Saxophone Teachers in Boulder
Our Saxophone Teachers
Ethan Mead is an educator and saxophonist currently pursuing an undergraduate degree in music education at the University of Colorado, Boulder. An accomplished saxophonist, Ethan played with the Colorado All-State Band for two years and was acknowledged as an outstanding soloist at the 2019 Greeley Jazz Festival. During his studies under Tom Meyer and Lucas Hopkins, he has played as a member of both the CU Wind Symphony and Symphonic Band in addition to his work in the Mousai Saxophone Quartet. Ethan has taught private lessons for over 5 years ... Read More
Ethan Mead is an educator and saxophonist currently pursuing an undergraduate degree in music education at the University of Colorado, Boulder. An accomplished saxophonist, Ethan played with the Colorado All-State Band for two years and was acknowledged as an outstanding soloist at the 2019 Greeley Jazz Festival. During his studies under Tom Meyer and Lucas Hopkins, he has played as a member of both the CU Wind Symphony and Symphonic Band in addition to his work in the Mousai Saxophone Quartet. Ethan has taught private lessons for over 5 years ... Read More
Ethan Mead is an educator and saxophonist currently pursuing an undergraduate degree in music education at the University of Colorado, Boulder. An accomplished saxophonist, Ethan played with the Colorado All-State Band for two years and was acknowledged as an outstanding soloist at the 2019 Greeley Jazz Festival. During his studies under Tom Meyer and Lucas Hopkins, he has played as a member of both the CU Wind Symphony and Symphonic Band in addition to his work in the Mousai Saxophone Quartet. Ethan has taught private lessons for over 5 years ... Read More
Ethan Mead is an educator and saxophonist currently pursuing an undergraduate degree in music education at the University of Colorado, Boulder. An accomplished saxophonist, Ethan played with the Colorado All-State Band for two years and was acknowledged as an outstanding soloist at the 2019 Greeley Jazz Festival. During his studies under Tom Meyer and Lucas Hopkins, he has played as a member of both the CU Wind Symphony and Symphonic Band in addition to his work in the Mousai Saxophone Quartet. Ethan has taught private lessons for over 5 years ... Read More
Ethan Mead is an educator and saxophonist currently pursuing an undergraduate degree in music education at the University of Colorado, Boulder. An accomplished saxophonist, Ethan played with the Colorado All-State Band for two years and was acknowledged as an outstanding soloist at the 2019 Greeley Jazz Festival. During his studies under Tom Meyer and Lucas Hopkins, he has played as a member of both the CU Wind Symphony and Symphonic Band in addition to his work in the Mousai Saxophone Quartet. Ethan has taught private lessons for over 5 years ... Read More
Dr. Linda Shea is a clarinetist, pianist, educator, conductor and entrepreneur. She earned a Doctorate of Musical Arts in clarinet performance and pedagogy from the University of Colorado, Boulder in 2008. Her Masters Degree in clarinet performance is from the University of Northern Colorado which followed directly after her Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education from the Lamont School of Music (at the University of Denver.) Piano was Linda’s first and primary instrument for the first 12 years, starting lessons at age 7. She played many recital... Read More
How Our Saxophone Lessons Work
Easy
Convenient
Awesome
Affordable
Book a $25 Intro Saxophone Lesson
The teacher comes to you
(we also offer virtual lessons)
Decide to continue
Enjoy weekly lessons all month long
Receive an invoice at the end of the month
All about Saxophone Lessons
Saxophone Lessons:
The saxophone (also called the sax) is a family of woodwind instruments. Usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece. Saxophone mouthpieces can either be made of metal or plastic. The reason saxophones are woodwind instruments is that they use a wooden reed to produce the sound. It’s a bit confusing because they are made of brass, but they are not a brass instrument. It is also common for woodwind instruments to control the pitch of the note by covering holes in the body tube. This controls the resonant frequency of the air column in the horn. On a saxophone, the player covers or uncovers the holes by pressing keys.
The most common saxophones are soprano, alto, tenor, and baritone. We recommend students be at least 8 years old before starting the saxophone. Saxophone requires a decent lung capacity and it is a pretty big instrument, without sizing options. The standard saxophone has 23 keys! Some of these keys are played with the fingertips, some are played with the palms of the hands. When you are playing the saxophone you cannot see your hands, so muscle memory is very important. Did you know - playing the saxophone is actually good for the environment? Saxophone reeds are made out of an invasive plant, Arundo Donax, so every time you switch your reed, you can feel good that you are throwing away an invasive plant ! Arundo Donax is native to the Mediterranean Basin and the middle east. It is one of the fastest-growing plants on the planet. It can grow up to 10 cm a day - that’s basically a new reed!
Saxophone History:
Believe it or not, the sax was originally invented to perform in orchestras by Adolphe Sax in the early 1840s. It was not a huge success at first, as most people did not like the sound of the sax. Composer Hector Berlioz was the first prominent figure to actually champion the new instrument.
Even though Berlioz loved the new instrument, Adolphe Sax continued to struggle throughout his career. He was sued by rivals and even attacked! Who knew it was so dangerous to be an instrument inventor. He ended up dying impoverished at age 80. At least his invention ended up being one of the world’s most popular instruments.
Even though some classical pieces were composed for the saxophone, it became a popular Jazz instrument. Sax was eventually incorporated into R&B and Rock.
Our Favorite Saxophone Players:
John Coltrane: On Green Dolphin Street
Charlie Parker: Hot House
Lester Young: Jammin’ The Blues
Nubya Garcia: Pace
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