Saxophone, Brass, & Woodwind Lessons

Learning a brass or woodwind instrument is not without its obstacles, but the rewards certainly make up for the challenge these unique instruments present. While most students find learning and executing fingerings on their instrument relatively easy, establishing correct embouchure, which is the way a player applies their mouth to an instrument’s mouthpiece, can be difficult at first. However, experienced teachers, like those on the Merriam Music team, are able to help students navigate these obstacles much more easily.

Although it will take many students some time to refine their tone production and sound, wind instruments are some of the easiest instruments to feel connected to because of the physical process involved with playing them. Next to the voice, playing brass and woodwind instruments is arguably the most organic musical sensation you will find.

As previously discussed, the highly-social nature of these instruments given their connection to ensemble playing also helps sustain interest and motivation levels which will lead to consistent practice and, of course, faster progress. In that regard, brass and woodwind instruments are some of the easiest for students to get excited about and stay excited about.

The simple answer is yes! Merriam Music’s proprietary MMOA platform allows for brass and woodwind teachers and students to connect anywhere in the world with a level of interaction and engagement that was previously never thought to be possible outside of in-person learning. Developed in conjunction and collaboration with dozens of our top teachers and thousands of students, every detail and aspect of the experience was meticulously examined and engineered to ensure that online lessons were just as fun, effective, and engaging – if not more so – than in-studio lessons.

Both the brass and woodwind families of instruments are incredibly extensive and include instruments of all shapes, sizes, and ranges. From the rumbling lower frequencies to the most piercing upper frequencies, the entire spectrum of human hearing is well-represented in this family of instruments. More specifically, the most common woodwind instruments that people learn to play are piccolo, flute, oboe, clarinet, bass clarinet, and bassoon to name a few. Conversely, the most common brass instruments that people learn to play are trumpet, French horn, trombone, baritone, and tuba. While some people believe saxophonists are brass players because of the fact that their instruments are made of brass, they are actually considered woodwind players because they use a wooden reed to generate sound. There are many types of saxophones which include soprano saxophone, alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone, and bass saxophone.