Transcript

As with the guitar, there’s multiple ways to play a few notes on this instrument. The most common ones, when we get to B-flat in the middle and the second octave of the horn, we’ve got A, and we’ve got a side B-flat key here to make the A a B-flat. I’ve got the side B-flat on and I’m fingering A here. Another way to make the same note is to use this key, which is the little key underneath the B key. We’re just holding that down like that. Same note, different fingering. Another way to do the same thing again is to just play the B as normal here, but on the right hand I’m going to hold down a F, which you see actually brings down this key here. Three ways to play the same note. And of course this is the same with the octave key on. There’s actually a fourth way if we play the low B-flat and put the octave key on.

You’ve got to figure out where you’re coming from and where you’re going in relation to the musical passage you’re performing, and figuring out the best fingering option to use. For example if I’m playing this, the best thing to use there is the side B-flat because our next note is a C. It’d be a little awkward if I used this, for example. See, that’s not as clean as… You can hear the little discrepancy in there.

Another common note that has multiple ways to produce it is C. The first one you would learn is middle C, like this. There’s no octave key on this in the middle of the horn. It’s just the middle finger. Same way to produce that note is if we play B and we use this middle side key here. Same note, different fingering. I would use the side key if I’m playing something like… Nice and smooth, right? If I were to use the forked or in the middle C here, that’s going to be a little funky…as opposed to… Whereas the forked would be great for something like… The side would be weird there…

It’s important to know all the ways to play all the notes on the saxophone because you’re going to need those options and they’re really going to help you at some point.

Transcript

Hey. This is Troy Roberts. Today we’re going to talk about how to play the D major scale on the alto saxophone and its relative minor.

The intervallic construction of any major scale is made up of whole step, whole step, half step. Whole step, whole step, whole step, half step.

This key signature has two sharps. F sharp and C sharp. And here’s what it sounds like two octaves.

So the relative minor of any major scale is the same notes of the major scale but starting from the sixth scale degree. And in some cases it’s easier to think of it as a minor third down from the root.

Here’s what they sound like a little quicker.

Transcript

When purchasing your first instrument, your first saxophone, you’re probably going to be confronted with a lot of brands and a lot of conflicted information.

Now, you don’t have to spend a lot of money for a good instrument. There are a lot of good horns out there that are in great condition that work fine for a beginner. A lot of great brands. Yamakasa. Yamaha. And the list goes on.

But a saxophone, a good saxophone can range from anywhere from three hundred dollars to five thousand dollars for a beginner saxophone.

The most important thing is that it’s working and it’s functioning correctly and sealing. If the pads are all sealing and the mechanisms are working.

So, it never hurts to have a good repairman on call. You should definitely make a, establish a good relationship with a good repairman.

Because an instrument changes from being, you know, moist and dry, hot and cold. And it’s such a delicate instrument, unique in that fact, that if there’s something out somewhere it can affect the rest of the horn.

There’s a lot of things to consider when purchasing your first instrument.

Transcript

Hey. This is Troy Roberts and today we’re going to talk about how to play the A flat major scale on the alto saxophone and its relative minor.

The intervallic construction of any major scale is made up of whole step, whole step, half step. Whole step, whole step, whole step, half step.

Now, this scale has a key signature of four flats. A flat, B flat, D flat and E flat. Here’s one octave to the ninth.

So, the relative minor of any scale is the same notes of the major scale but starting from the sixth scale degree. And in some cases it’s easier to think of it as a minor third down from the root.

And here they are again a little quicker.

Transcript

Hey. This is Troy Roberts and today we’re going to talk about how to play the G major scale on the alto saxophone and its relative minor.

The intervallic construction of any major scale is made up of whole step, whole step, half step. Whole step, whole step, whole step, half step.

Now, this scale has a key signature of one sharp and that is F sharp.
Here’s one octave to the ninth.

So, the relative minor of any major scale is the same notes of the major scale but starting from the sixth degree. And in some cases it’s easier to think of it as a minor third down from the root.

Here they are again a little quicker.

Transcript

Hey. This is Troy Roberts. Today we’re going to talk about how to play the F sharp major scale on the alto saxophone and its relative minor.

The intervallic construction of any major scale is made up of whole step, whole step, half step. Whole step, whole step, whole step, half step.

This scale has a key signature with six sharps in it. Those are F sharp, G sharp, A sharp, C sharp, D sharp and E sharp. Here’s one octave to the ninth.

So, the relative minor of any scale is the same notes of the major scale but starting from the sixth scale degree. And in some cases it’s easier to think of it as a minor third down from the root.

And there they are again a little bit quicker.

Transcript

Hey. This is Troy Roberts and today we’re going to talk about how to play the F major scale on the alto saxophone and its relative minor.

The intervallic construction of any major scale is made up of whole step, whole step, half step. Whole step, whole step, whole step, half step.

So, this scale has one flat in its key signature which is B flat. And once, one octave to the ninth sounds like this.

So, the relative minor of any major scale is the same notes of the major scale but starting from the sixth scale degree. And in some cases it’s easier to think of it as a minor third down from the root.

And here they are a little quicker.

Transcript

Hey. This is Troy Roberts and today we’re going to talk about how to play the E major scale on the alto saxophone and its relative minor.

The intervallic construction of any major scale is made up of whole step, whole step, half step. Whole step, whole step, whole step, half step.

This scale has a key signature with four sharps. D sharp, F sharp, G sharp and C sharp. And here’s what it sounds like one octave to the ninth.

So, the relative minor of any scale is the same notes of the scale but starting from the sixth scale degree. And in some cases it’s easier to think of it as a minor third down from the root.

And here they are a little quicker.

Transcript

Hey, this is Troy Roberts here. We’re going to talk about how to play the E-flat major scale on the alto saxophone today, and its relative minor. The intervocalic construction of any major scale is made up of whole step, whole step, half step, whole step, whole step, whole step, half step. Now this scale has three flats in its key signature: E-flat, A-flat, and B-flat. Here’s what the major scale sounds like in two octaves.

The relative minor of any major scale is the same notes of major scale but starting from the sixth scale degree. In some cases it’s easier to think of it as a minor third down from the root.

Here they are again, a little faster.

Transcript

Hey, this is Troy Roberts today we’re going to talk about how to play the D Flat major scale on the alto saxophone and it’s relative minor. The construction of any major scale is made up of whole step, whole step, half step, whole step, whole step, whole step, half step.

Now this scale has a key signature of 5 flats; D flat, E flat, G flat, A flat and B flat. Here’s one octave to. So the relative minor of any major scale is the same notes of the major scale, but starting from the sixth scale degree. Some cases it’s easier to think of it as a minor third down from the route. Here they are again a little quicker.

Transcript

Hey. This is Troy Roberts and today we’re going to talk about how to play the C major scale on the alto saxophone and its relative minor.

The intervallic construction of any major scale is made up of whole step, whole step, half step. Whole step, whole step, whole step, half step.

There are no sharps or flats in this key signature. So here is two octaves of the C major scale.

So, the relative minor of any scale is the same notes of the scale but starting from the sixth scale degree. And in some cases it’s easier to think of it as a minor third down from the root.

And there they are a little quicker.

Transcript

Hey. This is Troy Roberts and today we’re going to talk about how to play the B major scale on the alto saxophone and its relative minor.

The intervallic construction of any major scale is made up of whole step, whole step, half step. Whole step, whole step, whole step, half step.

The B major scale has five sharps. C sharp, D sharp, F sharp, G sharp and A sharp. And here’s what it sounds like up to the ninth scale degree.

So, the relative minor of any scale is the same notes of the major scale but starting from the sixth scale degree. And in some cases it’s easier to think of it as a minor third down from the root.

And here they are a little bit quicker.

Transcript

Hey this is Troy Roberts, today I’m going to talk about how to play the B-flat major scale on the alto saxophone, and it’s relative minor. The intervocalic construction of any major is made up of whole-step, whole-step, half-step, whole-step, whole-step, whole-step, half-step. The B-flat major scale consists of two flats in its key signature; E-flat and B-flat. So a one octave B-flat major scale sound like this.

Notice I went to the ninth scale degree. Up the octave it would sound like this.

So the relative minor of any major scale is the same notes of the major scale, but starting from the sixth scale degree. And in some cases it’s easier to think of it as a minor third down from the root. And here they are both, a little quicker.

Transcript

Hey it’s Troy Roberts here. We’re going to talk about how to play the A major scale and its relative minor on the alto saxophone.

The major scale’s intervallic construction is made up of whole step, whole step, half step. Whole step, whole step, whole step, half step.

So, the sharps involved in playing the A major scale are G sharp, C sharp and F sharp. So this is what the A major scale sounds like up to the night.

So, the relative minor of any major scale is the same notes of the major scale but starting from the sixth scale degree. And in some cases it’s easier to think of it as a minor third down from the root.

So to play it a bit quicker this is the A major scale and the F sharp minor scale to the ninth.

Transcript

Hey. It’s Troy Roberts here and we’re going to talk about practicing for beginners.

Well, firstly it’s always a good idea to have a metronome and a tuner handy at all times. And it’s also important to remember small goals to achieve each practice session.

Because it’s so easy to get overwhelmed with all the stuff we need to learn. And sometimes that can turn you off music. Don’t forget to listen to lots and lots of music. Because, hopefully, that’s what inspired you in the first place.

Obviously keep plugging away at those scales and tuning exercises and rhythm things and all the basics. Always keep up on those basics. I’m still practicing all my basics.

So those basics being major scales, breathing exercises, tuning exercises, long tones. Some written etudes is always important.

And, but most importantly listening to music and having fun.

So, rather than dedicating an amount of time to practicing I think goal oriented practicing is a lot more useful. So, one person that might take five minutes to learn two scales. And the next person it might take 20 minutes.

But the important thing is the goal gets achieved. Rather than saying, “Hey, I practiced a half an hour today. I’m awesome.”

Transcript

Hi, this is Troy Roberts. Today we’re going to talk about metronome use for the alto saxophone. The metronome can be seen like training wheels for time playing in essentials in music. It’s very necessary actually in order to gain a level of accuracy, time-wise, and rhythmically. Here’s a little exercise if you’re new to using a metronome. I’m going to set this metronome at 120 beats per minute. I’m going to play a G major scale which is what I might be practicing at the moment. That was a G major scale as eighth notes at 120 beats per minute.

The next step is to halve that, so we’re going to move this down to 60 beats per minute. I’m going to do the same thing, but now the G major scale is going to be sixteenths in relation to this 60 beat per minute metronome. The responsibility becomes greater as you have to fill a bigger gap. We can get even trickier by halving that again to 30 beats per minute. That’s one very good way to begin using a metronome

Transcript

The best warm-up exercise that I even still use today and have done for a long, long time is to, well after getting the reed wet, moist, usually with a cup of water is to practice long tones.

It gets the reed working right because the reed’s wood, it changes with moisture. Gets the muscles warmed up and really gets your ear in tune with playing a note in tune.

The long tone exercise I use is to use a whole load of lung capacity to move between two notes. So, I want to use a whole breath to move from B to B flat.

Then I’m going to do the same thing from B flat to A. All the way down the horn. All the way back up to B. And if you’ve never done that before by the end of that you feel like you played a three hour gig with no breath. Your muscles are really, are really sore.

And it’s a great endurance builder and a great warm up exercise. I still use it today.

Transcript

The saxophone is really unique in that, as with any instrument, it’s got a legacy. It comes with a legacy. The saxophone’s legacy is pretty big. There’re many gods before us who have done amazing things on this instrument. There are a lot of things to reference and there are a lot of lessons to be learned from transcribing the greats. There’s a language that also needs to be absorbed in order to be able to do your own thing, I believe.

When I first thought about soloing, the things that really helped me get to the next level were observing things from my heroes, like for example Cannonball Adderley. The first solo I ever transcribed of his really made me think about rhythm and time and groove, and also his sound and little nuances. One of the things I transcribed of his was from Freddy Freeloader, Miles Davis.

It really made me aware of the triplet. He’s so strong with the triplet and it’s kind of like a soul in his sound you couldn’t really get if you don’t take the time to learn all those things. On the flip side, someone like Paul Desmond really made me think about phrasing, question and answer and simplicity, really covering the harmony as well. Something like his solo on All the Things You Are, if you check it out it’s…

You get the idea. Lots of question and answer, and I’m totally outlining the harmony. When it comes to building a solo of my own, I have a lot of things to think about and a lot of things to reference, as well as maybe coming up with my own ideas..

Transcript

The concept of circular breathing is kind of a tricky one to explain. It’s kind of like riding a bike in that when you know how to do it, you’re going to know how to do it forever. It’s quite tricky to actually get there. The concept basically in a nutshell is to form a pocket of air in your mouth, like that, and to close off your throat so you’re not breathing. You’re not connected to your lungs anymore. The air in your mouth is not connected to your lungs. And you just push it out like that. While you’re doing that, you breathe in through your nose and refill your lungs. Sounds really tricky, but if you can slow down the time it takes for the pocket of air in your mouth the empty, it gives you more time to breath and start the air flow again smoothly. That gives you a good amount of time.

The best way to practice this away from a didgeridoo is to sit yourself down with a scotch glass and a straw and some water, and just try to keep the bubbles consistent by doing that. That can go on forever. When we get to the saxophone, we take something that we already know like long tones and just try to keep the tone consistent. That’s how you circular breathe.

Transcript

Hi. This is Troy Roberts. And today we’re going to talk about breathing exercises for the saxophone.

So when playing this instrument it’s really important to not, kind of, contort your body in any way so that you can have best use of your lungs. And it’s important to breathe deeply and down almost into your stomach.

If you think about it as breathing into your stomach. You’re going to have a stronger airflow and more consistent airflow. And most efficient use of your air.

A good way to get the most out of your lungs is almost like a lung stretching exercise is to practice long tones using a full breath of air to move between one note and the other.

For example. So that was the whole capacity of my lungs split in half between B and B flat. Then you want to do the same thing from the B flat to A. A to A flat. All the way down the horn. All the way back up. Middle B.

I started on middle B. It’s a good place to start. And that’s really good as an embrasure workout as well as really getting your lungs stretched and making the most of your air capacity.

Transcript

Hi. This is Troy Roberts. Today we’re going to talk about rhythm exercises for the alto saxophone.

The world of rhythm is as big as, if not bigger, than the world of melody and harmony. How do we first tackle these rhythmic issues? I think a good way is to take something you already know very well, for example a major scale, so you’re not worried about the harmony or the melody. And just really focus on the rhythm.

If we were to have a metronome, say, about here, the typical thing to do is play sixteenth.

We’ve got sixteenth notes against the click or the pulse. What we can do to make that a rhythmic exercise is to change the rhythm. So, let’s get away from sixteenths and make them triplets.

Becomes a new exercise, right? Let’s take another rhythm, for example.

This can go on and on and on. So, when it comes to exploring the world of rhythm it’s important to take something you already know really well harmonically and melodically and apply new rhythms to it. The whole thing becomes like a brand new exercise.

Transcript

Okay. There’s two growling techniques that are commonly used.

First one is almost like gargling or gargling with your tonsils whilst play a note. And that is kind of like. Doing that into the saxophone. Like that.

The other commonly used way of growling is to sing a note also into the horn. I’m not sure if the note matters but the process of having another note being sung into the horn will give the same effect. Check it out.

So that’s commonly used in rhythm and blues music. And then I’m sure in a lot of your favorite pop cellars out there.

The growling technique on the alto saxophone.

Transcript

Hey. It’s Troy Roberts here. And today we’re going to talk about dynamics on the alto saxophone.

As you can imagine dynamics are the volume of a musical passage. And they really can shape a piece. In some case make or break it.

It’s important to remember when you’re playing really quietly to not kind of close off the mouthpiece and you’re going to get a pinched sound. Want to keep the airflow really, really consistent whether you’re playing loud or soft.

So, I’m just going to give an example of a little excerpt with no dynamics. And then something with dynamics.

Okay? Pretty bland. Now if I put some dynamics in there, listen to the difference.

So, the important thing to remember is when you play quiet you’re actually slowing down the speed of the air. Don’t try not to think about it as less air. And when you’re playing louder you’re speeding up the airflow.

The important thing to remember is that it’s still a consistent airflow. The airflow is just happening. You’re just altering the speed.

Transcript

The reason why this is called an E-flat alto saxophone is because you need to play a concert pitch E-flat in order to get a C on the instrument. A concert pitch E-flat will sound like this. So that’s concert pitch E-flat, and that equals C on the alto saxophone. An intervallic way of looking at that is, if you were to play a C on a piano or a concert pitch instrument, it’s going to be an A on the alto, which is down a minor 3rd, but technically it’s up a major 6th. It’s an inversion of itself.

The reason why this is called a B-flat tenor saxophone is because it takes a concert pitch B-flat to produce a C on the horn. Same fingering as what I did on the alto. A concert pitch B-flat sounds like this on the tenor, which is C, okay? If we were to take another intervalic example, a concert pitch G is going to be an A on this horn.

So if you played a G on a piano or a concert pitch instrument, you’re going to have to play an A on this to get the same note.

Technically it’s transposed up a 9th, but you can think of it as a 2nd up from concert pitch. Here’s a little something in the key of G on the alto saxophone, which is concert pitch B-flat. Here’s the same thing on the tenor saxophone, which is going to be in the key of C.

That’s transposition for the saxophone.