A event held at The Bristol Fringe on Tuesday 7th May. The event starts at 16:00.
The Shed is a series of monthly workshops at The Bristol Fringe led by saxophonist Alex Merritt that can help you improve your musical confidence as an improviser.
The sessions will be based on different musical topics each month to help you strengthen your toolkit as a jazz musician. The Shed is aimed at both young musicians 13+ with a growing interest in jazz, adult learners looking to deepen their craft, as well as being open to professional players also. All instruments welcome
This first session will introduce Alex as a saxophonist with a focus on ways of practicing ‘solo/ unaccompanied saxophone playing’. This topic will be helpful for players of any level, and will help you develop the ability to perform in a solo setting or play intros, outros or cadenzas to songs- which can be really effective!
Some of the skills we will look at include:
- Strengthening your timing and inner pulse
- learning to play bass lines and to accompany yourself
- Rubato/ free-time playing
- Using simple piano ‘voicings’ on saxophone, to fill out the texture
The session will run for 90 minutes, and Alex will give a little 20 min solo performance at the start also. Though this won’t be an interactive playing workshop and you won’t need instruments, there will be loads of time for questions and interaction, so bring your thinking hats and some examples of your favorite solo saxophone moments we can talk about in the session!
I hope to see you there!
About Alex: Over the last 15 years Alex has been an active performer around the UK as jazz saxophonist, composer and visiting saxophone teacher at the RWCMD and Jazz School UK. He has also conducted workshops at The Royal Birmingham Conservatoire and Leeds Conservatoire with ensembles he has led/co-led. He first setup ‘The Shed’; a as a lock-down masterclass series, upon which he plans to expand with this series, in person, at The Fringe.
For more information about Alex, his performing/ teaching and The Shed go to: www.alexmerritt.co.uk.
Entry requirements: no age restrictions
The sessions will be based on different musical topics each month to help you strengthen your toolkit as a jazz musician. The Shed is aimed at both young musicians 13+ with a growing interest in jazz, adult learners looking to deepen their craft, as well as being open to professional players also. All instruments welcome
This first session will introduce Alex as a saxophonist with a focus on ways of practicing ‘solo/ unaccompanied saxophone playing’. This topic will be helpful for players of any level, and will help you develop the ability to perform in a solo setting or play intros, outros or cadenzas to songs- which can be really effective!
Some of the skills we will look at include:
- Strengthening your timing and inner pulse
- learning to play bass lines and to accompany yourself
- Rubato/ free-time playing
- Using simple piano ‘voicings’ on saxophone, to fill out the texture
The session will run for 90 minutes, and Alex will give a little 20 min solo performance at the start also. Though this won’t be an interactive playing workshop and you won’t need instruments, there will be loads of time for questions and interaction, so bring your thinking hats and some examples of your favorite solo saxophone moments we can talk about in the session!
I hope to see you there!
About Alex: Over the last 15 years Alex has been an active performer around the UK as jazz saxophonist, composer and visiting saxophone teacher at the RWCMD and Jazz School UK. He has also conducted workshops at The Royal Birmingham Conservatoire and Leeds Conservatoire with ensembles he has led/co-led. He first setup ‘The Shed’; a as a lock-down masterclass series, upon which he plans to expand with this series, in person, at The Fringe.
For more information about Alex, his performing/ teaching and The Shed go to: www.alexmerritt.co.uk.
Entry requirements: no age restrictions