PLAY WITH ENERGY

Think about it -- this is the one area that separates most amateurs from pros. Playing music with energy, no matter how many times you've practiced or performed any given material.

Your scale practice, for example. Try running them the same old way, and then, run them with expression and articulation. Energy, in other words. 

Play them as if you'd never heard the notes before, and let the notes jump out of your horn. 

Feels a whole lot better, doesn't it?

If you guessed that playing with energy is a mind game, you are partly correct. It begins inside, with a true enthusiasm for the music, no matter how mundane.

And I know just how mundane some of your practice material can be. 

You can also fake it until you make it. Use dynamics and articulation and emphasis and shading and make your exercises into little masterpieces of energetic playing. 

You will be amazed at the difference.

Key words: la mesa saxophone, energy, performance tips, private lessons, articulation