Saxophone 3A
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- Start Date: 20 Sep 2025End Date: 29 Nov 2025Sat (Daytime): 14:00 - 15:30In PersonLocation: Keeley StreetDuration: 11 sessions (over -11 weeks)Course Code: ME613ATutors: David HarrisonFull fee £219.00 Senior fee £219.00 Concession £153.00
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What is the course about?
This intermediate course will extend your sax technique and repertoire of tunes. Improve your musicianship, and build upon the work covered in Saxophone level 2. This is our third year of instrumental study.
What will we cover?
- An understanding of the saxophone in popular and contemporary music
- Structured use of scales, harmony and theory
- Learn jazz standard tunes
- Extend your ability to improvise
- Saxophone ensemble playing
- Routines for practice
- Exercises to develop your musicianship.
What will I achieve?
By the end of this course you should be able to...
- Show improvement in your control of tone, volume and intonation
- Play written parts in sax ensemble arrangements
- Improvise over a given chord sequence (with and without music)
- Memorise your study tunes and perform them
- Recognise essential chord sequences and demonstrate an understanding of the theory behind them.
What level is the course and do I need any particular skills?
You should be able to play the chromatic scale 2 octaves from bottom C to top C, and you should already know the major scales of C, F, Bb, G, D and A, the minor pentatonic on A, D and G, and chord tones, played with the following articulations: tongued, slurred, swing time.
How will I be taught, and will there be any work outside the class?
You will be taught through tutor demonstration, learning tunes, associated musicianship, and playing together. Weekly practice of technical matters on the instrument.
Practice between classes will be essential to your progress. Students will be expected to make space and time for sax practice.
Are there any other costs? Is there anything I need to bring?
A music stand and metronome are essential for practice at home. You may need to purchase a saxophone tutor book on the advice of your tutor. Learning resources are also available in the google classroom.
When I've finished, what course can I do next?
This course continues to Sax 3B and 3C to span the academic year.
David Harrison studied at Oxford Brookes university before taking a post-graduate diploma in saxophone performance at Guildhall School of Music & Drama. David has been teaching at City Lit since 1994. In 2004 he wrote a guitar player’s guide for Collins and joined Music Sales in 2005 to update the famous A Tune A Day tutor series, eventually producing over 40 titles as series editor of the relaunched A New Tune A Day books, which has since become the biggest-selling music tutor series worldwide. Since 2010, David has worked freelance writing, editing and producing mainly educational titles, including Abracadabra Beginning Theory (Collins Music); The Complete Ukulele Player (Music Sales) and most recently the Bob Dylan Complete (Hal Leonard), the authorised collection of every Dylan song, together with an extensive introduction covering Dylan’s acoustic guitar technique, his song-writing and Dylan’s place in the American folk music revival. Aside from his guitar and saxophone classes, David runs a course in song writing. a series of talks on the music of The Beatles, and a series on the songs of Bob Dylan’s 1960s albums.
Please note: We reserve the right to change our tutors from those advertised. This happens rarely, but if it does, we are unable to refund fees due to this. Our tutors may have different teaching styles; however we guarantee a consistent quality of teaching in all our courses.
