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Recommendations for teachers/places to learn beginner saxophone in English?
From my research I've heard many times that it's best to learn the basics from a teacher rather than trying… I recently started taking action on my long-time desire to learn how to play the saxophone.
From my research I've heard many times that it's best to learn the basics from a teacher rather than trying to self learn.
I'm now looking for places in Tokyo to learn with an English speaking teacher. Taking zoom lessons would allow more options for time and available teachers but I would personally prefer in-person lessons.
I would love to hear any suggestions/advice on this.
there's also a guy named ken who teaches out of a small studio near yoyogi-uehara, he's japanese but lived in boston for a few years so his english is really solid. does hour long private lessons for around 5000 yen, you can usually find him through the tokyo music lesson network on facebook. the studio itself is tiny but has good soundproofing so you won't bother anyone while you're squeaking through your first scales
have you checked out the music school in daikanyama called sound studio ark? they do group lessons in english sometimes and theres a teacher named mike who actually plays jazz gigs around town. might be a bit pricier than the smaller studios but the facility is nice and they rent saxes too if you dont have your own yet
honestly there's a place called Sound Studio Noa in Shinjuku that does beginner sax lessons, the guy who runs it is a jazz guy and speaks english well enough to explain stuff. in-person is prob the way to go for sax cause the embouchure stuff is hard to get right over zoom
if u want something more casual, there's a music bar in Kichijoji called Swing that does these saturday morning workshops for like 3000 yen, the teacher is a british expat who plays in a local band. u can rent a sax from them too so u don't have to buy one right away
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Where can I find crispy, pan-fried bacon similar to a certain international style?
if u have a costco membership the kirkland thick cut is the move, 4 packs of 500g for around 2500 yen and it crisps up proper in a cold pan. for smaller runs, precce in azabudai hills & the basement at isetan shinjuku both carry imported US & danish brands in the chilled case, just read the label for "thick cut" or "smoked" and not "loin". also worth knowing japanese bacon is often wet-cured so pat it dry before frying or it steams instead of crisping
kaldi coffee farm is hit or miss but their smoked bacon from denmark shows up pretty regular, the 200g pack runs about 600 yen. what actually works better for me is asking the butcher counter at peacock or life to slice the block bacon thick, like 5mm, they do it for free and it crisps way better than the pre-packed stuff. also fwiw cheap bacon crisps faster, the fatty supermarket kind at 300 yen a pack works fine if u cook it from cold in a dry pan and pour off the fat as it renders.
tbh the gyomu super store brand bacon is surprisingly decent for crisping up, its not thick cut but if you cook it low and slow it gets pretty crunchy. the key is the dry cure vs wet cure thing, wet cure steams. also check hanamasa if you have one nearby, they sell big packs of american style bacon thats actually smoked and firm.