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HowToPlayTheSaxophone-ACompleteBeginner'sGuide
Comprehensiveandeasytofollowstep-by-stepinstructionsandup-to-datetechniqueswithvideolessonsofpersonalinstruction
byJohnnyFerreira
Copyright©2013Allrightsreserved.
Nopartofthispublicationmaybereproduced,distributed,ortransmittedinanyformorbyanymeans,includingphotocopying,recording,orotherelectronicormechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher,except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certainothernoncommercialusespermittedbycopyrightlaw.Forpermissionrequests,emailtheauthorthroughthelinksbelow.
AbouttheAuthorJohnnyFerreiraisaprofessionalsaxophonist,bandleader,composer,recordingartist and saxophone educator who runs several websites including:www.JohnnyFerreira.com and www.HowToPlaySaxophone.org, a membershipsite that has several thousandmembers andgrowing everyday,whichyou canjoin for free and learnmore about playing the saxophone through videos andcommunicate with Johnny and other sax players on related topics within themembersforum.
Wanttolearnhowtoplaythesax?Great!
Thiscoursewaswritten to takeacompletebeginner fromgettingasaxophoneandputtingittogethertoplayingarepertoireofpopularmusic.Youwill:learnallthenotesandtheirfingerings
learnallthemajorscales
achieveanddevelopyourtonegaintechniquethroughsimplescale-basedexerciseslearntoreadbasicmusicnotationAndfinally-learnsomesongs!I’mHereForYou…Yoursaxophoneeducationdoesn’tendherebecauseyoucanbecomeamember(forfree)atHowToPlaySaxophone.organdtakeadvantageoftheextratipsandlessons being posted there whenever they are made available. There you canconnect other saxophonists and myself in the member’s forum with anycommentsorquestions:http://HowToPlaySaxophone.org/
I really appreciate your feedback so please Rate, Review, and“Like” this book on Amazon so others can discover it as well.Muchappreciated…thankyouandenjoythejourney!
TableofContents
SummaryIntroductionTakingYourSaxophoneOutoftheCaseTheSaxophoneMouthpieceTheSaxophoneReedYourEmbouchureTonguePlacementBreathingToneFingeringTheMajorScalesIntroducingtheCMajorScaleIntroducingtheGMajorScaleDevelopingTechniquePlayingYouFirstSongs!ArticulationIntroducingtheBbMajorScaleAwesomeMajorScaleExerciseAwesomeMajorChordExerciseAllTheMajorScalesHowtoImproveYourToneVibratoGreensleevesAmazingGraceCan’tHelpFallingOvertherainbowNottheEnd
SummaryThe first few sectionswill teach you about the saxophone'smain componentsincludingthesaxitself,mouthpiecesandreeds.Wrongchoicesherecanleadtoajourneyoffrustrationinsteadofhappinessandfeelingsofaccomplishment!Thenext few sections are about getting sounds andwhat is directly related inthis process, namelyhow tobreathe air into the saxophone the rightway, andhow your mouth, facial muscles and tongue are used… this is called yourembouchure.Improperbreathingandapoorembouchurearethemaincausesofslowtonedevelopment.Mistakesandbadhabitsherecantakemanymonthstofixsoitpaystogetitrightfromthestart.Thefollowingsectionsareaboutlearningthenotes,gettingfingercoordinationanddevelopingtechnique.Westartniceandeasywithasinglenoteandslowlybuild up to full scales. Learning these scales and accompanying scale-basedexercises will prepare you for what is one of the best parts of playing thesaxophoneandwhyyouprobablywanttolearnitinthefirstplace…PLAYINGSONGS!Finally we will learn some songs which will give you a real repertoire ofstandard and popular tuneswe all know and love. I say "we" because I haverecorded lesson videos to guide you through this process so you will havesomethingtowatchandemulatebesidesjusttryingtofigureitoutforyourself.Also included are play-along backing tracks which make working on andlearningsongswaymorefunthanplayingthembyyourselfandjustreadingthenotes.PLEASE KEEP IN MIND that embouchure and proper breathing can't bedevelopedtoperfectionovernight!Itwillbeslowandpossiblyfrustratingatfirstbuteverydayyou'llgetabitbetterandfall in lovewith the instrumenta littlemoreeachtime.PleaseRate,Review,and"Like"thisbookonAmazonsootherscandiscoveritaswell.Ireallyappreciateyourfeedback.YoucanleavemecommentsandanyquestionsregardingtheselessonsorplayingthesaxophoneonmymembershipsiteHowToPlaySaxophone.org(seelinkabove).
IntroductionToThisBeautifulInstrumentknownAsTheSaxophone
Whydowelovethesoundofthesaxophonesomuch?
Maybebecauseit'sthemusicalinstrumentthatmostresemblesthehumanvoice.Likeourvoices,thesax,orshouldIsaythesaxophonistiscapableofproducinganextremerangeofsoundsfromsad,hauntingdarktonestoupliftingscreamsoflaughter.Unlikemostinstruments,whichevolvedovercenturiestobecomewhattheyaretoday, the saxophone was invented. In Belgium, around the early 1840’sAdolpheSaxenvisionedsomethingwhichwasacrossbetweenawoodwindandabrassinstrument,thiswashisinspirationtocomeupwiththesaxophone.Saxeventually constructed 14 different types of saxophones. Today there are fourthatarethemostpopularandcommonlyplayed:
SopranoinBb
AltoinEb
TenorinBb
BaritoneinEbThese5arenotsocommonbuttheydoexist:SopraninoinFandalsoinEb
SopranoinCMezzo-sopranoinF
MelodyinC
BassinBbContra-BassinEbThesopranoinFmaybeimpossibletofindthesedaysbutdidexistatonetime.TheCmelodyhasnotbeenmadesinceearlierinthe20thcenturybuttheypopupfromtimetotime,itfallsbetweenthealtoandtenor.
TheFirstThingsYouNeedtoKnowAbouttheSaxophoneRegardlessofwhich saxophoneyou’vedecided toplay,you shouldknow thatthefingeringchartsarethesameforallthedifferentsaxophones.Youdon'tneedtobuyanexpensiveprofessionalmodeltostartoutwith,aninexpensiveonethatisingoodworkingorderwilldojustfine.TheveryfirstsaxIboughtwasaveryaverageKingstudentmodelwhichcost$200 in the 1970’s and I used it for the first 2 years ofmy playing career. Ifmoneyisnoobjectthenbuythebestoneyoucan,buttruthfully,thebiggestpartof your tonewill come from you (your embouchure) and your specific setup,meaningthemouthpieceandreedcombination.Thesefactorswillplayabiggerpartinhowyousoundthanthesaxophoneitself.Before starting to play your sax I highly recommend taking it to a saxophonerepairshopandhaveitquicklyinspectedforanyminorleaksinthepadsandanyalignmentproblemsasthesecanmakeitverydifficultforthebeginnertoworkwith.Abadleakinjustonenotepadcanmakeitalmostimpossibletoevengetoutthefirstnote.Sincethiscansometimesbedifficultenoughtodoforsomeona good working sax, a poorly working one can frustrate, and even turn off abeginnerveryquickly,so…makesureyourhornisingoodworkingorder!Let’sgetstarted…
TakingYourSaxophoneOutofit’sCaseGettingyour sax (safely)outof it's caseandputting it togetherwillbea snaponceyoudoitacoupletimes.Thereareafewthingstowatchforbecausethisisaverydelicateinstrumentwithlotsofpartsonitthatcaneasilybreakorbend.Grabitonsolidsmoothsurfacesandavoidthingslikerodsandnotepads.
1.Thebestwaytograbitwhileit’sstillinthecaseisbyputtingyourrighthandinsidethebell,thisgivesyouafirmholdandisasafe,smoothsurface.
2.Withyourlefthandgrabitfromtheverybottomwhereitcurves.
3.Onceyouhaveitfirmlylikethiswithbothhandsyoucantuckitbetweenyourarmandbody,thisfreesupyourotherhandtoputthesaxophoneneckinplace.
PuttingOnTheNeck
Nowthatyouknowhowtofirmlyandsafelyholdyoursaxophoneit’s timetoputontheneck.Thisisveryeasyandsimpletodobutthereareacouplepointsyouneedtobeawareof.Whenyouslideitintotheholeatthetopofthesaxitshouldn’tbeextremelytightorextremelyloose.Ifit’stootighttrylooseningthescrew, if it’sstill too tight thisareaneedsaprofessionaladjustment. If it’s toolooseevenwiththescrewtighteneditwillrequireanadjustmentaswell.The secondpoint toknow isnot tohold the saxby thebell and tuggingon itwhiletryingtoputtheneckon,thiscancreateenoughpullingpressuretotakethesaxoutofalignment,andthiscanbeanexpensiverepairjob.
Afterpushingtheneckallthewayintothesaxtightenthescrewlocatedontheside, at the top of the sax to firmly hold the neck enough in place so it can’tmovefromsidetoside
DONOTpullthesaxapartbythebellwhiletryingtoslidetheneckin,thiscancauseittogooutofalignment!
*Note–youcanviewthissectionasavideolessonhere:http://howtoplaysaxophone.org/saxophone-handling
*Attention–thefollowingfewparagraphsarerepeatedinamuchlatersectioncalled “Tone” but I doubt anyone is not going to try blowing some kind ofsounds out of their saxophones before getting to that part, so at least you canhave someguidance foryour first attempts at getting some sounds.You’ll geteverythingmoretogetherasyoutakeineachfollowingsection,so…
BeforeProducingYourFirstSounds
Beforeblowingyourfirstsounds–couldbesqueaksandsquawksbutthat’sOK!You can blow into the mouthpiece before putting it on your sax after youposition the reed in place of course (instructions for reed placement followbelow in the “Reed” section). The following instructions apply whether themouthpieceisonoroffyoursax.Dothisasawarmup:1.Withthereedonthemouthpiece,put it inyourmouth, restingyour top teethon the topsideof themouthpiece, not toomuch in, andnot too close to the tip either…somewherebetween a half inch to one inch of themouthpiece should go in yourmouth.Experimentwith thisbyseeingifslippingit further inoroutmakesproducingthesoundanyeasier.
2.Your bottom teethwill be positioneddirectly underneath but don't let themtouch the reed, instead curve your bottom lip over them to form a cushionbetweentheteethandthereed.
3.Again…yourbottomteethdonottouchthereed,theyrestonacurvedbottomlipwhichistouchingthereed.
Nowblowniceandloud!
TheSaxophoneMouthpiece
Next to having a good working saxophone, the mouthpiece is your mostimportantpieceofequipment.It'sthepartofthesaxthatgoesinyourmouthandislargelyresponsibleforthekindoftoneyouwillbeproducing,morethanthesaxitself.Thereareseasonedsaxophoniststhatspendmoretimesearchingfortheperfectmouthpiecethanthetimetheyactuallyplaytheirsax!Thereisnosuchthingasaperfectmouthpiece.Thatdoesn'tmeanweshouldn'ttrytofindonebecausewecangetveryclose.Asabeginnerjuststartwiththemouthpiecethatcamewithyoursax,unlesstherewasn’toneincluded,inwhichcaseyoucangetoneofthemosthighlyrecommendedbeginnersmouthpiecesuchastheSelmerS80C*Atypicalbeginnersmouthpiecewillhaveamediumfacingandchamberwhichisidealforsomeonejuststartingout.Puttingthemouthpieceonyoursaxophone
Themouthpieceslidesdirectlyontothecorkedtipofthesaxneck.Ifitdoesnotslideoneasilyyoucanapplysomecorkgreasewhicheithercamewithyoursaxoryoucanget at amusic store.Slide themouthpieceabouthalfwayonto thecork. So if your cork is about an inch and a half in length as most are, themouthpieceshouldcover3/4inchesofthecork.
TuningyoursaxYoucantuneyoursaxophonebypushingthemouthpiecefurtherinonthecork,orpullingitoutclosertothetipoftheneck.Pushingitinmakesthesaxsoundsharper andpulling it outwillmake it sound flatter.Youdon’t need toworryabout the tuningverymuchuntilyou’replayingwithothers.At thispoint justkeepthemouthpieceabouthalfwayonthecorkbecausehavingitextremelytoofarinortoofaroutwillmakethesaxbeoutoftunewithitself.Belowisthemouthpieceplacedabouthalfwayonthecorkattheendofthe
neck:
SaxophoneMouthpieceGuideThefollowingsectionismoreinformationthanyoumayneedatthispointbutI’veincludedithereforwhenyou’rereadytomoveontoanothermouthpiece.Readingthisinformationwillteachyouhowmouthpiecesworkandwhatyou’llbelookingforlateron.
Mostmouthpiecemakersuseanumberingsystemtoidentifytherangeofit’stipopening; a wide opening will give you a brighter sound, a narrow opening adarker sound.For thebeginner though,anyextreme in thisopening rangewillmakeitdifficulttoproduceanygoodsoundthoughsoamediumopeningisthewaytogo.
Thetypicalnumberingchartrangesfrom1to10,with10havingthewidesttipopening. I’ll point out Selmer here because they make some very goodmouthpiecesbut their systemworksdifferent in that theyuse letters insteadofnumbersgoingfromsomethinglikeAtoH,withHbeingthewidest.
The Selmer C series are a very good choice for beginners as they are a nicemediumopening.Morespecifically,theSelmerS80C*isgenerallyregardedasoneofthebestchoicesforstartingoutonandeventakingyoutothenextlevel.
Whenyou’re juststaring toplay,usewhatevermouthpiece isavailable toyou,suchastheonethatcamewithyoursax,atleastforthefirstlittlewhileasyou’relearninghowtogetthebasicsdown.Youcanchecktheoneyouhavetomakesureit’snotanextremelyopenorclosedmodelbytheinformationabove.
Themostimportantpartsofthemouthpieceare:
TheFacing
TheBaffle
TheChamber
TheFacing–Lookforamediumsizefacing.
Thisiswhatdictatesthedistancebetweenthereedandthetipofthemouthpieceandisthemostimportantthingwhentalkingaboutthetipopeningasmentionedearlier.
TheBaffle–Lookforamediumsizebaffle.
Rightbehindthetipisthebaffle.Asyoursoundleavesthereedithitsthisbaffleareafirst.Ahighbafflewillleavelessspacebetweenthereedandmouthpiece,sometimescausingsqueaksquiteeasily.A lowbaffle leavesmorespacebut iftooextremecanmakeitharderforyoutoblow.
TheChamber
This iswhere the sound resonates in themouthpiece.A small chamber goingright into themouthpiecewillproducea largerandbrightersoundthana largechamber.Whenconsideringthewallsofthechamberaswell,it'sonlyfairtosaythatmanufacturershavemanyvariationsavailablewhendesigningthechamber,manyofwhichshouldn'tconcernthebeginner.
*Whilemuchofthismightnotbeorseemrelevanttoyouatthisstage,it'sgoodtoknowforwhenyoufeelreadytomoveontoadifferentstyleofmouthpiece.
Threeexcellentmouthpiecebrands:Meyer-Selmer-Yamaha
Regardlessofthebrand,chooseamouthpiecethatfallsinthemediumrangeorasteportwobelow.Thismeansitwillhaveamediumtoslightlylessfacingandchamber which is ideal for beginners. As you gain more experience you canmove up to awider onewhichwill enable tone improvement but don’t thinkabouttakingashortcutyetbecauseaverywideandopenedoneplayedatthisstagewillmakeittoohardtoblow.
TheSaxophoneReed
Theaboveillustrationshowsallpartsofareed.Theonlyoptionyouhavewhenbuyingareedisthe“strengthmarking”numberwhichreferstoit’sstrengthorthickness–thehigherthenumber,thethickerthecutandthehardertoplay.
The reed you choose can be the difference between easily getting a sound orbarelybeingabletoproduceoneatall,evenifyoursaxisworkingproperlyandyouhaveadecentmouthpiece.Attheverybeginningthiscanbeatroublesomeand frustrating time because you may not know if your failed attempts arebecauseofareedoryou.Thisiswhyhavingseveralreedsonhandisimportant.
The functionof the reed is to vibrate very, very fast to produce a sound fromyourmouthintothesaxophone.Muchthesamewaywhenwewerekids,takingabladeofgrassbetweenourthumbsandblowingintoittomakeasound.
So,thethinnerthereed,theeasierthiswillbe,that’swhyabeginnerstartsoutusingonethetwothinnestsizereeds.
ReedSizesReedsarecategorized intosizeswithnumbers:1,11/2,2,21/2,3,31/2etc.One being the thinnest and between 4 and 5 being the thickest cuts. Whenstartingoutgetsome1'sandalsosome11/2'ssoyoucangobackandforthtodeterminewhichsizeworksbestforyou.Youcan'trelyonaninstructortotellyou this because you're the only one that can feel the difference. For manybeginnersasize1isperfectforthefirstfewweeksormonthsofplayingandforothersevena1maybetoothin,inwhichcaseusinga11/2isperfect.
DifferentTypesandBrandsOfReeds
AfewpopularbrandsthathavebeenaroundforalongtimeareLaVoz,Rico,and Vandoren. Originally reeds were made out of one material; cane. Todaymostarestillmadeoutofcanebutthereareseveralmorechoicesonthemarket:Plastic coated reeds – these are cane reeds coated with a very thin plasticcoating.Theideaisthattheywilllastlongerandbehardertobreakbecauseoftheprotectivecoating.
Syntheticreeds–thesearenotmadefromnaturalcanebutman-madesyntheticmaterials. These will be more consistent, longer lasting, and much harder tobreakordamage.
As a beginner you shouldn’t bother with any other reeds than a regular canereed.Thetruthisthattherearesyntheticreedsthathavecomeclosetosoundandfeel like a natural cane reed but they are not perfect and companies are stillworking tomake themsound and feel asgood as anatural reed.Natural canereeds can be inconsistent, unstable, and prone towarping butwhen you get agoodonethereisnothingbetterandeasiertoplay.
Workingonreeds
Someexperiencedplayersworkontheircanereedsinordertomakethemplaybetter. If a reed feels too softyoucanget a reedclipperand simplyclipoff averythinamountfromit’stip,buttoomuchanditwillnowbeaverystiffreed.Ifa reedfeelsprettygoodbut justa little toostiffyoucansand itdownabit.Sand paper may work but there is a popular tool used by clarinetists andsaxophonists calledDutch Rush, which is a type of cane that is abrasive andribbed and therefore perfect for shaving down a reed. It grows naturally in
AmericaandEuropeinwaterybanksandinunder-brushareasoflargeevergreentrees andotherheavygrowth forests.Youdon’t need togohunting forDutchRushthoughbecausesomemusicstoressellit!
class=Section9>HowtoputthereedonthemouthpieceAftermoistening it (refer to video lesson) put the reed on the flat face of themouthpieceso it's topedge isevenwith the topof themouthpiece…nowslipthe reed down just a hair so you can see just a hairline of themouthpiece tip
whenthereedispressedupagainstit:
Asyoucansee,thereedaboveisevenwiththetipofthemouthpiece.
By dropping the reed slightly below themouthpiece tip a very small space iscreatedbetweenit’stipandtheverytopofthemouthpiece.Youshouldbeabletoseethisbypressingthereedtiptothemouthpiecewithyourthumb.
PuttingontheligatureTheligature iswhatholds thereedontothemouthpiece.Tightenit’sscrews(s)very slightly, just enough to hold the reed on firmly but not too tight that itchokes it. The ligature should naturally sit around the mid section of the
mouthpiece,justbelowthelineinthemiddleofthereed:
*Note–youcanviewthesectiononreedsasavideolessonhere:http://howtoplaysaxophone.org/reed-care
YourEmbouchure
Thiswholeprocessofhavingeverythingrightbetweenthemouthpieceandyourmouthiscalledyourembouchure.
Embouchure comes from the Frenchword bouche,whichmeansmouth.Yourembouchureisallabouthowyouuseyourfacialmusclesandtheshapingofthelipsonyourmouthpiece.Properformtakestimetodevelop.
Playingwith a proper embouchure is the onlywayyou'll ever be able to playyour sax in its full rangewith a full, clear tone that’s in tune.The things thataffectyourembouchureare:
facialmuscleslipsteethjawalignmentmouthpieceplacementcheekstongue
Initially,themostimportantpointstokeepinmindare:yourtopteetharerestingon the top of your mouthpiece. Your bottom lip forms a cushion over yourbottomteeth,inotherwords…yourbottomteetharenottouchingthereed!Soyouhaveyourbottomlipbetweenyour teethandthereedactingasacushion.Whenyou'renewatthisorplaymanyhoursinarow,youmightdevelopacutorsoreon the insideofyourbottomlip.This isnormal.You'llgetused to itandeventuallyanysoreswilldisappear.SimpleexercisetodevelopthesemusclesAll these supporting facial muscles that are involved will develop over time.Youcandoadailyexercisetohelpstrengthensomeofthesemuscles:whistle.Whenyouwhistle the corners of yourmouthwillmove to the center.After ashortwhistlingperiod,smilethewidestsmileyoupossiblycan.Thisbringsthecornersofyourmouthbackasfaraspossible.Rotate thewhistleswiththebigsmilesafewdozentimesduringtheday.Ifthesemusclesgetalittletiredwhileyou’re doing this exercise it’s because they need to develop and you cancontinuetodojustthat.
Your tongue is back from the reed and shouldn't touch the reed because it'llconstrictthemovementofthereed,whichneedstovibrateveryfasttoproduceasound.
SummaryTherearetwowordsthatdefineandsummarizeagoodembouchure–controlandrelaxation.Yourembouchureshouldberelaxedbutwellcontrolledand supported without being collapsed. Be patient, pay attention to all theseelements every time you play and eventually youwill develop a good, properandstrongembouchure!
*Note–viewtheembouchuresectionasavideolessonhere:http://howtoplaysaxophone.org/embouchure
TonguePlacement
ProperstartingandendingofnotesThe“attack”orstartofanoteshouldbeconcise,withequalintensityandproperpitch, all from the very start of the note.Your first note is the listener’s firstimpressionofyouandonceyouplaythatnote,thereisnoturningbacktocorrectitsoworkatgettingitrightfromthestarteachtime!Let’sstop,thinkandprepareourlistofthingsthatarenecessaryandcomeintoplaytomakethishappen:
1.Embouchureposition2.Breathsupport3.Tongueplacement
Wehavetalkedaboutembouchureandproperbreathingbutnotthepositionofthetongue,who’sjobistostartandstopthenotes.Whendoingthis,thepositionofyourtongueonthereediscrucial,buttothebeginnercanbeconfusing.Startinganoteisdonebyreleasingitwithyourtongue,andendingthatnoteisdonebystoppingthereedfromvibratingwithyourtongue.At thispointdon’ttry tostartandstopanotewithmoreor lessair support.Fullandconstantairsupport shouldbegoing intoyoursaxatall times,usingyour tongue toeitherallow the reed tovibrateor stopping it fromvibrating is the techniqueused tostartandendthenote.WhenIsaytousethetipofyourtonguetodothis,youmaywonderjustwherethatactual“tip”is.Havealookatthetwoillustrationsandnoticehowthefirstoneshowsalmost thevery tipof the tongue touching the reed,and thesecondshows the part of the tongue much further back. Which is right? This is apersonalchoiceanddependsonseveraldifferentfactorsrangingfromindividualfacialproportionstoembouchureandmouthpieceposition.You should experiment and see where it feels most comfortable for you toproperly start and stop a note with the tip of your tongue, which could beanywherefromneartheactualtiptoabouthalfaninchorsofurtherdown.
Whenpreparingtostartanote,inhale,getyourembouchureinplace,placetipoftongueon reed andhold it there until air support comes towards the reed andreleaseyourtongue.Youshouldbemakinga“ta”soundwitheachnoterelease.
StoppingthenoteEndinganoteisjustasimportantasstartingit.Thebestwaytoenditistostopthereedfromvibratingwithyourtongue.Anotherwayistoslowdownorstoptheflowofair,thisworksincertainmusicalsituationssuchaswhenyouneedtotaperofforfadeoutnear theendof thenote.TheLongtoneexercisewiththecrescendomarkingslaterinthisbookareanexampleofthis.
*Note–youcanviewthetonguingsectionasavideolessonhere:http://howtoplaysaxophone.org/tonguing
Breathing
Oneofthetoughestthingstodowhenstartingoutiscreatingproperairsupport.Airmustcomefromthediaphragm,notyourthroat.
Thediaphragmisdirectlyunderneaththeribcage.Makesureyouhaveanopenthroatandyourairsupport iscomingfromdowndeepinyourdiaphragm,notyourthroat.So,openyourthroatandpushairfromyourdiaphragm,inotherwords,blowfromthebottomup.Mostpeople’snaturaltendencyistopushairfromthethroat,whichwillproducesoundbutisnotsufficientforproducingaqualitysaxophonetone.Untilyoucansupplyyoursaxwithstrongairsupportfromyourdiaphragmyouwillgetathinandweaktone.Thisisoneofthemostimportantthingsyouwilllearnasyouaredeveloping,andoneof themost important things tomaster thatwill turnyourthin,weaktoneintoarich,full,beautifulone…yay!So…Howcanyoutellifyou’rebreathingproperly?
Thebestwaytoexperienceandseetheproperbreathingtechniqueinactionistolayonthefloor,flatonyourback.Whenyouinhaleandholdyourbreathforafewseconds thenexhale,youwillnotice theareaaroundyour stomachmovesandnotthechestarea.Nowdo thisagainwithaheavypotorbookonyourstomachandwatchwhathappens.Practicefillingupwithairstartingwiththelowerchestandthenupperchest,whichisyourentiretorsoandnotjusttheupperchest.Practice this breathing technique while standing up straight and erect. First
breathe in short intakes of air gradually building up to full intakes. You canliterallycontrolwhere theair iscomingfrom;putonehandonyourchestandtheotheronyourstomacharea.Takeadeepbreathusingyourchestatthesametime keep your abdomen still. Next take a deep breath from your diaphragm,abdomen areawhile keeping your chest perfectly still. This type of control iswhatwill eventually leadyou todo theproperbreathing techniqueneeded foryoursaxophone.Aftera fewdaysorweeksofpracticing theseexercises theentireprocesswillcomenaturallyandeventuallyyouwon’tevenneed to thinkabout itanymore.It’satthisbeginningstagethatit’scrucialtogetitright.
*Note–youcanwatchthebreathingvideolessonhere:http://howtoplaysaxophone.org/breathing
Tone
The saxophone can produce a wider variety of sounds than most otherinstrumentsandisalsotheinstrumentthatcansoundclosesttothehumanvoice.Evenso,it’stonecanbeasindividualasthepersonplayingit,justlikeeveryonehastheirownuniquesoundingvoice.Yoursaxophone’stonewillbeeffectedbya number of things - your choice of reed, mouthpiece, saxophone, breathingtechnique,andembouchure.BeforeProducingYourFirstSounds
Beforeblowingyourfirstsounds–couldbesqueaksandsquawksbutthat’sOK!You can blow into the mouthpiece before putting it on your sax after youposition the reed in place of course.The following instructions applywhetherthemouthpieceisonoroffyoursax.Dothisasawarmup:1.Withthereedonthemouthpiece,putitinyourmouth,restingyourtopteethonthetopsideofthemouthpiece, not toomuch in, andnot too close to the tip either…somewherebetween a half inch to one inch of themouthpiece should go in yourmouth.Experimentwith thisbyseeingifslippingit further inoroutmakesproducingthesoundanyeasier.
2.Your bottom teethwill be positioneddirectly underneath but don't let themtouch the reed, instead curve your bottom lip over them to form a cushionbetweentheteethandthereed.
3.Yourbottomteethdonottouchthereed.
Nowblowniceandloud!Yes, there’sa lotgoingonandinthebeginningit’snotpossibletomakeitallcome together perfectly right away. Start blowing your sax and getting somesoundsfromit.Youdon’tneedtobeconcernedaboutnotesandfingeringsyet.Holdthehorninplaceusingtheneckstrapandholdingitupwithyour thumbunder the thumbreston therighthandandthe left thumbrestingon theupperthumbrest.
Adjustingyourneckstrap
Theneckstrapshouldbeadjustedsoyoursaxishighenoughnottomakeyourheadbendtoofardownorupwhenblowingintoyourmouthpiece.Youshouldbeholdingyoursaxsothemouthpieceisaboutevenwithyourmouthwhileyourheadisstraight.Yourfingerscanrestonthenotekeysbutshouldnotbepressinganyofthemdown.Yourleftthumbisrestingontheroundthumbrestbuttonandyourright thumbonthelower thumbhookwhichhelps tofurthersupport it inplayingposition.Wheretoplacethethumbswascoveredinthefirstlessonvideothatshowshowtotakethesaxophoneoutofit’scase.Blowwithoutholdinganynotesdown.Thispositionofnofingersisactuallythefingeringpositionfor thenoteC#(Csharp).So ifyouare totallybeginningatthispointanddidn’tknowanyfingeringpositionsyet,nowyoudo!Asyouexperimentwiththesoundsyou’regettingoutofyoursax,takenoticeofwhen it’s a good one as opposed to a bad squeak and try to realize yourembouchurepositionwhenyoumade that sound,youwant to focuson that somostof thesoundsaregoodand thereforecangetbetteronceyouknowwhatyou did tomake it happen thatway.The slightest change and adjustment canoftenmakeabigdifferencesoyouneedtoexperimentcarefullyandtakenoteofeverythingyouaredoing,bothgoodandbad.Howmuchofthemouthpiecedoyouputinyourmouth?
Toomuchwillmakeittoodifficulttogetanysoundandtoolittleishardaswell.Startwithabouthalfaninch.Atfirstyoucandothiswithonlythemouthpieceinyourhandomittingthesaxuntilyougetsomesounds.Theywillprobablybehigh,squeakyanduglybut thepointhereis tojustbeabletogetsomesortofsoundoutofit.Beingaloneinthehouseoronaboatoutatsea,orevenseveralmilesintothewildernessareallgoodideasforthis!It’strialanderror,hitandmiss at the beginning but what you should be doing is to know how yourembouchurewaspositionedwhenagoodnotecameoutand try toduplicate itagainuntilyouhaveitjustright.Yourmouthshouldbeslightlyfirmbutrelaxed.
Fingering
Youmayhavehearditbeensaidthatthesaxophoneisaveryeasyinstrumenttolearn.Well,thisispartlytrue,andthatpartisthefingeringsystem.Whilebeingabletoproduceabeautifultonemaytakesometime,it’squiteeasytolearnthefingering.Also note that allmembers of the saxophone family have the samefingering,andmostofitisthesameastheflutefingeringaswell.
YourfirstnoteThegoodnewsis that toplayyourfirstnoteonthesaxophoneyoudon’tneedanyfingersatall,andasImentionedearlier,thisistheC#(Csharp).HowtoplaymiddleC#:(quick recap of what I mentioned earlier regarding your first blowingattempt)
1.holdyoursaxfirmlyandcomfortablyinfrontofyou2. put the mouthpiece in your mouth, taking in consideration theembouchure position, especially regarding top teeth resting on yourmouthpieceandbottomteethrestingonyourbottomcurvedlip.3. havethetipofyourtongueonthereedtostart,thenreleaseitwiththe “ta” sound to take it away from the reed to start the notewhiletakingabigbreathfromdeepdowninyourdiaphragmandblow!
When you check the chart below youwill see an alternate position forC# aswell,but theno fingerposition is themostcommon.Next, study the fingeringchartsbelowandthenwatchthefingeringvideolessontolearnallthenotesonyoursaxophone.
*Note-thecompletefingeringvideolessonsarehere:http://howtoplaysaxophone.org/complete-saxophone-fingering-system
SaxophoneFingeringDiagram:
Noticethenotesmarked1,2,and3nearthetopofthesaxand4,5,and6nearthebottom.Thesearethemainfingeringpositions–yourlefthandisatthetopwithindexfingeronnote1,middlefingeronnote2,andringfingeronnote3.Righthandon thebottomnoteswith index fingeronnote4,middle fingeronnote5,andringfingeronnote6.Yourleftthumbrestsonapadandrightthumbgoesunderahook,whicharebehindthenotes.Belowisthecompletesaxophonefingeringchartforreference.*Solidblackindicatesadepressedfingerpad.
*Note-thereare4possibleBb(A#)positionsseevideolinkfurtheroninBbscalesectionformoredetailedinstructiononthese.
You’ll need to know every note starting from low Bb to the high F beforecontinuingonwith these lessons.Don’t feeloverwhelmed thoughbecauseyoudon’thavetolearnthemallinoneday.*Rememberyoucanwatchthecompletefingeringlessonvideo–linkisatthebeginningofthisFingeringsection.
TheMajorScales
Somebasicmusictheory
As amusician, the saxophone ismy best friend,my second best friend is thepianokeyboard.Ihighlyrecommendyoubecomefamiliarwiththekeyboardaswell,ifyou’renotalready.Why?When talking about things like intervals, whole steps, half steps, flats,sharps,and thenotesofa scaleetc.,wehaveaperfectvisualon thekeyboardthatwedon’thaveonanyother instrument.So,whetheroneplaysakeyboardinstrumentornot,therecanbeadvantagesjustbyunderstandingitvisually.Ourwesternmusicalsystemiscomprisedof12notes.Ifyoulookatapiano'sCnoteandcountalltheproceedingwhitenotesuptotheByouwillhavecounted7notes;CDEFGAB.Nowincludethe5blacknotesandthere'sthe12notes.Understandingthekeyboardissimplebecausewhenwelookatapianotherearealotofnotesbutafterthatstretchof7notesit’sjustrepetition.
SharpsandFlatsSharpsandflatsaretheblacknotesonthekeyboard.Whichonesaresharpandwhichareflat?Well,both.LookatthetwowhitenotesCandD.Thereisablacknotethatsitsbetweenthem.IfweplayfromCuptothisblacknotewewouldthinkofitasaCsharp.IfweplaytheDandgodowntothesameblacknotewewouldthinkofitasaDflat.It’sthesamenotebutithastwonames.Samegoesfortherestofthem–theblacknotebetweentheFandGcaneitherbecalledanFsharporaGflat.Inmusicalnotationsharpsarenotedbythe“#”signandflatsbythe“b”sign.So,F#,Bbetc.Everyoneofthesenoteshasit'sownchordsandscalesthatfollowthesamesetof ruleswhichmakeeachonedifferent fromtheotheras faras thenumberofsharpsorflatstheyhave.Forexample,GmajorhasonesharpandFmajorhasone flat. These rules are whatmakes the systemwork so every scale has theexactsamefamiliarsoundtoit,makingitpossibletohaveanestablishedsysteminplace.There are eastern musical systems that have different rules and therefore adifferent sound. For example, an eastern scale has smaller intervals than oursmallestquarternoteintervalandthereforegivesaverydifferentoverallsound.Ascalecanalsohavemorenotes thanoureightnotescale.It's things like thisthatmakeforaverydifferentmusicalsound.Thecycleof5thsdeterminethenumberofflatsorsharpsinakey.WestartoffwithCbecauseit'stheonlyonethatusesjustthewhitenotesonthepiano(noblacknoteswhicharesharpsandflats)tomakeaproperandcompletemajor scale:CDEFGABC.The number of sharps and flats a key has isdetermined on something called the cycle of 5ths – count up 5 notes on thekeyboardfromCtoG,thenDetc.Eachtimeasharpisadded:Ghasonesharp,Dhastwoetc.FivenotesdownfromCisF,whichhasoneflat,5downfromFisBb,whichhas2flatsandsoon.Thenumberofflatsorsharpsakeyhaswillshowinthekeysignature,whichisatthebeginningofanymusicalnotationandyouwillseeanexampleofthisinthe scale exercises coming up a little later. These are important things that amusicianmustknowwhenattempting to readapieceofmusic: thekey it's in,andthetimeitistobecountedin(keysignatureandtimesignature).
IntroducingTheCMajorScaleOur first actual playing exercise will be the Cmajor scale. Just as the singleeasiestnotetoplayonthesaxis theC#becausetherearenofingers involved,theCmajorscaleistheeasiesttoplaybecauseit’stheonlymajorscalethathasno flats or sharps. To make it as easy as possible for you since you’re juststarting out,we’ll do this scale backwards,meaningweplay it top to bottom,frommiddleCdowntothelowC.Whyisplayingitbackwardseasier?ThereasonforthisisbecausestartingonlowCcanbedifficultatfirstsowe’lllikelybeeliminatingsomefrustrationrightfromthebeginningbystartinginthemiddle of the horn rather than from the bottomwhere it’s harder to play forbeginners.AfterstudyingthepreviousSaxophoneFingeringDiagramyoushouldknowthatthemainsaxophonenotekeysaretheonesnumbered123forthelefthand,and456fortherighthand.Thesesixnotes,alongwiththelowC,whichismarkedandlocatedjustbelowthenumber6note,formtheentireCmajorscale.FindthenotesfortheCmajorscaleintheabovefingeringchartsandplaythemconsecutivelygoingdownasinthemusicalnotationbelow:
CMajorScale
*Note–viewthefirstfingeringlessonvideoshere:http://howtoplaysaxophone.org/fingering-part1http://howtoplaysaxophone.org/fingering-part2
IntroducingtheGMajorScaleThesecondscalewe’regoing to learn isGmajor.Asyou learn the fingeringsyouwillalsolearnthemusicalnotationbecauseitwillbeincludedaswemovealong.Readingnotesiseasy,it’seasierthanreadingwordsandyoucandothatright?!Below is the lowGas it sitson themusic staff followedby thehighGalongwiththefingering.NoticethattheonlydifferenceforthehighGistheadditionoftheoctavekey.
TheOctaveKeyBeforewegoanyfurtherwehavetotalkabout thesaxophoneoctavekey.It’slocateddirectlyabovethelefthandthumbrest:
Theoctavekeyisnotanote,butakeywhichwhenpressedreleasesasmallpadontheneckandanotheronealittlefurtherdownonthesaxwhichopenasmallholemakingiteasiertoplaynotesinthehigherrangeofthehorn–thisincludesall notes abovemiddle C#. By pressing the octave key we can use the samefingeringsformostofthenotesaswedointheloweroctave.
This“break”or“transition”betweenthelowandhigheroctavewhichhappensatC#toD,meaningthelastnoteofthelowerregistermovingtothefirstnoteoftheupperregister,cansometimescauseproblemswhengoingfromonenoteofthelowregistertoanoteinthehighrange.Anysuchproblemscanbefixedbymaking sure you have good embouchure, air support and are smoothly andquicklyhittingtheDandotherupperregisterfingeringatthesametimeastheoctavekey.SpendtimehittingthemiddleDfromdifferentnotes:C#toD,CtoD, B to D etc. Again, focus on what you are doing right when things areworking. (There is more on this in the lesson video which has a link furtherdown).PlayingtheGnoteexercise
This first exercise is playing aG for onebar.Below is theGas it sits on themusicalstaff,bothlowandhighG-GrabyoursaxandplaythislowG.Asyouplayit,countthe4beatsinyourheadandtapyourfoot–1234inthesteadiestrhythm that you can.Ametronome can be useful for practicing these lessons.Although it’sonlyonenote,youcanspendsomeproductive timemakingsureyouarehittingitrightandhaveitcomeoutrighteachandeverytime.Startoffbytonguingit,whileholdingitcount1234thenstopitwithyourtongueafterthe4thbeat.RepeatthesameforhighG.
Alittlemoreonreadingmusicandtheory:The musical staff has 5 lines and 4 spaces. A simple rhyme you can use toidentify and remember the notes that sit on the 5 lines of the staff is “EveryGood Boy Deserves Fudge”. The first letters of the words in this phraserepresentstheorderofnotesstartingfromthebottomlineofthestaff–E,G,B,D, F.As you can see, ourG note is sitting right on the second line from the
bottom:ThenotesinthespacesofthestaffareF,A,C,E.ThehelpfultrickinlearningthesenotesistoremembertheyspellFACE.
Let’stakealookatthe5thingsthatmakeupthemusicalnotationforthesingleGnoteexercisefromabove:
1–the5linesgoingacrossarecalledthestaff
2– thesymbolon thefar left that looks likeafancy letterS iscalledatrebleclef.Thereareothertypesofclefsbutthetrebleisthemostcommonlyusedandistheoneussaxophoneplayersuse.
3–thenumber4’ssittingontopofeachotheristhetimesignature,andsinceit’s4/4 thatmeans it’s4quarterbeatsperbar–3/4wouldmean threequarterbeatsperbaretc.Justsimplemath.
4–thecircle(note)onthesecondlinefromthebottommeansthatit’saG.Thisnoteisawhitecircle,whichmeansit’sworth4beatswithinthisonebarmeasurewith a 4/4 time signature.We call this awhole note because it plays for thewholedurationofthemeasure.
5– thecirclesittingon thevery topof thestaffmeans it’saG,butanoctave(eightstepshigher)thanthelowerG.
6–thedoublelinestothefarrighttellusit’stheendofthepiece–onesingle
linewouldmeanit’stheendofthebar–inthisexampleithappenstobeboth.Therearemorenotesaboveandbelowthese5linesandyou’lllearnthemallasweprogress.
GetRhythm!
Hey, the notes grew some legs! We have added stems to some of the notesbelow.Asyousawabove,thewholenotehasnostems,justmadeupofasinglecircle.Whenwecolorthatcircleinandputastemonit,it’snowaquarternote,meaningit’svalueisaquarterofawholenote.Asyoucanseethefirstbarhasfourofthesequarternotestomakeitequalthewholenote.Thesecondbarhastwonotesthataren’tcoloredinbutdohavestems,thesearehalfnotes.Theyareworthonehalfthevalueofawholenoteandtwicethevalueofaquarternote.Again,it’sjustsimplemath.
Check the 4/4 time signature on the left. Each bar therefore has to havenotesthataddupto4quarterbeats,whichtheydo.
Firstbarisquarternotes–secondbarishalfnotes–thirdbarisawholenote
TheGmajorscaleascendinganddescending:
*Note–YoucanviewthisfirstsetofGexerciselessonvideoshere:http://howtoplaysaxophone.org/g-scale-octave-key-break
Belowisanotherexercise in thekeyofG.Let’s lookata fewmore thingsregardingnotation:1 - the # sign on the top line tells us to play everyF note as a sharp.This isbecausewe are in the key ofG,which has one sharp in it, the F#. ThiswascoveredpreviouslyintheMajorScalessectionbutjustincaseyouforgot!2-Whydosomestemsgodownandsomegoupfromthenote?
Generallyspeaking,wewriteallnotes lower thanBwith thestempointingupandallnotesthatareBorhigherwiththestempointingdown.3–theGthat’snotsolidblackbuthasastemisahalfnote–it’sworth2beats,soit’splayedtwiceaslongasa1/4noteandhalfaslongasawholenote.TheGattheveryendisahalfnotetiedontoaGthatisa1/4note,thismakesitworth3beats(2+1).4 – the symbols following the last note are rests (a littlemore on rests later).They tell us not to play any notes at all, just count beats in your head. Thesquigglyoneequalsonebeatandthesmallrectangleoneisworth2beats.Everybarmustaddupto4beats,sobecausethelastbarhasanoteinitthatisa1/4note,wemustaddinthenecessaryreststomakethebarhave4beats.–theGnoteisonebeatplus3beatsworthofrestsequals4-again,thispartofmusicaltheoryisjustsimplemath.
DevelopingTechnique
GraduallyascendingGscaleexercise:
Whileyouplay,keepthe4/4countbytappingyourtoeassteadyasyoucan,orbetter yet use a metronome, and if you don’t have one consider getting one.Also, tongue every note and remember the F is sharp because it’s in the keysignatureattheverybeginningofeachstafflineafterthetrebleclefsign.Thenumericalnamesofthenoteswereaddedtomakeyourfirstreadingattemptalittleeasier.Ifyou’renotfamiliarwiththemusicalnotesit’soktocheatatfirstand look at the letters, eventually you won’t have to because you’ll startrecognizingwhatthenotesarejustbythelinesandspacesofthestafftheysiton–remember,EveryGoodBoyDeservesFudgeandFACE.*Important–makesureyouspenda lotof timelearning thenotesandmusicnotation so far. We start moving faster after this and if you don’t feelcomfortableandveryconfidentwitheverythingupto thispointyoumaygetabitoverwhelmedorfrustratedsoreallylearntheCandGscalesandexerciseuptoherebeforegoing too far.Andmakesure toPLAYEVERYTHINGSLOWATFIRSTtoensuresmoothandcorrectfingering.Playingitrightisbetterthanplayingitfast.
SlurringExercise:Theexercisebelowisthesameasthepreviousoneexceptforallthelines.Theselines are called slurs.A group of notes that arewithin a slur linemeans theydon’tgettongued.Onlythefirstnoteistonguedandtherestthatfallwithintheslurlineareplayedconsecutivelywithoutanyuseofthetongue(they’reslurredtogether),justuseaniceandsteadysupplyofairandfingering.
MoreRhythm
IntroducingtheeighthnoteSofarall thenoteswe’vebeenreadinghavebeen thewhole,half,andquarternotes.Nextwewill learn how to read the eighth notewhich falls next in linebecauseit’sworthhalfasmuchasthequarternote,meaningittakestwoeighthnotestoplayonequarterbeatinabar–wherewehave4quartersmakingupabaritwouldtake8eighthnotestocompleteafullbarin4/4time.Noticehowwecountthemintheexamplebelow:
Count by tapping your foot, raise your toe, when it hits the floor count one.Whenitcomesbackupcounttheand(&).Soyouarecountingoneandtwoandthree and four and… rather thanbeforewhen countingonly quarter notes andcountingonetwothreefour…Don’tplay!Sometimeswhenreadingmusicyou’reaskednottoplayandthisisnotatedwitha rest. For each note value you’ve learned so far there is a rest whichcorrespondstoit,meaningit’sworthexactlyasmuchasit’snotecounterpartbutsilencetakesplaceofanyactualnote.
Thefirstoneisawholenoterest,noticehowithangsfromthestafflineaboveit. After the G quarter note is a quarter note rest. After the eighth note is aneighthnoterest.Thelastoneisahalfnoterestwhichlookslikethewholenoterestexceptitsitsonalineinsteadofhangingfromit.
Gin3rd’sexercise:
IcallthislittleexerciseGin3rd’s.It’sbasedontheGmajorscalegoingupingroupsof thirds, each time landingon thenextnoteof the scale.The firstbigdifferencefrompreviousexercisesarethelinesthatconnectallthenotestems.Thismakes them eighth notes instead of quarter notes so they are onlyworthhalfasmuch.Youcounttwoofthemforeachquarterbeatsothereareeightofthemineachbarasopposedtofourlikeinthepreviousexercises.Count1and2and3and4andetc.
*Notice in the thirdandfourth lines the firstF# in thebarautomaticallymakethe followingFasharpaswell–because thesecondone is in thesamebar itdoesn’trequireanotheraccidentalsigntobeputinfrontofit.
Triplets:This exercise is similar to thepreviousone in that it uses everynoteof theGscaletosetofftheproceedingnotes,exceptheretheyareintheformoftriplets–tripletsarethreenotesofequalvalueplayedoveraquarterbeat.So,123overonequarterbeat.
Gmajorchord:InthisexerciseweplaythenoteswhichmakeuptheGmajorchord–the1,3,5and8(G,B,D,andoctaveG)Note the time signature! 3/4means each bar has 3 quarter beats in it so youcount123123etc.
*Note–seealltheGmajorscalevariationexercisesasvideolessonshere:http://howtoplaysaxophone.org/g-scale-variations
PlayingYourFirstSongs!Youwill be learning a variety of songs later on, but for nowwe start off assimple and easy as possible with Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and HappyBirthday.Thesetwosongsaremadeupusingthenoteswehavebeenpracticingsofar,willgetyouaccustomedtoreadingmusicleadsheets,andalongwiththeothersongsinthiscoursewillprepareyoutobeabletoreadjustaboutanypopsongyouwanttolearndowntheroad.We’ve already covered some basic theory, learned all the notes, learned andpracticedsomescalesandexercises,andnowwestartputtingitalltogetherbyreadingsomeactualsongs.TwinkleTwinkleLittleStar
This first song has only quarter notes and half notes and amelody every oneknowssothereshouldbenoproblemsifyou’vebeenstudyingtheexercisessofar. Start slow and steady. It helps to use a metronome. A slow metronomesettingisaround75BPM.Quickrecap:Eachquarternote (blacknote) is equal toonebeat,ofwhich there are four ineachbarsincethetimesignatureattheleftreads4/4.
HappyBirthdayThisnextwell-knownmelodywill introduceeighthnotes.Alsonoticethetimesignatureis3/4andnot4/4likeintheprevioussong.Soinsteadofeachmeasurehaving4beats,itnowonlyhasthree.Count1,2,andplaytheGnotesoncountnumberthree.ThesetwoGnotesareeighthnotesbecausethey’rejoinedtogetherandsoplayedoveronebeat,givingeachofthemhalfthevalueofaquarternote.
*Note–viewthevideolessonforthesefirsttwosongsandcountingrhythms
here:http://howtoplaysaxophone.org/counting
Articulation
Wemay describe someone as being “very articulate” if they seem to expressthemselveswellwiththeuseofdistinctwords,whichareexpressedwithclarity.We as sax players need to be concerned with the art of articulation as wellbecauseourartisticexpressiondependsonit.Whatexactlyisarticulation?Articulation, in regards to playing the saxophone refers to howwe group ournotes together inorder togetourphrasesacrossasamusicalmessage.This isdone primarily with our tongue to either slur the notes for a smooth, legatosoundandfeel,orbyreleasingthenotesinamuchmoreseparateandshortway.Thisistheexactoppositeoftheslurtechniqueandit’scalledstaccato.Wehavethreewaystooperatewhendeliveringanoteoragroupofnotesoutofoursaxophone;slur,whichusesnotongueandisnotatedwithalonglineoverorunderthenotes.Regulartonguewhichdoesnotuseanynotation.Thenwehavetheshortandveryseparatedstaccatonoteswhichuseashorttonguingtechniqueandisnotatedwithadoteitheroverorunderthenote:
It’sverycommontoseethesealltogetherinanexerciseorpieceofmusic:
Youcanpracticeall theexercises in thisbook threedifferentways to improveandexpandyourarticulation:Slurred,staccato,andwithregulartonguing.
DynamicsJustasarticulationwillhelpyoutoexpressdifferentmusicalideasandphrases,dynamicswillhelpyoutobeevenmoreexpressive.Whataredynamics?Simply put, it’s the volume you play at. You must learn to control yoursaxophone at a very low volume, an extremely high volume and severalnoticeablelevelsinbetween.Whenpracticing these exercises at different levels of volume it’s important tocontrol the air support from your diaphragm and not your throat.We use ourthroatasasortofvalvebyopeningituptoallowformoreflowofairbutnotasthepusherandsupplierofair,thatjobisforyourdiaphragm.Inmusicalnotation,dynamicphrasesthatstartveryquietlyandbuildinvolumearenotatedassuchwithlargelinemarksthatlooklikeagreaterthansigncalledacrescendo,meaningtograduallyincreasevolume,andalessthansigncalledadecrescendo,meaning to gradually decrease volume. You can see these twosignsinthemusicexamplebelow.These dynamic terms, alongwith all others inmusical notation arewritten inItalian.Wordssuchaspiano,whichismarkedwitha“p”tomean“playquietly”andforte,markedwithan“f”whichmeansto“playloud”.Othercommondynamicmarkingsareacombinationofthese:mf(mezzoforte)=playmediumloudff(fortissimo)=playveryloudmp(mezzopiano)=playmediumquietpp(pianissimo)=playveryquietHereisanexampleofafewdynamicmarkings:
ThedynamicmarkingsherearetellingustostarttheGquietlyandgraduallygetlouderasweapproachandhitthehighG,thengraduallygetquieterandfinallyplaysoftlyagainontheGofthelastbar.
IntroducingTheBbMajorScaleThethirdscalewe’regoingtolearnistheBbmajorscale.Thiswillhelp
moveyouforwardinacoupleofways:1 -helpcontrol the lowestpartof thehornwhichcanat timesbedifficult foranyone,letaloneabeginner.2-helptocontrolthefullrangeofthehorn.FromworkinginboththescalesofGandBbwecanworkonplayingfromthelowesttothehighestnotes.Startoffbyplayingthisonebackwardstoo!JustliketheCscale,playingtheBbmajorscaledescendingwillmakeiteasierbecausestartingonthelowBbcanbeverydifficultatfirst.Asyoucomedownthescaleandapproachthelowernotesyoumightstarttolosecontrolofthem.Ifthishappensitmeansyoursaxisnotgetting enough air tomake those notes, so increase the air support from yourdiaphragm.Inotherwords,graduallygetlouderasyouapproachthelowestnote.
Thefirstthingtonoticeisthekeysignature-BbandEb.ThesearethetwoflatsoftheBbmajorscale.Therestofthenotesarenotnewuptothispointbecausewe’veusedthemintheCandGmajorscalesalready.
FourDifferentFingeringsForBbThereareactuallyfourdifferentlegitimatefingeringsforthemiddleandhighBbnotes. Take a look at the following illustration which shows all four Bbfingerings(orA#whichisthesamenote).
Theonlycommonfingerforall four is the indexfingerof the lefthandwhichholdsdowntheBnoteonallfourfingeringexamples.Practicealltheseuntilyouknownthemwell.Youmost likelywillnotendupusingall fourof themonaregular basis, although certainmusical situations or musical passagesmay beeasierplayedwithonefingeringthananother.Trillsareagoodexampleofthisbecause some are pretty much impossible with certain fingerings so moreoptionsareagoodthing.Afterdecadesofplaying,IcanpersonallytellyouthatI’veneverusedthefourthexample, rarelyused the third,andwillnormallyuse the firstandsecond,andmoreoftenthesecondbecauseItreatitlikeaonefingernoteeventhoughyouneedtopresstwopads.Thesecondlowernoteiscalledthebiskey,andbecauseit’ssmallerandclosertotheBkeyitonlyrequirestheindexfingertopressboththesenotesdown.PersonallyIfindthisthemostnaturalandeasiesttoplaymostofthetime.*Note–foraclose-upvideolessononthe4Bbfingerings:http://howtoplaysaxophone.org/4-ways-to-play-b-flat
GettingfamiliarwithhighnotesabovethestaffSofarwe’veonlygoneashighastheGnotewhichsitsonthetopofthestaff.It’stimetogetfamiliarwiththeremainingnotesthatgoabovethis.We’regoingtodosomeexercisesinthekeyofBbandsohavealookatthenotesbelow.Itgoes frommiddleF tohighF.Allnotesare labeledwith theappropriate letterwhichyoucanuseuntilyougetfamiliarwiththemusicalnotes.
Notice thatall thenotesaboveGhaveeithera linegoing through themoraresittingonaline,justasthenotesontheregularstaffdo.Playthesenotesasanexerciseeventually trying tomemorize thenoteswithout lookingat their letternames.Youmaynoticethatasyougethigher,thesoundofyoursaxmightgetthinoryoumayevenhaveahardertimeproducingthesehighernotes.Topreventthesethings fromhappeningmakesureyouworkharder inproducingmoreair flowandsupportfromyourdiaphragm…inotherwordsblowharder!Yes, just likethebottomnotesneedmoreairsupport,thehighernotesdotoo.*Tip–AsyougoupslowlyfromthemiddleF,noticewhichnotestartstosoundthinorgetshardertoplay.Thengobackdownasteportwoandhititagain,thistime try things like opening your throat and oral cavity more along withincreasedairsupportfromyourdiaphragm.Don’tbe intimidatedbya long rowofconsecutiveeighthnotes,especially thehigh ones, they’re just part of a scale and you can play it very slowly. Onlyincreasespeedasyougetfamiliarwiththenotesandtheirsmoothfingerings.
Using the Bb major scale to develop the full range of yoursaxophone
Bbmajorchord
Bbmajorchord–2octaves
*Note–videolessonforthefullrangeexerciseinBbishere:http://howtoplaysaxophone.org/b-flat-full-range-exercise
TheChromaticScale
Ihadbeenplayingsaxforacoupleofyearsandaguyjuststartingoutaskedme“howmanyofthechromaticscalesdoyouknow”?Ithoughtforasecondandreplied“Allofthem”–“Wow”hesaid.MyotherfriendandIhadabiglaughover it cause they’re all the same.Chromatic simplymeans every consecutivenote, so unlike all other types of scales which have different relationshipsbetween semi tones andwhole tones, a chromatic scale ismade up of simplyplayingeverysemitoneinarow.Thechromaticscaleaboveshowseverynoteofthewesternmusicalsystem.IfyoustartonC,playeverynoteuntilyouget to theCanoctavehigher,youhavejustplayedtheCchromaticscale.StartonC#tothehigheroctaveandyouhave just played aC# chromatic scale. The notes in both these scales are thesame,theyjuststartedandendedonadifferentnote.Playingchromaticscalesallupanddownyourhornisagreatexercisebecauseitensuresyou’regoingoffofeverynote.Somewillbesmoothandothersnotsomuch.Yourjobistotakethesectionswhereyouhaveproblemsandworkthemoutslowlyuntilthetransitionfromthosenotesareassmoothastherest.Playthemup,playthemdown,playthemslowandbuildupyourspeedBUT…Startplayingthescaleveryveryslowly,asslowasittakestomakethehardesttransitionofnotesgobysmoothly…neverskimoveragroupofnotesthatgiveyoueventheslightestbitoftrouble.
AllTheMajorScales
Asmentionedaboveinthechromaticscalesection,thereisacertainrelationshipbetweentonesandsemi-tonesintheformationofscales.Inthemajorscalethisequatestoatone,tone,semi-tone,tone,tone,tone,semi-tone.Asyoucanseeintheillustrationbelow,the1’srepresentingatoneandthe½’sasemi-tone.Everymajorscaleismadeoftheseintervalsintheexactsameorder.
Inthisfollowingsectionwelayoutallthemajorscales,ofwhichthereare12-one for every note of thewesternmusical system. Learn them all. Eventuallyyouwillmemorizethem.Eachoneofthemhasit’sownsoundonyoursaxandit’sownfeelonyourfingers.Somemaybeeasytoplayandothersnotsoeasyatfirstbutpracticingwilltakecareofthat!
Cmajor
C#(Db)major
*Notice–goingfromCwithnosharpsorflatstoC#whichhaseverynotebeingasharp!
Dmajor
Eb(D#)major
Emajor
Fmajor
F#major
Gmajor
Ab(G#)major
Amajor
Bb(A#)major
Bmajor
AwesomeMajorScaleExerciseBelowisagreatexercisebecause it’ssimpleandwillhelpyougain techniqueveryquicklybyspendingjustafewminutesadayonit.ThefirstoneiswritteninCbutonceyoulearnityou’llwanttoplayitinallthekeys.Ibelieve thisexercisemadeahugedifference inmytechniqueduringmyfirstweeksandmonthsonthesaxanditwillhelpyoutoo.
You can see the concept behind it - if you notice the quarter note on all oddnumbered barswith a letter above them you see that these letters form theCscale:CDEFGABandC.
ThescalestartsbydescendingforthefullscalefrommiddleCdowntolowCandafterascendingitstopsonthenextnoteofthescale,whichisDanddoesthesamething.EachtimestartingonthenextnoteofthescaleuntilitendsontheCagainattheverytop.You can do this as a daily exercise for all the scales you learn. Start slow,concentratingonplayingevennotes,andataconstantvolume.Thisiswhereametronomeisvaluable.Following theC there are a fewmoreof themwrittenout inD,Eb,E andF.Onceyoucanplayafewoftheseyouwillbeabletoapplythisexercisetoallthescalesafterlearningthemwhichcanbeincludedinyourdailypracticeroutine.This exercise will sharpen your musical mind and give you smooth, andeventuallyfastmovingfingers!Again,goforevennotesandasteadytempoandevenvolume.Youshouldknowallnotesandtheirfingeringatthispointinordertoimplementthis exercise to all the major scales. If you don’t you can refer back to thefingeringsection.
Cmajor
Dmajor(noticekeysignature–F#andC#)
Ebmajor(noticekeysignature–Bb,Eb,Ab)
Emajor(noticekeysignature–F#,C#,G#,D#)
Fmajor(noticekeysignature–Bb)
Bbmajor(noticekeysignature–Bb,Eb)
Bmajor(noticekeysignature–F#,C#,G#,D#,A#)
C#major(noticekeysignature–F#,C#,G#,D#,A#,B#)
*Tip–asyoumovealongyoucanspendanentirepracticesessionorevenadayon one key or scale. For example, the C# major exercise above can be firstplayedveryslowlyexactlyaswritten.Onlyincreasespeedwhenyoucanplayallthehighestnotesperfectlyandevenlytoo.Nextplayitbutthistimeslurringallthenotes.Nextplayitusingthestaccatotonguingtechnique.NextplaytheC#majorchordfromtoptobottom.Image how good you can get at playing in the key ofC#major if you spendhoursanddaysonlyonthiskey!HoweasywouldthekeyofCmajorfeelafterspendingsomuchtimeonC#!Dothisforeveryscale.Thisishowyoumakebigstrides.
AwesomeMajorChordExerciseOnce you can play all the major scales, congratulate yourself! This is a bigaccomplishment, especially when you canmemorize them. As youmay havealreadyguessed,scalesareoneofthemostimportantelementsinlearningaboutmusic, and just as important are chords. Learning chords will not be a hugelearningcurvesincetheyarepartofthescale.Themajorscaleasyounowknowismadeupofeightnotes–12345678whicharethedegreesofthemajorscale.So,whenworkinginthekeyofCthiswouldequatetoCDEFGABC.Amajorchordisderivedfromthe1,3,and5thdegreesofthescale,thereforeaCmajorchordismadeupofthenotesC,E,andG.Chordsareimportantbecausewe need to know and understand them for improvisation and accompanyinstrumentslikeguitarandpianoplaythemallthetime.Itouchedonthisearlierinthescaleexercisesectionanddemonstrateditinthescale lesson videos so if you followed them youmay be already utilizing themajorchordinyourpracticingroutine.Thisworkouttakesthechordexercisetoawholenewlevel!
This exercise takes you through all the major chords, one going up the nextcomingdown.
HowtoImproveYourToneThissimpleexerciseknownaslongtonesisoneofthebestwaystodevelopandimproveyouroveralltone.Setyourmetronometoamediumtemposuchas120BPM, or a tempo that allows you to play each 4 bars in one breath withoutpassingout!An important aspect of playing these is using the crescendo,whichwe talkedaboutearlierintheArticulationSection.Thesearethesignsunderthenotesthatlook like a greater than and less than symbol.You play each note starting assoftlyasyoucanandgraduallyincreasevolumetoasloudasyoucanandthenbackdownagain.Youarenotlimitedtoonlythesenotesofcourse,playafewconsecutivenotesfrom all three ranges of the horn – low,middle and high notes. The exercisebelowiswithnotesfromthesaxophonesmiddlerange.Althoughnotthemostexitingexerciseeverinvented,itwillreallyspeedupyourtonedevelopment.Agreatwaytostartyourdailypracticesessions!
The saxophone is not a perfect instrument,manynotes have their ownuniquecharacteristics andbehavedifferently fromothers.This canpresent challengesand so we get familiar with every note and figure out what these are andeventuallyovercomethem.
WhenIwasstartingoutplayingthesaxIwashavingaproblemplayingmiddleG.SometimesIwouldgetitrightbutusuallyIwouldn’t.Myteachertoldmetospend the next 2 hours playing only that note. Trying different things withembouchure,openingmyoralcavityandthroat,breathing,tonguing.Youknow,after acouplehoursofexperimenting Iwasplaying thatGawhole lotbetter!Everythingyoudo,writeitdownormakeamentalnote–didopeningthethroatthattimemakeadifference?WhenIbreatheharderdoesitmakethenotecomeouteasier?Lessmouthpieceinmymouth,ormore?Thinkaboutsomeofthesethingswhenyou’replayingtheselongnotes!
Vibrato*Note-ifyou’restillstrugglingongettingasteadysounddon’tworryaboutthissection fornow,youcancomeback tovibratoa little lateron inyour studiesafteryou’regettingadecentandstrongertone.Whatexactlyisvibrato?
Relatedtotheword"vibrate"itmeansatoneornotethatpulsatesorvibratesasopposedtoatonethatsoundspureandstraight.The use of vibrato can be a very expressive embellishment for almost allinstrumentalists and singers. It’s very natural, especially for singers and it'sunlikely you'll hear any professional singer not use it to some degree whileperformingasong.Like the human voice, the saxophone is also a very lyrical instrument and sousingagoodandwell-developedvibratowillgoa longway inhelpingyou toextendyouroveralltonequalityandaddaspecialrichnesstoyoursound.Beforeattemptingtomasterthetechniqueofvibratoyoushouldhearitinactionbylisteningtosingers,saxophonistsandotherinstrumentalists.Thedefinitionofwhat good vibrato is will vary because it's subjective to a person's individualtaste.Youmighthaveheardanexaggeratedvibratobeingplayedorsungwhichalmost seemed like a joke, but it obviouslywasn't a joke since someonewasactuallyperformingitthatway.Mostwouldconsideragoodvibratotobelikeacertainspiceyouwouldaddtoyour food:withoutenoughof ityouwon'teven taste it,butadd toomuchandyoumayhaveruinedit!Thewaytocontrolvibrato isbyrateandamplitude.Therate is thenumberoftimes wemake it pulsate during a note or measure, and the amplitude is therangeofdegreesweallowittogoupordownfromthenaturalstraighttone.Theillustrationbelowshowsavisualexampleofwhatvibratolookslike:
TheDifferentTypesofSaxophoneVibrato:Therearebasicallytwomaintypesofvibratoforsaxophoneplaying:thejawandthelip.Jaw vibrato – arguably themost used and bestmethod for producing a nicesaxophonevibrato.This typeofvibrato isproducedsimplybymoving the jawupanddowntochangethepressureonthereed.Thischangeaffects thepitch,timbreandvolumeofoursound.Lipvibrato–wecanproducethistypeofvibratobymovingthelipstomakea“wa-wa-wa-wa” soundormotion.Thiswill causeyour embouchure to changeit’sbasicpositionthereforemakingithardertocontrol.Thistypeofvibratowillalsobringinmoreof thevibratoeffect thanactual tone,whichmaynotbethedesiredresultincertainmusicalsituations.Otherpossiblewaystoproducedifferentvibratosoundsarewiththethroatandalsothediaphragm.Thediaphragmvibratoismorepopularonotherinstrumentslike the flute and brass instruments than saxophone because it’s harder tocontrol.Wecanproduceanintensivevibratobyusingthediaphragmtosaythesound“huh-huh-huh”.Thiscanbeagoodwaytopracticetheengagingofyourdiaphragmintoyourbreathingtechniquebutwon’tbethebestwaytoproduceastrongandwell-controlledvibrato.Thelastwaytoproducevibratoonasaxophoneisbyusingthethroatmuscles.Whenwe intensify thesemuscleswecanmakeakindof“quiver”motionandsoundwhichwasoncepopularbackintheearlierpartofthe20thcenturybuthasaverydatedandsquaresoundfortoday’sears.Nevertheless, couldbegood toknow incase that’s somethingyouneed to re-createforsomereason!
Summary:
1. Agood vibrato develops alongwith your tone, so in these earlystagesdon’texpecttohaveaperfectvibrato.Itwilltaketime,sameaswithyourtone.
2.Don’trestrictthepulsationstoacertainnumberoftimesinabeatornote.Trytomakethevibratoevenbutnotdependentonthetempoofthemusicyouareplaying.
3.Worktogetthemechanicsbyplayinglongtonesandexaggeratethevibratountilyouhavegoodcontroloveritanduseitinyourmusicalexercisesandphrasesetc.
4.Whenusingitinaphrasekeepthepulsationevenwhengoingfromnotetonote.
5. Listentoothersaxplayersandsingersyoulikeandcopythewaytheyusetheirvibrato.
GreensleevesThisisanoldEnglishfolksongthatdateswaybacktothelate1500’sandisstillbeing performed and recorded todaybymanymusicians.Thatmakes it a truestandardandagoodchoicetohaveinyourrepertoire.Afewthingstonoticebeforeplaying:Thefirstthingtonoteisthetimesignature,whicharethenumbers3/4followingthetrebleclef.Thismeanseachmeasurer(bar)getsthreequarterbeats.ThisisthesametimesignatureasintheprevioussongHappyBirthday.Thenextthingtonoticeisthekeysignature.Therearen’tanyflatsorsharpsinthekeysignaturesowecanassumeit’sineitherCmajororAminor.Asstatedearlier,Cmajoristheonlymajorkeythatdoesn’thaveanysharpsorflatsandAminor is the relativekeyofCmajorwhich is theonlyminorkey that doesn’thave any sharps or flats. So, how canwe tell if this song is inCmajor orAminor?Ourfirstclueis that itstartswithanAnote,butthatdoesn’talwaysguaranteethatit’sinA.OursecondclueisthatitendswithanAnoteandmostofall,thenoteprecedingthelastAnoteisaGsharp.ThisistherealtelltalesignthatthesongisinAminorandnotinCmajor.The7thnote inanyscale isa“leadingnote”whichmeansitwants to leadtoaresolution, or resolve. In this case the resolution is the arriving “home” at theveryendwhich is theA.There areother leadingnotes in a scale thatwant toresolve somewhere but none are as strong as themajor 7thwanting to resolvehome(therootnote).Makenoteofalltheabovepoints,learnitandthenplayalongwiththebackingtracks.
Greensleeves
*Note–play-alongaudioandvideolessonishere:http://howtoplaysaxophone.org/greensleeves
AmazingGraceAnother very old song, which is an English hymn to be precise. This tune ispossiblyoneofthemostrecognizableintheentireEnglish-speakingworldandis still sungand recordedbymanymusicians today.Aclassic and standard ineverysenseoftheword!Afewthingstonotebeforeplaying:Justliketheprevioussongthishasa3/4timesignatureaswell.Havealookattherepeatsigns,thesearethedoublebarlineswithtwodotsrightafterthefirstnoteandanotherone16barslateronthefourthline.Thissimplymeans everything between these two repeat signs is played twice and in theexactsameway.Alsonoticearoundthesecondrepeatsignandatthe18thbarthereisanumber1and2 inside some lines, these are calledboxes and the first time throughyouplaywhat’sinthefirstbox,thesecondtimearoundaftertherepeatyouskipthatfirst box andgodirectly to the secondbox.Thesenumberedboxes are a verycommonthinginmusicalarrangements.When the melody picks up again after the second box it’s the same as thebeginningexceptit’sanoctavehigher.The littlesignon topof the lastnote iscalleda fermataandsimplymeans toholdthenotealittlelonger.Inthiscase,untilyoufeellikestopping.Makenoteofalltheabovepoints,learnitandthenplayalongwiththebackingtracks.
AmazingGrace
*Note–play-alongaudioandvideolessonishere:http://howtoplaysaxophone.org/amazing-grace
Can’tHelpFallinginLove
ThissongwasamonsterhitbytheoneandonlyElvesPresleywhosangitinthekeyofDbutItransposeditsoyoucanplayitinG,whichgoesalongwithmostofourexercises.Ithasabeautifulmelodyandshouldbeeasiertoplaythansomeoftheexercisesyouhavebeendoinguptothispoint.Italsocontainsthetripletfigure,whichwecoveredpreviouslyaswell.1-NotethekeysignatureofG,meaningallFnoteswillbeplayedasF#.
2–At thetopthereisa4bar introductionsojustcount4barsbeforethefirststartingmelodynotewhichistheG.Also,atthe10thstafflinethereisan8barrestwhichwillgiveyoualittlebreatherduringtheviolinsolo.3–Takenoteoftherepeatsections!Atthestartofthemelodyyouwillnoticeadoublebarlinewith2dotsinfrontofit,thisiscalledarepeatsign.Count8barsinandyouwillnoticeanotheronewith thedotsbefore thedoublebars,whichtells you to play from the first repeat sign. There is another repeat sectionconsistingof4barslocated3stafflinesfromthebottom.
Makenoteofalltheabovepoints,learnitandthenplayalongwiththebackingtracks.
Can’tHelpFallinginLove
continuebelowtopart2
Can’tHelpFalling–part2
*Note–play-alongaudioandvideolessonishere:http://howtoplaysaxophone.org/cant-help-falling
OverTheRainbow
Mostofusprobablyheard this for thefirst time inTheWizardofOzsungbyJudyGarland,whomadethisaninstantfavorite.ThissonghasbeenrecordedbymanymusiciansasdiverseasjazztenorsaxophonistBenWebstertobluesrockguitarist Eric Clapton and original piano rocker Jerry Lee Lewis,making thissongatrueclassicandstandard.
Thingstonotebeforeplaying:1 - The first thing youmay notice is extensive use of the slurmarks. If youremember from earlier exercises these mean to play each note under the slurlinessmoothlywithoutusingthetongue.2-Thecheckmarkattheendoflongerphrasesisagoodspottotakeabreathbecauseyoudon’twanttotakeabreathinthemiddleofaphrase.3-Noticethekeysignaturehas4sharpswhichmeansit’sinthekeyofEmajor.Thismeansallnotes thatareF,C,G,andDwillbesharps.WarmingupwithsomeexercisesinEwouldbeagreatideabeforeplayingit.4 – Don’t worry about all the phrasingmarks until you learn the notes first!After you learn all the notes itwill sound ok, butwhen all the phrasing is inplaceitwillsoundevenbetter.5–thereareacoupleofrepeatsignsandatthe7barrestyou’llnoticeaboxandanotherbelowit…simplyplaythe1stboxfirsttimethroughandthe2ndboxthenexttimearound.Makenoteofalltheabovepoints,learnitandthenplayalongwiththebackingtracks.
OvertheRainbow
*Note–theaudioforplay-alongbackingtracksishere:http://howtoplaysaxophone.org/over-the-rainbow
NOTTHEEND!Therearethingsinthisbookthatoncelearned,youmayneverneedtolookatagain.But therearegreatexerciseshere thatcanstaywithyouaspartofyourdaily practice routine for many years to come, helping to improve yourtechniqueandtone.Iknowbecausetheydid,andstillaredoingitforme,that’swhyIsharedthemwithyou.Learningabout thesaxophoneand trying tocontinually improvecanbea life-long journey formanyofus. If youhavemade it throughall thingspresentedherecongratulationsbecauseyounowhaveaverygood,solidfoundationonthebasicprinciplesofsaxophoneplaying.Whetherittakesyouamonthortwo,oreven one year to get through it, doesn’t matter because it’s not a race. Aftermasteringthesesongsandexercisesyou’rereadytoconquersomemoreaspectsofsaxophoneplaying…Iwantyoutoknowthat Iamavailableonmymembershipsite’s forumwhereyou can ask questions and communicate not only with me, but othersaxophonists like yourself, from all over the world in various stages ofdevelopment.Stayintouch!
PSPleasetakeaminutetoleaveacommentorreviewandevengiveitathumbsupat Amazon as it helps keep it relevant in the listings so we can continue tosuccessfullymakethisbookavailabletootherswhoneedit.Ifyouwanttoplaybluesandrockstylesaxthencheckout:HowToPlayKillerBluesandRockin’SaxSolosWith7NotesOrLessAvailablehere:http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009SB9ST6ForallothercountriesjustputthiscodeintotheirAmazonsearchbar:B009SB9ST6
TableofContents
CopyrightAbouttheAuthorSummaryIntroductionToThisBeautifulInstrumentknownAsTheSaxophoneTakingYourSaxophoneOutofit’sCaseTheSaxophoneMouthpieceTheSaxophoneReedYourEmbouchureTonguePlacementBreathingToneFingeringTheMajorScalesIntroducingTheCMajorScaleIntroducingtheGMajorScaleDevelopingTechniquePlayingYourFirstSongs!ArticulationIntroducingTheBbMajorScaleAllTheMajorScalesAwesomeMajorScaleExerciseAwesomeMajorChordExerciseHowtoImproveYourToneVibratoGreensleevesAmazingGraceCan’tHelpFallinginLoveOverTheRainbowNOTTHEEND!
