Saxophone Lessons For Older Beginners

Saxophone Lessons For Older Beginners

Hands up – who has always wanted to learn how to play the saxophone, but has waited a lifetime to do it ?

Saxophone lessons for older beginners are quite different than those aimed at younger students.

Saxophone Lessons designed for older beginners should take into consideration more about what the goals of the student are and less about striving towards being a concert saxophonist.

People who are in their 40’s, 50’s, 60’s 70’s and older more often than not want to play specific songs.  They want to play their favourite songs, the songs they grew up with…or the songs that their children or grandchildren want to hear.

Imagine playing “Happy Birthday” to your 4 year old grandson or granddaughter at their birthday party.

Imagine playing along with your Rolling Stones or Beatles vinyl records (or CD collection, or YouTube, or Spotify).

Imagine playing your partners favourite song at your wedding, or anniversary, or at a big family event.

Fancy busting out your saxophone at Christmas and rocking around the Christmas Tree ?

Picture yourself joining your friends band on stage at your local pub or club for a song or two.  You’ve gone to see them perform regularly for years.  Why not join in ?

Saxophone lessons for older beginners should allow you to work towards playing along with your friends who play guitar, or piano.

Saxophone lessons for younger beginners (late primary school / early high school) tend to focus on musical theory, notation, little black dots on horizontal lines.  The song selections are usually tedious and while they do allow the younger student to progress, this is one of the reasons many younger students give up.

Older Students usually know exactly what they want – they want to learn how to play their favourite songs on the saxophone !

So, therefore the question arises – what makes for good saxophone lessons for older beginners ?

 

Have Fun

Choosing music that you like and enjoy is FAR more important that anything else.  Having fun is THE most important part of learning how to play the saxophone.

If you are learning saxophone for the first time, or perhaps picking it back up again after a break of several decades, then it is vitally important to maintain your enthusiasm.  And what better way to do this than to play the songs that inspire you: the songs of your life ?

There is absolutely no point in struggling through, say, classical sonatas or orchestral pieces if you are into rock, soul, funk or blues.  And vice versa.

There is nothing more demotivating and demoralising than been a lover of Beethoven and being forced to learn some Metallica classics.  And vice versa.

If you are not having fun, then you will probably not play your saxophone.

Saxophone practice should be fun.  And saxophone lessons for older beginners should be fun too.

 

Play Saxophone

Setting some saxophonic goals is an important strategy.  As an older beginner, you probably know what you like and what you don’t.  You probably know what “it” should sound like, or at least you have in mind what you want it to sound like.

When seeking out saxophone lessons as an older beginner, you want to find a teacher (or online saxophone lessons) that will take you step by step towards YOUR goals.

Not towards the goals of the teacher.

Saxophone lessons for older beginners should motivate the student to want to play more, to work towards mastering (or coming close !) some great songs.

Saxophone lessons for older beginners should make playing your favourite songs easy.  They should break a song down into smaller bite sized pieces.  They should work and inspire you to taking one step, then the next step, then the next logical step towards playing the song….and having fun while doing it.

They should provide options other than “reading music”, because this in itself is can be a barrier to progression.  Cheat Sheets and playing by ear should make things easier.  Being forced to learn how to read music first BEFORE playing awesome songs can sometimes be a frustrating waste of time for older students.

10 or 15 minutes (or more !!) practice each day is much better than one session of 30 minutes once a week.  Having the motivation and the tools to make playing your saxophone each day are vitally important when starting out on your saxophone journey as an older beginner.  Consistency is key.

 

Be Awesome

As a saxophone player, you are, by definition, awesome already.

Playing the songs that you want to play make you want to play more.

Learning the riffs, the lines, the solos, the melodies and the brass parts of your favourite songs is inspiring.

Adding sunglasses (real or imagined) makes you the rock star that you always wanted to be.  Ok, so maybe The Rolling Stones might not call you for their next tour (RIP Charlie Watts), but in your mind and the minds of others you WILL be a rock star.

When it all “clicks” into place, when you play that line, or solo, or riff, or melody on your sax, you WILL be awesome.

There is arguably nothing more exciting than playing a great song, an awesome song, on your saxophone.

This is the ultimate goal when seeking saxophone lessons for older beginners.  It’s not about the teacher.  It’s about the songs, your goals and YOU.

 

Repeat

As an older beginner, the repetition of playing your saxophone has many benefits.

Music helps keep the brain functioning and firing on all cylinders.  It helps the muscles and hand/eye co-ordination.  It keeps the ears listening and reacting.  It can keep your mind and body alert, refreshed, engaged.  Playing music can help your with relaxation and taking your mind off the troubles of the world – global pandemics anyone ?  Music can also fire you up, get the blood pumping and provide enthusiasm and adventure into your day/week/month/year.

Playing saxophone can be social or solitary.  Actually, it can be a good long term option to aim for both !

Being inspired enough to pick up your saxophone again and again should be a direct result of taking saxophone lessons designed for older beginners.

Saxophone lessons for older beginners should make you want to get with the next lesson !

The repetition of consistent and continuous playing can only result in increased skill, increased fun, increased awesomeness, which in turn becomes a self fulfilling prophecy.

If you Have Fun, Play Saxophone, Be Awesome and Repeat – in that order – you will quite simply be able to eventually play what you want to play, when you want to play it, and almost with whom ever you wish to play it with.

Saxophone lessons for older beginners should be designed to help you to Have Fun, Play Saxophone, Be Awesome and Repeat.

 

Thanks,

Matthew 

 

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P.S.  If you would like simple step by step instructions to help you learn how to play your favourite Rock, Soul, Funk and Blues songs on the saxophone:

• all neatly organised in the one convenient location,
• all provided by an experienced saxophone teacher who can help you to play the music that YOU want to play quickly and easily,
• without reading music,
• all available when ever it suits YOU (rather than when it suits someone else),
• with a forum community to ask questions and receive (and give) answers

then check out our saxophone lessons membership options.  Get started on your saxophone journey today !

Remember – I can help you learn How To Play The Sax

YES – I want to Have Fun, Play Sax, Be Awesome and Repeat !

HowToPlayTheSax.com – where saxophone lessons for older beginners come to YOU !

🙂