A Precious Musical Heritage

We sat down for a chat with First Form pupil Jack, who has been learning to play the saxophone on an instrument once owned by his great-grandfather. Many members of Jack’s family have learned to play on this instrument down the generations, and we wanted to learn more about how it feels to be continuing such a special family tradition.

what made you first want to start playing the saxophone and how long have you been playing?

Growing up hearing about how so many members of my family had played the saxophone definitely made me want to carry on that tradition. Even separate to that though, it’s such a good instrument because it’s so cool, and you can play lots of different styles of music on it. I’ve been playing for just over two years now.

what does it feel like to play an instrument which generations of your family have played before you?

I feel honoured to play an instrument which generations before me have played. It’s really special because it reminds me of them. I never met my great-grandfather, but my mum has talked to me about him and it feels amazing to play on an instrument he played on too. This saxophone represents a part of my family history, and that’s really valuable to me.

what’s your favourite thing about your music lessons at bloxham?

I like having the opportunity to grow my skill and I love the range of pieces which I have the chance to learn to play. My teacher is really great too. He has been teaching me ever since I started at Bloxham and I’ve definitely learned a lot from him.

do you play any other instruments? If so, which do you like best and why?

I play the drums as well, which I really enjoy. It enables me to play more aggressively and loudly and explore different kinds of music. You can play rock on the drums and then jazz on the saxophone. The saxophone is my favourite though, partly because I have more experience on it, but also because the connection to my family makes it special.

do you have a favourite style of music to play? what do you like about this style in particular?

Jazz is my favourite, because it’s cool, it’s fun, it’s funky. I also like rock music because it’s your classic heavy sound. I would definitely recommend learning to play the saxophone to anyone who’s interested because it’s just such a fun instrument and you can do so much with it.

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