Want to learn saxophone but don’t have a teacher nearby?
One of the great things about learning saxophone online, is that you can do it anywhere.
Our Student of the Week Danilo has taken this to the extreme!
Tropical Paradise
A few years ago, Danilo left his high pressure work as an award-winning photographer, and moved to somewhere warm and sunny. He chose the remote Yucatan Peninsula.
He wanted to pursue his life-long dream to learn the saxophone. But was this possible, miles from a sax teacher?
Saxophone Dreams
“The sexy sound of a smooth sax has always been my favourite. But I never thought in a million years I could be good enough to learn it right,” says Danilo. “Also there is this misconception that you need to spend years, and a fortune in music private lessons, to learn how to play an instrument well.”
The sexy sound of a smooth sax has always been my favourite
Fortunately, Danilo already had experience of teaching himself a skill successfully, with his photography. “In just a few years I went from knowing nothing about photography, to being a world renowned multi-award winning photographer,” he says. “But, I taught myself photography by reading magazine articles.”
Danilo decided to try the same approach with the saxophone – “I said to myself why couldn’t that happen again, but this time learning an instrument instead?”
After buying a second-hand sax, Danilo realised he had a challenge ahead. “At home, looking at all those keys was really intimidating. I couldn’t find anyone to even show me how to put the pieces together. So I turned to YouTube. That’s when I found Nigel’s Sax School lessons.”
Sax School was a God sent discovery
Learning Saxophone Online
In such a remote location, being able to learn saxophone online with Sax School was a breakthrough. “It was a God sent discovery. I love the way Nigel teaches you in videos, so you can watch them again and again at your own pace,” Danilo says.
Danilo doesn’t read music so he uses the video lessons in Sax School, then perfects his style of playing by listening to different versions of the song. “I try to mimic those parts that I liked in the different versions, and kind of stick all the pieces together,” he explains. “Then I add my personal touches: bending off the notes here and there, vibrato, etc.”
Challenges
Creating his great videos with their tropical back-drop is a challenge too. “Living so near the ocean destroyed all my electronics!” says Danilo. “I lost video cameras, and camera lenses grew mould inside so they were no use anymore. In only 2 years I lost two laptops, one desktop computer, 3 iPads and one cellular!”
Saxophone Goals
Despite the challenges, Danilo is making great progress on his sax, and has recently bought an alto. He’s clear about what he wants to achieve. “My biggest challenge right now is to get the high octave notes clearer. I suppose it will take a lot of time for that to happen,” he says. “But I’m not in a rush. The main goal is to have fun in the process of learning and I do.”
The Sax School Facebook Community are Danilo’s audience, as he lives in such a remote spot. “I would love to play in public with a group, but living in such an isolated place makes it really difficult and I don’t think it will ever happen. But then again, many things in my life were totally unexpected…. I guess never say never!” he says.
We love Danilo’s great approach to life and to learning saxophone online – and we love seeing his videos! If you want to see more of Danilo’s playing – check out his YouTube Channel.
Congratulations Danilo on being our Student of the Week!
Want to learn saxophone like Danilo?
Get started with Sax School membership today and see how our Student Pathways, Mini Courses and huge lesson library will help you make massive progress on your sax, wherever you live! Click Here to Get Started!