Saxophone Practice Time Management
We all know that we need to eat our vegetables. We all know that we need to do some saxophone practice. We all know that repetition leads to improvement.
But, do you know how to actually go about practicing your saxophone ?
We are all busy with “life”……what are the best ways to make saxophone practice a regular part of your life ?
Saxophone Practice Time Management is a tricky one.
Here are 8 tips to help you with your saxophone practice time management
(and a Podcast with the audio and extended version !)
1. Get a sax stand and keep your saxophone out in full view.
Being able to walk past your saxophone and simply pick it up and play is going to mean you will play it more often.
Out of sight means out of mind.
Yes, be careful where you put your sax – watch out for small children or pets or general clumsiness – however, having it visible in the corner of your lounge room or bedroom will mean you will play it more often.
2. 5 mins a day is better than 30 mins once a week. 10 mins a day is better than 60 mins once a week.
A little bit of saxophone practice every day, or every second day, will reap bigger benefits than one big but rare session.
3. Put it in your calendar. Schedule a time to actually play your sax.
For some people, they need an official reminder. If it’s not in the calendar, then it’s not going to happen. Good saxophone practice time management involves deliberate effort. Put it in your calendar and make it happen !!
4. Location, location, location.
Do you have a room where you can close the door ? Maybe even close the curtains too.
This will help to psychologically isolate yourself away from others and help to remove any subconscious “performance anxiety”.
Hint 1: The acoustics in the bathroom do great things for saxophone practice !!
Hint 2: Playing with your sax pointing into your clothes cupboard or wardrobe will significantly reduce the overall volume.
Perhaps you can go down the street to your local park, or to the beach to play your saxophone ?
Do you have somewhere inspiring that you can easily go to where you can play your sax ?
Being inspired makes it easier to play.
Not being worried about “disturbing the neighbours” will make it more inspiring to pick up your saxophone regularly and often.
5. Timing – is there a time of day where you know that you will not disturb your family, your housemates, your neighbours ?
This is a good time to schedule into your calendar a saxophone practice session.
6. Take your sax to work.
Can you take your sax with you to work, and at lunchtime find a quiet storeroom, or meeting room, or space where you can play for 15 mins before you eat your lunch ?
7. Make saxophone playing your priority !
Like all things in life, you need to make time for the things that you feel are important.
Going to the gym, eating healthily, keeping in contact with friends and family, going to the supermarket…these all take time.
If you consciously and deliberately choose to play your saxophone, to achieve a musical goal, to learn a specific song, to work towards a specific musical event (eg a gig, a wedding, a party, a jam session with friends) then put your saxophone into your schedule and “just do it”.
Very quickly, playing your sax will become a habit, not a chore.
8. Make it FUN !
Play the music that YOU want to play. Crank up the stereo, or your headphones (be careful of your ear drums !), play along with your favourite songs. We’ve got HEAPS of great song saxophone lessons inside our Members Area !
If it is not fun, you probably won’t do it. Make it fun and you WILL do it.
Yes, you do need to play a few scales and a few long notes every time you play. Use these as a warmup to get your mouth and fingers in gear, before the main event: playing the music and the songs that YOU want to play.
It is soooooooo much easier to make time to play saxophone if you are inspired to do so.
Thanks,
Matthew 🎷
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🙂
I’m starting from scratch. I need all the help, and practice O can get. I practice at least 20 mins a day. I take a class every sat. I need all the proper steps on how too blow the sax, the proper way.
Hi Charles,
Thanks for stopping by HowToPlayTheSax.com !
It sounds like you are doing all of the right things – regular practice, plus the regular classes too. Well done – keep going !!
I wrote a blog post about “saxophone embouchure” that has an accompanying video….this may help :
https://howtoplaythesax.com/how-to-play-the-saxophone/saxophone-embouchure/
Please stay safe, stay healthy and keep playing your saxophone !
Thanks,
Matthew 🎷