- A gray cat slinks past a wooden house. There’s something a little intimidating attempting to describe.
Improvising is the most enjoyable thing there is
Closely followed by giving lessons on improvisation, which of course is also a form of improvisation.
Your starting point is your own question. Either this is clear, and you set it out straight away, or it is still unclear and comes to the surface during the lessons: there is always a question, and it helps to consciously work on it.
On the basis of your question we look and listen: where are your stumbling blocks, and how can you break through such a stalemate? This is where our collaborative improvisation begins, from moment to moment.
Because nothing is set in stone. After all, you’re being confronted with your own ‘problems’. Although they’re recognisable, they’re still different for everyone. And even if you have a wish that many before you have had, or you’re confronted with a common problem, your own learning process is unique and so your gains are too. If you want to play over chord sequences, for example, you can find your own way in this. The important thing is to keep at it, and not to search for a standard solution to solve all problems. The result is a stronger individuality as a musician, and the potential is already there when you begin. The essence is to bring this to the surface and to develop it. And that is yourtask. I only offer tools.
Practical information
I give lessons in my home in Amsterdam East. A lesson costs €50 per hour.
Would you like a trial lesson? Or more information? Then please feel free to contact me.
In my saxophone lessons it’s a mix, largely determined by you, of skill and creativity in which we can smoothly switch between one and the other, depending on your preferences and what comes up in your playing and during our lessons.
Skill
I like to focus on a good sound. After all, that’s what music is made of. I myself had lessons from Adri van Velsen, who together with Leo van Oostrom was one of the pioneers of the first generation of saxophonists in the Netherlands. The lessons concentrated on the skill, or craft, of playing the saxophone. Endless work on embouchure and breath control. What is where, how exactly does it work and how do you practise that? Slowly mastering the ‘craft’ side of the instrument. I still benefit from it in my playing and teaching. In the improvisational field I had lessons from Michael Moore and others, and I followed many workshops. See also about me.
Creativity
The other pillar of my lessons is improvisation and individuality, which is what this website is all about. See also the section on improvisation below, and the ‘Islands Method’, elements of which I apply in my lessons.
Practical information
I give lessons in my home in Amsterdam East. A lesson costs €50 per hour.
Would you like a trial lesson? Or more information? Then please feel free to contact me.
See also about me.
