Beginning Band PART FIVE; Consistency

[PART FIVE of an article written by Tracey Leeman owner of Musical Innovations and a long time educator published in the School Band and Orchestra July 2011 issue]


If parents would consider music as an academic subject (rather than a co- or extra-curricular) they will give performing music classes the same priority they give to all other academic subjects. They will insist that studying music is as important as academic homework. If students practice their music lessons as they do their regular homework they will progress. Once they begin to play well, playing will be it's own reward. Because performing music requires neuromuscular and psychomotor development as well as intellect, doing daily music homework is usually necessary before a child can progress enough to "like it". 

Beginning Band PART FOUR; Attitude

[PART FOUR of an article written by Tracey Leeman owner of Musical Innovations and a long time educator published in the School Band and Orchestra July 2011 issue]

A school band or Orchestra is a microcosm of society. It teaches co-operation, respect, listening skills, analysis and synthesis, creativity and expression, personal responsibility and interpersonal communication. These skills are sought after by Fortune 500 companies. Playing a Musical instrument teaches life skills that are adaptable to every personal and professional challenge. 

I have personally seen a number of older players fixing up musical instruments to begin playing again. There are many communities that offer community bands for players of all ages to become involved in. 

Beginning Band PART THREE; Attitude

[PART THREE of an article written by Tracey Leeman owner of Musical Innovations and a long time educator published in the School Band and Orchestra July 2011 issue]

Parents who understand the value of music in a child's education and the lifelong benefits of studying music will be glad that their children are participating in a music program and will give their full support. Their enthusiasm will be contagious and their children will then approach their musical studies with excitement as well. There are many studies that prove this out. Here are just a few examples: 

Middle School students involved in a music program scored significantly higher than their non-band peers in standardized tests. 

Another study showed correlations between the number of years of instrumental music instruction and academic achievement in math, science, and language skills.. See University studies in Georgia and Texas. 

Musical studies appears to to dramatically enhance a child's abstract thinking skills and spatial-temporal ability - skills neccessary for math and science - even more than computer instruction does. See Dr. Frances Rauscher, U of CA-Irvine.

Music students showed higher academic scores and scored higher on SAT scores. See Dr Tim Lautzenheiser's book Attitude Concepts for Today and The College Board, Princeton, NJ

There are many other studies that show improvement in academic scores by studying music. 

Beginning Band PART TWO; Support

[PART TWO of an article written by Tracey Leeman owner of Musical Innovations and a long time educator published in the School Band and Orchestra July 2011 issue]


Parents who are encouraging, especially through the difficult times, teach their children to reach out and take risks, to rise to challenges, and to pursue their dreams with confidence. In contrast, parents who say, "My child never sticks with anything", or what I often hear "they will probably drop out anyway", are being unfair to their children and laying the groundwork for a pattern of discouragement. This is true for any endeavor, not just music. 

Beginning Band PART ONE

[PART ONE of an article written by Tracey Leeman owner of Musical Innovations and a long time educator published in the School Band and Orchestra July 2011 issue]

So you child has chosen to start band in the fall. Many questions are asked by the parents such as "How do we choose the right instrument" and "how much will it cost"? and probably a very important one"Will my child stick with it"?. A survey doe a few years ago showed that 45 % of parents responding would not buy a musical instrument unless they "knew that their child had some musical talent". But how do you know if your child has talent if they have never even held an instrument or been taught to play? 

Well, a childs success in music is directly related to four factors: support; attitude; consistency; and open-mindedness.
Worth noting is that finances are not a factor in the success of young students. We will cover each of these factors in future blogs.

A word about swabs

There are many types and qualities of swabs on the market. Everything from a piece of felt, chamois, silk, to microfiber. Please keep in mind that the object of a swab is to remove saliva from the inside of the bore.  Acids in the saliva will over time rot raw brass, tear down fibers in wood, and cake on plastic. Besides the health factors of keeping moist "spit" in the instrument. One of the best absorbing materials I have found is the microfiber cloth and what is sold as the "sax diaper". It is diaper material. Silk is a good material to use in swabs as well especially inside wood.  Much talk has been given to products that you push into the bore of a instrument and leave there. My option has always been to get the saliva out of the instrument quickly and completely not allowing it to stay inside the bore as it wicks to the center. If you play daily the instrument may never dry out.             

Putting a reed on a wind instrument.

As a technician for nearly 40 years I see many parents purchase reeds more often than others. I do like selling them but they can last longer by taking a few easy steps. Many times students will put a reed on the mouthpiece first then slide the ligature over the reed. If the reed is lightly over the top of the mouthpiece it will chip the reed. One way to prevent this is to place the ligature on the mouthpiece first then slide the reed with  the thick part down under it. Another very important item that is a must is a mouthpiece cap. This very inexpensive accessory will protect the reed while not playing during rehearsal  but protects the mouthpiece tip while putting the instrument away and while not playing. A mouthpiece cap costs about 1/50th of a mouthpiece so make sure you have one. 

Saxophone care

The first thing to think of before playing any instrument is to make sure your mouth is rinsed out. Next check to make sure your mouthpiece goes on the neck easily. If it feels tight lubricate the cork with some high quality cork grease. The best greases are all natural or lanolin based. These lubricate the cork without wearing down the glue the holds the cork to the neck. Just alittle grease will do the job. When putting the neck into the saxophone receiver,  hold the neck near the part that goes into the receiver and use a twisting motion rather than a rocking motion. Make sure the neck screw is loose. Then lightly tighten the neck screw so the neck doesn't move. When you are finished  playing swab out the body and wipe the inside of the mouthpiece. Place your reed in a quality reed guard so the reed dries flat. Rotate your reeds so you use 5 per week. You can mark them for each day of the4 week so they will dry completely. Your reeds will last longer this way. If you have a pad stay down when it is supposed to come up it may be because dried saliva is holding the pad down on to the tone hole. Use a piece of pad paper(sold through music stores) between the pad and tone hole while lightly holding the pad down pull the paper out. 

It is good to wipe your fingerprints off the body of the saxophone using a microfiber cloth. Don't try to get underneath the keys as springs may come unhooked. Repair technicians prefer to see an instrument twice per year to keep your instrument in it's best playing condition and to keep costs at a minimum.