What Standard Of Excellence Enhanced Book 1 Actually Gets You
The Standard Of Excellence Enhanced Book 1 Alto Saxophone by Kim and Elizabeth Matthews is one of those method books you've probably seen stacked at every band room supply closet. It's not particularly groundbreaking in approach, but it does what it's supposed to do reliably. The enhanced version specifically means you get access to accompanying audio tracks online, which matters more than you might expect at this level. The book is written in concert pitch, which is the right call for a modern method. A lot of older books force kids to flip between transposed parts and concert score, which just confuses everyone. With Standard Of Excellence Enhanced Book 1 Alto Saxophone, you play what you see and it matches the recordings. That's it. That's the main technical feature that actually improves the learning experience.
Standard Of Excellence Enhanced Book 1 Alto Saxophone And Where To Get It
You can download the audio companion through the Kjos Music website. You register your book code, which is inside the front cover, and then you get streaming access plus the option to download MP3s. The process takes about five minutes. The site isn't exactly intuitive, so spend a few extra minutes there if you hit a snag. PDF copies of the book itself show up on various education resource sites, but buying the physical book or the official eBook from Kjos directly supports the publishers and avoids pirated versions with missing audio links. The method follows a fairly standard progression: embouchure and breathing fundamentals, then single tonguing patterns, then expanding the range slowly, then adding dynamics and articulation variations. The exercises are short and repetitive by design. That repetition is the whole point. Kids aren't reading concertos out of Book 1. They're building muscle memory. The alto saxophone specific material comes in two flavors: etudes that focus on Saxophone technique like finger coordination and breath control across registers, and simpler melodies arranged for alto. The arrangement choices are pretty sensible for a beginner. Nothing jumps into altissimo or extreme registral leaps. The book respects the physical limitations of a student player.
One thing worth noting is how the enharmonic and key signature exposure is paced. It doesn't throw you into six flats immediately. You get C major and G major first, then D and A, building from there. If your student is already sight-reading in B flat, this pacing can feel slow. It is slow on purpose, and rushing through the early pages usually causes problems later.
What Most People Miss About This Method
The audio tracks are not optional filler. They serve a specific function that beginners don't always recognize. The recordings include the accompaniment parts that the book describes but doesn't fully notate on every page. When you're working through rhythm etudes, playing along with the track is significantly more effective than tapping the rhythm on your knee. The difference in timing accuracy between solo practice and tracked practice is noticeable within a couple weeks. Another overlooked detail is how the book handles the transition from mouthpiece-only exercises to full instrument practice. The early lessons separate those clearly, which is something a lot of other methods skip entirely. Kids who jump straight into playing notes on the full horn without the breathing and embouchure foundation usually develop tension problems by lesson twelve. The Matthews approach anticipates this and builds incrementally. Pay attention to the mouthpiece section even if your student seems eager to play songs.
A Specific Problem I Encountered And How I Worked Around It
One student using Standard Of Excellence Enhanced Book 1 Alto Saxophone hit a wall around page thirty-five where the left-hand thumb register key work started appearing alongside new note groupings. He was consistently missing the thumb key engagement on the F and F sharp transition, which produced a weak, cracked tone instead of a clean octave jump. The book doesn't explicitly address this mechanical issue in the text. It assumes the student will figure out the thumb coordination. The workaround was to isolate the left hand on the horn with the mouthpiece removed, practicing just the thumb and first finger motion while saying the note names out loud. I had him watch his own hand in a mirror so he could see whether the thumb was actually depressing the pad. Within about ten minutes of focused repetition, the cracks stopped. The issue wasn't musical understanding. It was a missing physical pattern that the book never called out directly.
Limitations Of The Method
This isn't a comprehensive saxophone method. It covers fundamentals solidly but it doesn't address jazz improvisation, advanced techniques, or extended range work. If a student finishes Book 1 and wants to explore anything beyond standard ensemble literature, they'll need supplemental material. The book also moves quickly past the initial range expansion, so students who need more time in the low register might feel rushed. Another honest limitation: the audio tracks are decent recordings but they're not professional solo performances. Some of the tempos are pushed slightly faster than comfortable for a true beginner, especially in the middle sections of the book. If a student is struggling, slowing the tracks down to 75 percent speed on most media players fixes the problem without losing the harmonic content. For students who need more individualized technical work, I usually pair this with a supplementary scale book or use metronome practice alongside the main material. The method itself is solid for a classroom or private beginner setting, but it works best when the instructor or parent is actively engaged with the practice routine rather than treating it as a self-contained curriculum.
