AN ANALYSIS AND COMPARISON OF EARLY SAXOPHONE METHODS PUBLISHED BETWEEN 1846 - 1946
GAIL B. LEVINSKY
Doctor of Music
Northwestern University, 1997
ABSTRACT
GAIL B. LEVINSKY
Doctor of Music
Northwestern University, 1997
ABSTRACT
This paper examines saxophone methodology published in the mid-nineteenth and early twentieth centuries by investigating the historical and pedagogical role of works published in Europe and the United States between 1846 and 1946. To further document the methods historical and educational significance, an annotated bibliography of more than 300 methods and studies published during the early history of the saxophone was compiled.
The saxophone methods included in this study reveal a wealth of information. Each method supplies instructional material on current performance practices of the period, provides biographic information on the individuals who wrote saxophone methods, and, when viewed as a single phenomenon, establish historic, stylistic, and technical trends for how this instrument was used in its first 100 years.
Since 1845, the French and Belgian musicians in particularly, have employed master artist/teachers in instructing the fundamental principles of saxophone performance, as well as providing etudes or studies for development in technical fluency, phrasing, and expression. Many of these "classic" methods remain part of the modern pedagogical literature. The American methods published in the early twentieth century were authored not only by well-known artist of the day, such as Vereecken, Henton, and Wiedoeft, but by individuals few would recognize by name. Many of these methods were independently published, no longer in print, and provided an educational resource for self-instruction without the benefit of a teacher.
Although a great deal of existing scholarship has been revealed about the history of the saxophone, it is the author''s contention that the lines of development in the saxophone can be directly traced through its methods. In the early methodology, as is presently true in modern methodology, there were newly devised and individual approaches to teaching the saxophone. A number of skilled performers, both in the classical and jazz idioms, each bring forth their personal interpretation and the essential skills in playing the saxophone. By using this study as a reference, saxophone teachers can glean information from several areas and provide a better understanding of teaching practices through the saxophone''s history.
The saxophone methods included in this study reveal a wealth of information. Each method supplies instructional material on current performance practices of the period, provides biographic information on the individuals who wrote saxophone methods, and, when viewed as a single phenomenon, establish historic, stylistic, and technical trends for how this instrument was used in its first 100 years.
Since 1845, the French and Belgian musicians in particularly, have employed master artist/teachers in instructing the fundamental principles of saxophone performance, as well as providing etudes or studies for development in technical fluency, phrasing, and expression. Many of these "classic" methods remain part of the modern pedagogical literature. The American methods published in the early twentieth century were authored not only by well-known artist of the day, such as Vereecken, Henton, and Wiedoeft, but by individuals few would recognize by name. Many of these methods were independently published, no longer in print, and provided an educational resource for self-instruction without the benefit of a teacher.
Although a great deal of existing scholarship has been revealed about the history of the saxophone, it is the author''s contention that the lines of development in the saxophone can be directly traced through its methods. In the early methodology, as is presently true in modern methodology, there were newly devised and individual approaches to teaching the saxophone. A number of skilled performers, both in the classical and jazz idioms, each bring forth their personal interpretation and the essential skills in playing the saxophone. By using this study as a reference, saxophone teachers can glean information from several areas and provide a better understanding of teaching practices through the saxophone''s history.
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