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Playing the Saxophone

The research imperative lying at the heart of this pedagogical work concerns developing an approach to instrumental learning that privileges critical self-reflection through responsive listening over the pre-eminence of technical development, which is subsumed. Buckland has tested and refined these methods over 15 years’ working with his own students in the RNCM and elsewhere throughout the UK, also observing the work of world-leading saxophone specialists who visit the College, and those with whom he has worked professionally. The book is aimed at students wanting to move up to conservatoire standard, conservatoire students themselves, and professionals looking to advance their playing to the next level, constituting the most comprehensive overview of modern saxophone playing currently available. The performer is encouraged to develop her responsive listening through evaluating and comparing her own playing with that of other saxophonists and other musicians. The methodology is to allow each constituent technique to be examined rigorously through a series of comprehensive and focussed exercises, until that technique can be honed to its highest functioning level. For example, the many considerable possible combinations of techniques used to play a single note are explored, deepening the player’s sense of how choices are constantly made on the micro-level. The volume includes sets of exercises that the player can incorporate into their daily practice routine to maintain these techniques. The student is then led to subsume technique into the subconscious in order to allow for maximum imagination and audacity during performance. Progression from understanding and embodying small increments of basic technique, to exercises in grouping these together, players find that their control of their instrument and thought processes whilst performing become both much more secure and imaginative. The methodology described could be transferred to any other instrument or, indeed, other cognate discipline.