When Robyn joined Sax School in April 2020, she hadn’t played her sax for 5 years.
Finding Sax School inspired Robyn to return to playing saxophone. “My Mum sent me the link for the 14-day free trial but I wasn’t sure, because I’d lost all my confidence,” she says, “but I signed up and when I saw the list of lessons I was so excited, and then I was playing again.”
After the 14-day trial, Robyn decided to become a full member of Sax School. “Well, I don’t have a gym membership!’ she explains.
Saxophone Dreams
It was Robyn’s Mum who got her started playing saxophone in her early twenties. “My mum gave me a sax one Christmas and it was the best present I ever got. I’ve always loved the sound of the saxophone and I’ve always wanted to play it,” says Robyn.
Playing the sax gave Robyn the chance to perform with her favourite local ska band. “I would go and listen to them play in the local pub,” says Robyn. “I told them I had a sax… then they saw me play on Facebook. One of the band members gave me a CD to learn and invited me to come along practice,” she explains.
Joining the band was daunting at first. “I was so nervous, and I couldn’t play a thing to start with. But eventually I was performing on stage with them, playing all these songs by ear,” says Robyn.
As well as playing with the ska band, Robyn also loved going along to open mic nights. “I’d go along and join in and take my turn improvising, even if I didn’t know the song,” says Robyn.
Set-Backs
But then Robyn’s confidence took a knock, and she stopped playing her saxophone completely. “I was living with other people, and when I’d be improvising in my room they would always complain and say negative things… so eventually I stopped playing altogether,” Robyn explains.
It would take five years for to Robyn return to playing saxophone, when she joined Sax School.
Finding Sax School
“Sax School has made me love playing again,” says Robyn. “I’ve been with my boyfriend for 4 years and he had never heard me play. I was always too nervous. But now I’ll play in front of him, and I’ve played for my mum too. I’m getting it back slowly.”
Robyn’s enthusiasm for playing saxophone again is obvious in her videos and we’ve loved seeing her progress in our Sax School Community. “Sharing videos in the community is helping my confidence,” says Robyn, “and seeing everyone else’s videos…makes me want to keep going.”
Saxophone Goals
Robyn would love to get back to playing in a band again. She also wants to get back into improvising. She’s already developing some great skills in listening and transcribing, by learning her favourite sax solos by ear. “I love Junior Walker but he plays tenor, so listen to the recording and work it out note by note,” she says. “My problem is I don’t practice it enough before I post the video, – I get too excited, then I post!”
Advice for new Sax School Starters
Robyn’s enthusiasm for her saxophone shines through in her playing, so we asked her for some tips for new Sax School members.
- Don’t compare yourself to others because we are all at different stages of our own journey with our saxophone
- Don’t wish to sound like someone else – we all sound different
- Get stuck in and make videos and share them – don’t worry if they are not polished or perfect because we are all learning.
Congratulations to Robyn for being our first Legend of 2021!