We all have one of the most powerful practice aids in our pocket
With the amazing modern technology that most of us have in our hands, we have tools that can help us make massive progress on our saxophones.
And, it’s really easy to start.
You may have seen my other articles and videos on why you should record your sax playing and the gear you need to make home saxophone recordings. But recording on video is the next step.
I’ve been making videos for about the past 10 years. It did feel weird at the start, but it has by far been the best thing I have done to help me progress as a sax player.
Why video-ing yourself on saxophone is important.
When we are just playing saxophone, we don’t get to see what the audience sees. We have an idea in our mind of what we SOUND like and how our bodies are moving.
That isn’t always correct though.
By simply pulling out your smartphone (iPhone, Android or whatever) and filming yourself play, you have the opportunity to see what an outsider sees.
It isn’t always pretty, but that’s the point.
Watching back a video of your playing will open your eyes to what is actually going on. Some will be good, some will be bad.
The best part though is that you can IDENTIFY THE GOOD and eliminate the things you aren’t so keen on.
Fingers too high off the keys? Not breathing in the right places? Vibrato a bit too extreme?
You’ll see all this and more.
And, you might be pleasantly surprised by how awesome you sound too.
Ok, so how do I start?
Getting started with making videos is as simple as pulling out your iPhone and pressing record.
You can start with a super simple setup (check out my full video gear setup here)
To get good results though, there are some important steps you can make for a better picture AND better audio.
To make the process of “making videos” easier, we added a new lesson in Sax School this week: “How to Video Yourself”.
In this step by step guide, Chris from the Sax School team talks you through:
- What gear you need
- How to setup your “shoot”
- The filming process
- How to edit your videos
- Uploading your video
- How to share your video with the world
Plus, you’ll get some advanced “Pro” tips if you’re ready to take things up a notch.
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