I`m in jazz band and can`t improvise as well as some of the other saxes. Do you have any tips?

Yes, I`am Jazz guitarist but Soloing is not the different from any other instrument.

Take a jam track from places like
http://www.jimmybruno.com/midi.htm
Play the Major scale of the jam track, you can play blues scale on 1 1/2 steps below also.

Play it, and listen think of nice licks that can be played to the rythmn.

Like my teacher said, try to talk to someone express sentences and make a converstion.

Must have Rythmn, Varition of Notes, and Feel~
Good luck.

hey, im a tenor player. I`ve been playing for about 5 years now and i`ve been blessed with some awesome teachers so i think i can give ya some good tips on improv.

1.) before trying to improv much you need to listen to alot of jazz, i would suggest finding a player you really really like such as, Sonny Rollins, Dexer Gordon, Lester young, Coleman Hawkins, these guys have great ideas and aren`t difficult to follow. listen to them and try to play back thier ideas, you can get some good licks from them.

2.) MASTER YOUR SCALES!!!!, i know it`s boring and kinda hard, but it`s essential to know how to improv. After you learn your scales you can start using patterns, simple stuff like 1-2-3-2-1, or 1-3-5-7-5-3-1, just running the notes of the scale can be good too

3.) Get private lessons if possible, working with the right teacher can advance your playing lightyears.

4)learn how to read Chord progressions, then you`ll acutally know what your soloing over!

5) get the computer program BandInABox, its great, you type in the chord progressions and just blow over them, you can change styles, even listen to soloists. it`s awesome.

and lastly don`t be afraid to experiment, your not gonna sprout ideas just playing when you have to, play as much as you can fiddle with sounds, or just running patterns, experimenting and make some amazing solos, and sometimes just make you a better overall player.
I hope these tips will set you off in a good direction, if you need anything else just email me at lookout_rep@hotmail.com

well i play trombone but not alto sax but there are some key ideas when improving. maybe your teacher in the past might`ve taught you the pentatonic scale, thats how i started but i actually decided to scrap the idea and instead i found out that you can actually use the chromatic scale. But do not rush to do that. The pentatonic teaches you how to start off on the basics on the right chord progressions. When you get that right, add notes to create licks. As you progress, you`ll find it easier to be able to move up and down the scale. If you seem to play some weird note that just doesn`t sound right, turn it into a lick that`ll go down or up into a correct sounding chord progression. Another thing about improv is confidence. You`ve got to like what you`re playing and be confident about it. If you mess up, make it look like you didn`t so then maybe your audience will think you`re right. But like I said before, you can turn into a clashing note into a cool lick. I hope this information can help you.