Reflective Practice in Jazz Saxophone Performance
Introduction
This Show submission is a critical reflection on my practice as a jazz saxophonist. It focuses on how I practise, how I make musical decisions, and how my approach has developed over time. Rather than simply describing my routine, this reflection evaluates what is effective within my practice, what is less effective, and how reflection has helped me make more informed artistic and technical choices.
To support this reflection, I draw on established reflective practice frameworks discussed in class, particularly Gibbs’ Reflective Cycle (1988) and Schön’s concepts of reflection-in-action and reflection-on-action (1983). These frameworks provide a structure for analysing my practice and situating it within a wider jazz and professional context.
Reflective Frameworks
Gibbs’ Reflective Cycle has been central to how I evaluate my practice. The model encourages reflection beyond simple repetition by focusing on evaluation, analysis, and action planning. In the context of jazz practice, this has helped me move away from playing through material without focus and towards setting clearer goals for each session.
Schön’s concept of reflection-in-action is also particularly relevant to jazz improvisation. During performance and improvisation, decisions must be made in real time, such as altering phrasing, articulation, or rhythmic placement. Reflection-on-action then allows these decisions to be reviewed after practice or performance, informing future development.
Critical Evaluation of My Practice
My current practice as a jazz saxophonist includes long-tone exercises, technical work, scale and mode study, transcription, and improvisation. One clear strength of my practice is consistency, particularly in tone-focused exercises, which has led to improved control and sound quality.
However, critical reflection has revealed limitations in my approach. By recording and listening back to my improvisation sessions, I became aware of repetitive phrasing and an over-reliance on familiar patterns, especially when improvising over common harmonic progressions such as ii–V–I sequences. This highlighted that repetition alone was not leading to meaningful improvement.
Using Gibbs’ Reflective Cycle, I analysed these issues and adapted my practice by slowing down tempos, isolating specific harmonic contexts, and focusing more deliberately on transcription. These changes resulted in clearer articulation, stronger rhythmic confidence, and more intentional melodic development, which can be heard in the supporting recordings referenced alongside this post.
Artistic and Stylistic Context
My practice is strongly influenced by the jazz tradition and the work of established saxophonists. Transcription and comparative listening play a key role in developing stylistic awareness, particularly in relation to swing feel, articulation, and phrasing.
Listening to and analysing recordings by artists such as Charlie Parker, Cannonball Adderley, and John Coltrane has influenced how I approach bebop and post-bop vocabulary. Comparing my own recordings to these reference points has helped me identify stylistic differences and refine my improvisational language. Engagement with recordings, interviews, and educational resources has also helped situate my practice within professional jazz performance standards.
Evidence of Reflective Practice
Reflection within my practice is supported through transcription and critical listening. Two annotated transcriptions are attached alongside this post and are referenced within the video presentation. These demonstrate how reflective evaluation has informed changes in my harmonic awareness, phrasing, and articulation. No performance recordings are included, as the focus of this submission is on analytical reflection rather than demonstration.
Conclusion and Action Plan
This reflective process has highlighted the importance of structured and analytical practice in jazz performance. Reflection has enabled me to move away from unfocused repetition and towards more deliberate strategies that directly address weaknesses within my playing.
Moving forward, I plan to continue recording my practice sessions, expand transcription work across a wider range of styles and tempos, and use reflective evaluation to guide ongoing development. By applying reflective frameworks and situating my practice within a broader artistic context, I am better prepared to continue developing as a jazz saxophonist in a professional setting.
Bibliography
Gibbs, G. (1988) Learning by Doing: A Guide to Teaching and Learning Methods. Oxford: Oxford Polytechnic.
Schön, D. A. (1983) The Reflective Practitioner: How Professionals Think in Action. London: Temple Smith.
