In an email to my SAXOPHONE Studies members a while ago, I sent out some scales for them to practice to help with a new video and piece of sheet music that was being released.
Soon after sending it I realised that I had I made a mistake!
I realised because one of my diligent students thought that what I had written looked wrong, so he got in touch.
I wrote that the E natural minor scale has a C# in it...well, it doesn't! It is C natural.
This is the E natural minor scale: E F# G A B C D E
I knew this, it was just a mistake - I guess I wasn't thorough enough in my proof reading.
This then sparked an interesting chain of events...
I, of course, got in touch with everyone straight away to highlight the error and to give the correct information
I also took the opportunity to pose a question about my error:
"What does this prove?"
And this was my answer:
"Well, firstly it proves that I'm human and I make mistakes sometimes!
Secondly, it proves one of my tutors from music college right...I always remember him saying not to believe a word that he said!
He told us to always check what we're told
The information given might be misinformed, or there may just have been a mistake made (as in this case).
Also, by checking you consolidate your knowledge and deepen your understanding of the subject."
Following on from this I had quite a few replies from people saying that they had seen the mistake, but then convinced themselves that I was right and they were wrong - after all, I am the teacher!
I am now delighted that I made that mistake as it has opened up this conversation.
And I hope it has given more people the confidence to speak up and ask questions.
And this is the point of this blog article... so that I can reiterate to you all:
ALWAYS question,
NEVER just accept knowledge.
A good teacher will always welcome questions and never discourage them.
Learning the saxophone, and music in general is endlessly confusing - but brilliant, obviously!
That's why SAXOPHONE Studies is here - to pass on knowledge and to help you to understand it. The only way to do that is to question...
So hit me with your questions :)
You can email me here: matthew@saxophonestudies.com
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