Sonata

Andrew Martin Smith – Amalgamation

Jeff Harrington – Dans le Delire de l’Inutile

John Lezsczynski – Almost Out of the Sky

I’ve been out of the loop for a little while due to just being so busy.  But perhaps that’s a good thing.  I recently played a recital this past Saturday (May 9) in the Fiterman Art Gallery at BMCC in New York.  I recorded this short performance and I’m in the process of transferring the files to my computer and cutting them down to make mp3s.  I’ll post these over the next few days, so please be sure to check out my “Media” page.

Musicians are always searching for instruments.  Whether we already own a few, or we’re looking for something else that we need in our collection, we’re always looking for something.  I’m on the hunt for a baritone saxophone.  It’s the one standard sized saxophone that I don’t own.  I haven’t played much baritone in the past (one year in high school jazz band, then nothing until my doctoral studies when I played baritone in a saxophone quartet for one year, and then nothing until this past year when I played my first concert with Swing Shift on baritone and a concert with the New York Wind Symphony), but the instrument is calling to me.  I love the sound of the instrument, and I’m longing to play one of Bach’s Cello Suites on it.

But all of this is also coming down to preparedness and necessity.  I think it’s absolutely vital that today’s saxophonists be adept on at least the four main sizes of the instrument (soprano-alto-tenor-baritone), and be able to play them in both classical and jazz/commercial settings.  I’ve expanded my tonal and musical palettes greatly in the past few years, and I’m looking for the remaining pieces of the puzzle.  I want to be ready for any musical situation.

At least I have my mouthpiece situation figured out…

There is a video circulating on YouTube from the 2014 North American Saxophone Alliance (NASA) Biennial conference that features Dr. Fred Hemke, Dr. Eugene Rousseau, and Dr. Steven Mauk.  It was a panel discussion that was moderated by conference host Debra Richtmeyer, in which she asked them questions about the state of saxophone pedagogy in the United States, as well as how they came to find the saxophone as their musical voice.  After viewing the video, it caused me to think about how I decided on the saxophone for my own musical path–a story which I will share here.

I first started playing the saxophone when I was eight years old.  In my elementary school, following the conclusion of the third grade, students were allowed to begin studying an instrument to play in the band.  As a youngster, I had no idea what I wanted to play, but I knew that I wanted to participate in band because some of my friends were going to do it.  I asked my mother what I should do, and she said that I should play saxophone because she liked how it sounded.  That’s all it took.  I started playing a few weeks later during summer lessons, and was an able participant in the elementary band in the fall.

I continued to play saxophone throughout elementary, middle, and high school, participating in the concert band, jazz band, and marching band.  In high school, I became very serious about studying music in college, so I began taking private lessons.  In 1997 I entered SUNY Fredonia to study music education, with the intent of becoming a band director.  I began studying with Dr. Laurence Wyman and I loved all of my classes.  In the spring of 1999, Dr. Wyman informed his studio that the Rascher Saxophone Quartet was coming to Fredonia that summer to give a week-long workshop, and that we should all consider attending.  Little did I know that this would be an experience that would completely change the course of my life.  At this workshop, I heard sounds that I had never heard before from a saxophone, as well as a tone quality that is still ringing in my ears.  I knew from then on that this is what I wanted to do with my life–to play saxophone as these four amazing artists were.  It was also at this workshop that I was to meet a man with whom I would later study and learn from–Dr. Lawrence Gwozdz.

One year later, I met the other individual who would transform my playing and my whole mode of thinking about the saxophone: Dr. Wildy Zumwalt.  I was immediately captivated by his tone quality and musicianship, and I was very excited that he would be my teacher when Dr. Wyman retired in 2000.

These three individuals (6 if you count all of the members of the RSQ), have influenced me to be the saxophonist and musician that I am today.  I cannot imagine what I would be doing with my life had I not heard the saxophone played as they play it.  I thank them everyday for the gifts they shared with me, and I hope to continue the tradition going.

Since I graduated with my DMA in 2009, I’ve had a few epiphanies about what it takes to be successful in the music world. Granted, I am still a novice in much of this; however, I’ve learned a few important lessons over the past 6 years, and I feel inclined to share them.

1) Networking — It goes without saying, but it is absolutely crucial to network within your chosen field. I began networking with other saxophonists back in early 2002, and I’ve continued to do so to the present. I’ve benefited from the process by being able to collaborate with new people, find new music, study with some amazing players, and be more in the know about the saxophone world.

2) Jazz and Doubling are Important — I never focused on studying jazz or doubling on clarinet until after my formal studies. This was a mistake that I’m still coping with. In college, my priorities were different–I was focused on becoming a classical saxophonist. Now that I’ve finished school, I believe it’s more important than ever to be adaptable to any musical situation. I’ve since bought a clarinet, listened to more jazz, and begun playing it on a regular basis with the Swing Shift Orchestra. I’ll never give up my classical playing, but I’ll feel more comfortable with a jazz side that I can tap into and use for the various musical and jazz/commercial performances that pop up.

3) Find a great repairman — This also goes without saying. Find someone who you trust with your instruments. I was fortunate enough to befriend Charles Gray at Paul Effman Music, and I send all of my instruments to him when in need of repair.

I’m sure there are some other things that I’ve forgotten to mention, but this is what was on my mind this week, as I prepare to perform in The Drowsy Chaperone next weekend.