In the early twentieth century, the saxophone was a new instrument in the United States. However, its popularity quickly grew as the instrument was featured in many genres of music, most notably military bands and jazz bands. Instrumental manufacturers sold millions of saxophones as demand for the instrument increased. However since the saxophone was so new, there was a lack of quality instruction. As a result, the general playing level of saxophonists was low. Saxophonist Henry Lindeman published one of the first comprehensive method books for the instrument in the United States in 1934. The book was the product of Lindeman’s extensive research into the fundamentals of saxophone playing. The book was a success after it was published, and Lindeman’s reputation as a teacher grew. The Lindeman Method discusses all of the fundamental aspects of saxophone playing in great detail including the following: breathing, posture, embouchure, tone production, finger technique, vibrato, melody playing, and articulation. Lindeman’s book had a lasting effect on how saxophone is taught, as all of his fundamental concepts are generally still approached in the same manner in modern saxophone pedagogy. Lastly, the method book itself continues to be used, thanks to Lindeman’s students and their students and so forth.

Many collegiate saxophone performance degree programs are overwhelmingly classical, adopting from other performance programs in the Western music tradition. However, there is a growing number of saxophone compositions that are “crossover” in nature. Crossover is a term used to describe the fusion of popular music styles in a classical setting. There is also evidence that collegiate music education as a whole is moving towards a more diverse curriculum, which emphasizes ethnomusicology. Due to this trend in composition and education, it is becoming increasingly important that saxophonists have the training of both classical and jazz disciplines. The problem is that while many colleges have saxophone majors, there is a strong divide between classical and jazz education. This leaves students in a Bachelor of Music in Saxophone Performance degree track without the ability to accurately perform crossover music or have the opportunity to perform jazz and other genres of music. The purpose of this study is to develop a crossover degree in saxophone performance by highlighting aspects of crossover saxophone repertoire and reviewing current university degree catalogs. The research in this study is meant to diagnose omissions in performance degree programs as far as crossover development and to create a new degree track for saxophonists in an effort to promote diverse performance ability.

Multiple articulation is a technique that is becoming commonplace in the saxophone literature. This study provides a detailed explanation of how produce the technique. Its application to saxophone literature is explored with musical examples and commentary by the author. A compilation of pedagogical viewpoints regarding multiple articulation from educators spanning the last century is provided.