User:Storeye/sandbox/saxophone/Lesson 1.3

Students should already be familiar with the material in Lesson 1.2.

The Note F
To play the note F press down All the keys for a G plus the index finger on the right hand.

F is notated here



Practice playing a long tone F for a whole breath of air.

Semibreves and Semibreve Rests
A semibreve (American: whole note) is a note that lasts for four beats.

It looks like this:



A semibreve rest is two beats of silence. It looks like this:



This is the same as writing four crotchet rests or two minim rests.

Note that the minim (2 beat) rest sits above the middle line of the stave and the semibreve (4 beat) rest hangs from the second top line of the stave.

Metronome Mark
A metronome is a device for maintaining a steady tempo or speed while playing. Free versions are available online. As this is an online course, this is being introduced early so that students have a clear idea of what speeds to aim for when playing the pieces. A metronome mark is text above the stave that gives a rhythmic division and the number of beats per minute.

For example:



Means that this piece has 100 crotchet beats per minute.