Saxophone Rubric

A Rubric For Saxophone Players

	4	3	2	1
	Exceeding	Meeting	Approaching	Developing
Posture	Student sits on the edge of the chair, back is straight, feet are flat on the floor, and saxophone looks comfortable to the side (or in the case of especially tall middle schoolers the saxophone can be in front). The student’s body is controlled and steady with a minimum amount of movement during the performance.	Student sits on the edge of the chair, back is straight, feet are flat on the floor, but saxophone may tend to "pull" the student forward resulting in an at times inconsistent posture during performance.	Student may sit on the edge of the chair but "hunches" either forward or to the right, causing the Saxophone to "droop" in way that negatively impacts breath support and /or technique	Student does not sit on the edge of the chair and is slouched.
Hand Position	Student uses proper hand position with the hand relaxed in a natural c shaped curve. Fingers curved rest slightly toward the outside edges of the mother of pearl keys. Fingers remain flexible and fluid throughout performance and never lift from the keys except when necessary resulting in maximum efficiency of motion and velocity in playing if necessary.	Student uses a natural c shaped hand position. Both right & left hand position is correct but the fingers might not be slightly at the outside edges of the keys. At times fingers may lift from the keys when not necessary	Student may not use a natural c shaped hand position or does so inconsistently. Fingers at time may be rigid and not curved. Fingers may lift from the key or rest far from the keys.	Student places fingers over incorrect keys and needs frequent reminders with regard to proper hand position. Fingers rest far from the keys, and sometimes "get lost" on the way to doing their work.
Embouchure	Student has mastered the saxophone embouchure. The student positions her mouth as if saying "oo" and has her lower lip slightly over her teeth. the upper teeth rest on top of the mouthpiece. Corners are firm but the lower lip provides a nice cushion for the reed. The embouchure remains consistent throughout the ranges, especially the low range, and the student can produce clear clean low notes with subtending or moving the lower jaw.	The student positions her mouth as if saying "oo" and has her lower lip slightly over her teeth. the upper teeth rest on top of the mouthpiece. Corners are firm but the lower lip provides a nice cushion for the reed. The embouchure remains consistent throughout the ranges, but the embouchure may change at the low register and the sound may not be entirely characteristic at the extremes of the range.	The student has an inconsistent embouchure resulting in a sound that is at times not characteristic of the instrument in all ranges. Corners may be back as if saying "ee" as in a clarinet embouchure. Top lip may be over the teeth at times, and not enough support might be provided to the reed to produce a good sound.	Student may take in too much reed (or not enough). Very little in the way of embouchure showing. Student takes mouthpiece in and plays.
Tone Quality	Student uses appropriate air speed producing a sound that is pure and sustained for the notes of the low, middle, and high registers. Vibrato has become an important dependable asset to the player. Tone has a professional quality.	Tone is focused, clear and centered through the normal range of the instrument. Extremes in range cause tone to be less controlled. Tone quality typically does not detract from the performance. Student working on vibrato and sound is generally characteristic of the instrument in all ranges.	Student may be flat because of poor embouchure. Sound may not be characteristic of the instrument in all registers. The sound is inconsistent and may waiver in both tone quality and intonation.	Student uses air that is too fast, producing a sound that is "shrill" or uses air that is too slow producing a sound that is "breathy". The tone is not focused or clear.