Category Archives: Lessons

Posting a Video for Deck The Halls – Christmas Project 2015

Here is a short video showing you how to record and upload a video from an iPad or iOS device for the Deck The Halls Christmas Project 2015.

There are a few things to remember when you’re recording Deck The Halls for the 2015 Christmas Project,

  1. You MUST record at full speed, any slowed down versions will not be used.
  2. If you can record the backing track through your headphones and only send me the sax.
  3. Try and play the whole piece, even if there are some sections that you have to leave out, (this saves me having 15 people playing the first 8 bars!)

Christmas Project 2015 – Deck the Halls

I’m asking all of you to contribute towards this years Christmas Project.  All you have to do is record this version of ‘Deck the Halls’ and then send me the video.  I will then work my video magic and make it look like one ‘seamless’ performance!

Click here to view the Dropbox folder to access the sheet music and backing track.

You MUST play the track at the full tempo to take part in the project and make sure that the first note of the backing track is audible, (so I can sync everyone together.) Please do your best to complete the whole piece, even if you can’t play some of it, (but do aim to practise it so that you can!)

Here is ‘Silent Night’ from our 2014 Christmas Project,

Silent Night from Dan Forshaw on Vimeo.

 

Sax in Antartica

One of the most exciting things about Cambridge Saxophone is getting to know my students. At the moment I have Research Professors, Brain Surgeons, CEO’s, fellow Professional Musicians and even a South Pole Research Scientist!

Pictured is my student Ali practicing her sax in Antartica. As a Cambridge Saxophone student you are part of a group that has members on all seven continents!

You can read the Cambridge News Front Page article about Cambridge Saxophone students here.

At Cambridge Saxophone I have subscribers from Brazil, North America, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Ukraine, North Africa, India and China.  Cambridge is known throughout the world as a premier education brand, and that is what you find at Cambridge Saxophone.

If you want to find out more about Cambridge Saxophone, I would love to hear from you.  Simply click this link to drop me an email, give me a call on 01223 8360997 or start one of our courses today!

Silent Night – Christmas Project

It’s time for a Cambridge Saxophone ‘Christmas Project’. This year I want EVERYONE to get involved and so I’ve chosen something that everyone should feel comfortable contributing to.

What I would like you to do is the following:

  1. Watch the video lesson.
  2. Download the correct music for you (click here to access the folder on Dropbox, mail me if you don’t have access).
  3. Record yourself at the end of the week playing along to the recording, AT THE CORRECT SPEED!

The speed is really important – rather than ten videos of the same thing, I want to create one recording, with each of us playing a few bars each. That way those of you who are less comfortable can still contribute, and there is enough in this to pose a small challenge for more accomplished players.

If you’re not sure how to record the video on your iPhone or iPad click here. To record direct to YouTube from your webcam, click here.

One final thing: I got my dates mixed up – you have TWO WEEKS to complete this, but it would be nice to have it out BEFORE Saturday, 20th December!

The Chicken – New Tune To Learn

One of my favourite tunes to play when I was in college was ‘The Chicken’ by Jaco Pastorius. It has since become a favourite of many of my students.

The basic form is around a 12-bar blues, but with a clever twist. Make sure you check out the full version of the track in the second video below – and the interpretation by Maceo Parker too. Those of you on alto would find it rewarding to transcribe the start of Maceo’s great solo.

The parts can be downloaded here:

Alto / Baritone

Soprano / Tenor / Clarinet 

 



A History of the Sax in under 10 Minutes

I stumbled across this amazing video via social media last night. It’s from the ‘cdza’ – a collective of New York musicians who have put together some AMAZING videos for you to watch.

Sure, they’ve missed out some people I would have put in, but for a ten-minute primer this is fantastic – I urge ALL of you to watch it and learn from it. If you want to know more about the history of the sax I can highly recommend The Devil’s Horn by Michael Segell – watch this video for more information.