WINDS

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Flutes To Clarinets To Saxophones...
The wind instruments include the flute, clarinet, oboe, and saxophone and all students studying these instruments at Joe Ferrante Music Academy learn the foundational techniques of: assembling the instrument, holding the instrument correctly, proper breathing techniques and body posture, making basic tones. Teachers focus on fundamentals like reading music, rhythms, dynamics, key signatures, and the different fingerings to play each note. Wind instrument students practice a variety of technical exercises to study how to produce long tones and develop their breath support, tone production, tongue positioning, embouchure, and intonation. Students studying wind instruments concentrate on how to smoothly connect the lower and upper ranges. Once our students have mastered music fundamentals and basic wind instrument techniques, they progress onto more advanced techniques such as scales, arpeggios, tonguing, articulations, and hand and finger positions in order to gain both speed and agility in their playing.

Learning specific repertoires alongside technical training, advanced students play orchestral excerpts and study etudes. Our teachers aid students in learning their school music, master a solo, or get into their varsity marching band.

At Joe Ferrante Music Academy, each lesson has three major components. The first segment is devoted to last week's lesson assignment where the student gets a chance to demonstrate what they've worked on. The second component is time spent on technical development and music theory training. Students are taught how to read music, increasingly complex rhythms, note interval recognition, ear training, and chord construction. The third component is introducing the next assignment and teaching the student the important elements of their new song(s). Students are tested for their level of achievement twice a year, we have 10 levels of achievement, and are given the opportunity to perform in recitals from a beginning level to an advanced.

 



WINDS INSTRUCTORS:

Winds FAQ

(Click on a question to view the answer)

How old does my child have to be to take a private band instrument, e.g. sax, flute, trumpet, etc?

We recommend that the student be 8 to 9 years old to begin lessons on a band instrument.