This portfolio presents a reflective account of my instrumental teaching practice, based on a lesson plan catered and designed for an adult beginner with an interest in learning the fundamentals of the saxophone.
Planning of the instrumental lesson
I open the lesson by asking the pupil about their goals for the saxophone, both short and long term , as well as their repertoire preference. This initial questioning is important as it will aid me in making small adjustments to the lesson plan as we progress in order to better cater to the pupil aspirations. Next, I would walk the pupil through the assembly of the saxophone, including the preparation of the reed. Ensuring pupils are aware of the correct setup prevents bad habits forming later in the future. Once the instrument has been prepared, we would engage in a quick breathing exercise to demonstrate to the pupil the kind of airflow that is required in order to have a controlled flow and supportive sound when playing the saxophone. This exercise will help them develop an awareness of both breath support and posture. This action reflects principles from the Alexander Technique, which emphasises awareness of the physical use of the saxophone.
The focus of the lesson would then shift to sound production. We will work up our full sound by gradually putting the saxophone together, beginning with the mouthpiece on its own, mouthpiece with the crook and finally, the fully assembled saxophone. This approach allows the pupil to focus on the formation of their embouchure in isolation.
Next, I would introduce the pupil to the notes G, A and B. These notes lie in the saxophones middle range and require simple fingering, making it accessible for the beginner pupil. Next, we would then ascend and descend this three note sequence together in a duet style manner, trying to sustain each note for an even count. This segment allows the pupil to develop coordination skills between breathing and sound creation. Long tones and the ability to sustain sound are key in woodwind pedagogy as it develops breath control, formation of embouchure and tone quality.
Before introducing them to actual repertoire, I will familiarize them as to where these notes sit on the music stave and the common note lengths (quaver, crotchet, minim and semi-brieve), as well as their counts. Afterwards, I would then introduce a short simple piece that matches the pupils preferred genre. Selecting repertoire that aligns with their interests will boost engagement, allowing them to connect with the learning materials personally. As well as the importance of genre, making sure the music chosen is within the pupils capability is also crucial. It will ensure their development will be supported without causing frustration and provide them a sense of achievement in the early stages.
Firstly, the pupil will independently play through the music, offering them help and guidance when appropriate. Doing this will help me to assess their current ability, as well as identifying any weaknesses within their playing, which will aid me in better tailoring future instrumental lessons. After their initial play through, I would provide them with support and resolve any queries with the piece and then go onto performing it together in a duet style manner. This will give the pupil a clear idea of the piece’s structure as well as providing them with support in playing. In addition, playing together will help build the pupils confidence and reduce pressure. The teaching approach that inspired this segment of the lesson stems from ‘Social Constructivism’, a framework that emphasizes the importance of collaborative learning.
Before the lesson ends, I would set the pupil a small amount of material as well as a framework of how to structure their independent practice. This will include the piece we looked at in the lesson, along with a revised version of the long-tone notes practice and concise instructions on the preparation of the saxophone and reed. Setting attainable goals for the pupil to complete in their own personal practice will help reinforce the points covered in our lesson and encourage independence. Finally, I would review the lesson plan and ask the pupil if they had any queries about any of the points covered in today’s lesson.
Instrumental lesson
Upon first meeting the pupil, I asked her why she took interest in wanting to learn the saxophone. She told me that her first study instrument was piano, had no experience with woodwind instruments and overall wanted to branch out and explore a new area of musicianship. From this initial questioning, I learnt that she had some foundational understanding of music such as rhythm, notation and basic music theory. From this, I made the conscious decision not to cover these topics in our lesson to avoid unnecessary repetition, and instead focus on the physical side of the first learning saxophone.
Firstly, I guided the pupil through the setting up of the saxophone from case to fully assembled saxophone, making sure I was meticulous of such things as the placement of the crook and ensuring the octave mechanism was lined up with the rod to the corresponding key on the saxophone’s main body. I also emphasised placement and preparation of the reed as she had no experience how to ready one for playing. When preparing the reed I drew in on practices of my own, such as flipping it upside down to also soak the bottom end to maximise dampening of the reed. In terms of reed strength, I had given her the same cut/make as the ones I typically use, except with a lower strength to make it more effortless and responsive for a beginner to produce a sound. In addition, I also explained where the reed should sit exactly on the mouthpiece, the where the saxophone should
I found myself often using saxophone terminology which the pupil often did not understand, causing disruption to the flow of the lesson. When talking about the importance of aligning all parts of the saxophone correctly, I used the proper terminology by second nature, without any prior explanation as to where it was located on the instrument or its function. I also wish I had further explained as to why I chose that make of reed to start out on. In future lessons, I would simplify the technical vocabulary used, introduce saxophone terms at a more gradual pace and utilise visual demonstration in order for the pupil to have a better understanding.
In addition, I wish that I touched more upon the reasoning why I had chosen that make of reed amongst many others. The make that I had selected for the pupil was the Vandoren V21, a reed that is highly versatile amongst the genres and suitable for all types of repertoire across the board. Given that she did not specify a genre preference as to what she would like to play on the saxophone, explaining my choice would’ve given her the knowledge that there is a large range of reed types that can reshape sound production completely. Going forward, I will aim to be more transparent in my decision making, and better inform the pupil of material choices in order to further their awareness of equipment and technical knowledge.
Once we had finished assembling the saxophone, we set it down momentarily to focus on a breathing exercise. The pupil had let me know at the start of our lesson that she had no experience with woodwind instruments, so in order to establish the type of breath control and deep breathing required, we took part in a guided exercise that focused on inhalation and exhalation. I explained to her that when told to take a deep breath we can often mistakenly take shallow, surface level breaths from our shoulders, instead of tapping in directly to our diaphragm. I told the pupil to envision her lungs filling up with air as she inhaled and when exhaling, breathing out every last bit of oxygen left in our bodies. When inhaling, I also encouraged her to place her hands on her abdomen to gauge the physical sensation of deep breathing and exhalation. I took this approach to be able to build an early awareness within the pupil of efficient breathing as well as the type of controlled airflow we need in order to produce a stable tone on the saxophone.
On reflection, I think the demonstration of the abdomen expanding was effective as it provided visual aid for the pupil. If I were to do this exercise again with the pupil I would alter it slightly. I would do this by allowing them to take a deep breath, then immediately playing a sustained note on the saxophone to link the two practices together and show how having a steady airflow directly translates to playing.
For the next portion of the lesson, we focused on being able to produce a sound on the instrument. I chose to take a step-by-step approach to build up our sound, beginning with just the mouthpiece on its own, mouthpiece with the crook and then finally the fully formed saxophone. I did this as I wanted the pupil to focus on the formation of the embouchure and how it felt to apply steady airflow we previously spoke about applied in practice. To further add, I wanted to minus the complexity of pitch and tuning for the pupil’s first try at producing a sound and draw the focus in on the physical sensation involved in sound production. I gave a physical demonstration for this to show the type of airflow and embouchure required, modelling the desired outcome before asking her to mimic it.
I was happy with the outcome of this structured progressional approach to building up sound. Breaking up the process into more accessible stages allowed the pupil to not feel overwhelmed with the unfamiliarity of a woodwind instrument. As a result she was able to produce sound almost effortlessly, resulting in confidence and a sense of achievement. If I were to try this approach next time, I would give feedback on the consistency of the note and the quality of tone, as well as asking the pupil to self-assess.
Moving on, I then introduced the pitches G, A and B, notes that lie in the middle range of the saxophone. I deliberately chose these notes as they require only stepwise fingering so as to not overcomplicate in the early stages and so the pupil can practice coordinating supplying air flow along with finger positioning. Similar to the sound production segment, I chose to introduce notes in a logical progression to support the build up of technical knowledge in small and controlled steps. I also provided a clear example as to what each note should sound like, as well as going back-and-forth (call and response) with the pupil to boost engagement, encourage listening and strengthen accuracy.
I was happy with how the pupil responded to this segment of the lesson. I was worried that introducing only three notes would soon become boring and tedious to the pupil, but with the collaborative aspect involved, it seemed to work nicely. The call and response portion helped the pupil internalise finger positions, along with what the notes should sound like. Next time, I would like to include different rhythmic variations along with expanding the note range.
Rather than engaging in a long-tone exercise, I decided to alter the lesson plan slightly and create some simple three-note progressions out of the pitches we had learnt today. Firstly, I said the notes in the sequence, reminded the pupil of what finger pattern corresponded to which note and gave an aural framework for each one. In this segment I aimed to fortify note recognition, coordination between finger patterns and breathing, together with trying to maintain a sense of musical flow.
Reflecting back, I realised that I had forgotten to mention the type of note length for the notes in the sequence and just defaulted to crotchets without explanation. In the future, I would like to include different rhythmic patterns. Instead of omitting the long-tone exercise from the lesson completely, I would incorporate some elements of sustained notes to enhance this segment and reinforce breath support. I feel like this detail was a missed chance to challenge the pupils breath control when attempting to sustain longer notes.
Due to time constraints, I did not get the chance to introduce the pupil to repertoire as originally planned. I had realized I allocated more time than necessary to the introductory part of the lesson, such as the setting up of the saxophone and breathing exercise, rather than practical application. This resulted in a lost opportunity for the pupil to challenge the topics learnt today within the context of a piece. As a result of missing introducing repertoire into our lesson, I created a short piece of music consisting of the notes we learnt today and set it as a challenge for them to get through in their own independent practice. As the pupil has an understanding of music theory from her pianist background, they are able to engage with sheet music. Along with the short piece, I also shared a document I had created in order to guide the pupil in their practice. It consisted of diagrams of the different fingerings we had gone over today, as well as notes on embouchure formation, the deep breathing exercise, and how to prepare the saxophone and reed for playing.
Whilst these materials I had shared with the pupil would support them outside the lesson, it would’ve been more effective to go over the work beforehand so they have an opportunity to apply their musical knowledge in a guided setting. Additionally, in future lessons I would still provide resources for the pupil’s independent practice however I will ensure it supplements what we learnt previously, rather than replacing in-lesson content.
To close, I gave the pupil the opportunity to ask any questions they had about the content we covered in today’s lesson. This allowed me to address any queries, consolidate any concerns and inform them on the work I wished for them to do outside of lessons. As well as setting homework, I also worked with the pupil to devise a practice routine that would realistically fit in with their daily lives. I encouraged them to build on the length of their practice sessions each time, so as to not set unrealistic expectations in the early stages. To help them structure a routine, I created a chart spanning over a week for them to refer to, helping them organise their time in a more consistent manner.
This approach encourages a pupil centred method of teaching that promotes development of early musical independence and freedom to make decisions line up with their own personal aspirations and goals. I think this was an effective way to end the lesson, as it provided the pupil with clarity, understanding and prepared them for their own personal practice.
Reflecting on the instrumental lesson as a whole, I think I was successful in instilling a solid foundation of saxophone basics into the pupil. The structure of the lesson advanced in a logical sequence, going over such things as instrument assembly, breathing, tone production and then introduction to their first finger patterns and pitches. A strength of my lesson plan was the focus on physical awareness, especially in relation to breathing and embouchure. A weakness of my plan would be not accommodating enough time for repertoire. When initially devising this plan, I failed to take into consideration that the pupil may struggle with certain aspects which would result in them needing more time, this taught me that I should improve my pacing, be more concise with my explanations and overall manage the limited time more effectively in future lessons.
Musical materials
Practice chart
| Day | Length of session | Goals | Reflection |
| Monday | 15 | Ex. – Sustain a steady pitch on the mouthpiece in isolation. – G-A-B in a slow repetitive sequence, both ascending and descending. | – Found it difficult to sustain airflow on mouthpiece. – Finger coordination between notes felt good. |
| Tuesday | 15 | ||
| Wednesday | 15 | ||
| Thursday | 20 | ||
| Friday | 20 | ||
| Saturday | 25 | ||
| Sunday | 25 |
Bibliography
Vera Idaresit Akpan; Udodirim Angela Igwe; Ikechukwu Blessing Ijeoma Mpamah; and Charity Onyinyechi Okoro (2020) Social Constructivism: Implications On Teaching And Learning, British Journal of Education. Vol.8, Issue 8, p.49-56.
Wright C. (2015) Alexander Technique for Sax Players. Available online: https://saxschoolonline.com/articles/alexander-technique-for-sax-players/ (Date Accessed: 21/4/2026)
