Yay! :-)

         I am so excited about becoming a real, live Instrumental Music Teacher in the fall!  :-)  Here's to a summer of learning more and more instruments (and improving on the ones that I do have some experience with!). I know that it will be a lot of work, but this is something that I actually think is so valuable. I am really feeling blessed to have this great opportunity!  :-D

How Deep the Father's Love for Us

Far from perfect, but attempting to keep up with my learning!

Three Beat Jam

(Trumpet) O Canada

(Alto Saxophone) An Attempt at Playing "The Pink Panther" Theme... I will keep trying and post more as I am able!

I have been attempting to learn the theme from "The Pink Panther." Here is a video of one of my best attempts so far. I think that as I become more familiar with the notes, this will become a lot easier and more connected for me.  I will keep working on this song for as long as I have rented my saxophone and try to update it when I feel that I've made some progress.

Here is an additional video of me working my way through the "Progressive Beginner Saxophone" book.
                    (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFOE73o_vxA&feature=youtu.be)

(Alto Saxophone) Oh, When the Saints go Marching in

Here is my attempt at "Oh When the Saints go Marching in" on the Alto Saxophone. It starts off ok, but becomes dicey as I lose full breath control... at least, I think that's the issue here!

(Alto Saxophone) Progressive Beginner Saxophone

Here is a mini sample of a very short piece that uses staccato and some slurring.

(Alto Saxophone) Progressive Beginner Saxophone - Staccato

Here is an extremely short sample of me practicing my staccato on the Alto Sax!  :-)

(Alto Saxophone) Progressive Beginner Saxophone Lesson # 4 (continued)

This piece shows an attempt at slurring some notes. I seem to always miss a few!

(Alto Saxophone) Progressive Beginner Saxophone Lesson #4

I chose to learn the basics of the Alto Saxophone by reading the book and playing along with videos on the DVD included with "Progressive Beginner Saxophone," by Peter Gelling (Koala Music Publications, ISBN: 978-1-86469-120-7). Here is a sample of me playing Lesson #4 along with Track #11 on the DVD. While I was initially drawn to the physical beauty of this instrument, I had reservations when it came down to actually learning to play, as it seemed big and complicated to put together. After watching a couple of Youtube videos about assembly, however, I learned that it wasn't as difficult as it seemed to assemble. I also found that it was much easier to produce an initial tone on the Alto Saxophone as opposed to the trumpet.


Here I am giving it another try, with some slight improvements:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvjUiEDPqvw&feature=youtu.be

(Trumpet) Oh, When the Saints go Marching in

My wonderful conure friend, Tamarijn, loves to listen to me play the trumpet! (That brings my fan base up to a total count of one so far! ;-) ). He flew in during this video to hear me play "Oh, When the Saints go Marching in." Thanks for the moral support, Tam! I think I am sounding a bit more confident and making more clear tones in this piece.

(Trumpet) CHARGE!

Something about this little tune makes me think of a bull running down a street and someone waving a red sheet in the air. I think I am showing a little more expression here and using some staccato notes on purpose instead of just playing everything in a really detached way because I have yet to master slurring.

Cornerstone - an attempted Piano / Trumpet Duet

Here I am attempting a piano / trumpet duet with my Mom when I visited home for her birthday on February 12th. I didn't post it until now, because it's been lurking on my husband's phone until this point. We are playing (attempting to play?) a song that we sing at church called "Cornerstone." I really love how the piano and trumpet sound together, and I am looking forward to improving to the point of actually being able to have a strong tone throughout entire songs so we can play together again!

(Trumpet) Skip to my Lou

Here's a little sample of one of the ditties that I discovered in the Essential Elements book. Again, I am starting to hear small improvements!

(Trumpet) A Lullaby for the Neighbours in my Building who are Likely Getting Sick of my Trumpet Learning Experience!

(Should I tell them that I plan to buy a trumpet because it's so much fun to play? :-D ) Again, I am not thrilled with this video, as I still haven't mastered the breathing and the non-squeaking. I shall continue to practise!

(Trumpet) A more "legato" attempt at the C Major scale

Well, I think that I am slowly getting the hang of slurring!  :-)

(Trumpet) Morning has Broken

I absolutely love this song, especially the Cat Stevens cover - it's definitely a favourite of mine. I actually had some friends sing it as a duet at my wedding!  :-)  Sadly, my trumpet version is quite chock full of squeaks and breathing issues... still, I think one might be able to guess what song it is during a game of "Name That Tune!"

(Trumpet) Twinkle, Twinkle, Squeak-le... ooo....

In this video, I play the much-loved Mozart tune"Twinkle Twinkle, Little Star." I notice there is quite a bit of squeaking at points and I would not consider this to be my best performance. Still, it is an attempt!

(Trumpet) Ode to Joy

Here is my attempt at the trumpet version of "Ode to Joy" (or "Drink Milk, Love Life, if you'd prefer!). It's far from perfect, but I can hear some improvement! 

(Trumpet) If You're Happy and you Know it

Here I am playing that childhood favourite "If You're Happy and you Know it." I think that this went pretty well, overall. There is one spot near the end where I hear a little bit of squeaking, however. I will work on doing some exercises to help improve my tone.

(Trumpet) C Major once AGAIN (ascending and descending)

What I notice about this little practise is that I am having some challenges with my breathing. I will attempt to breathe more from my diaphragm in the future. I also think it would be beneficial to look for some music with breathing marked in.

(Trumpet) C Major Scale (again!)

Here I am busting out the C Major scale again. I think it's coming along a little better each time I practise. One thing that I need to work on is my slurring, as notes are still sounding very detached. It does seem easier to play in this fashion, probably because I am still so new at the trumpet.

(Trumpet) C Major Scale - (a.k.a. my first notes on the trumpet that actually sound like notes! :-) )

A few weeks ago, I encountered some difficulty with making appropriate tones on the trumpet. I had zero idea about proper embouchure and / or how to use the valves on this instrument. A famous quote from my husband is "Can you please stop playing that?!? It sounds like a dying wildebeest!" (He's not a mean guy, by any stretch of the imagination, so that's when I knew that I really needed to work on things! ;-) ). After consulting "YouTube" for some online lessons, I managed to produce my first notes, and then put them together to make this C Major scale for your listening enjoyment!