Hi,

I have been playing the Sax for about a year now, I have just bought a piece of music, but next to the note it has an x. I know the symols for sharp, flat and natural of course but what is the x? I have had to stop using a tutor as I have a serious injury so cannot get to my tutor for a while so I am stuck. Any help would be appreciated.

I think i know what you are talking about. Does it look like a note iwth the flag and all but instead of a circle stuck against the flag there is an x. If that is the case it usually means to clap. If not then I have no clue. It may mean other things too, it will usuallly say something like key slaps or somethings at the bottom of the messures telling you what to do.

Clapping is always what I knew it to be.

Actually, it counts for any type of percussion rhythm so it could mean banging a pencil on a stand, clapping, etc. It could also mean play any note there, for the purpose is the beat not the melody.

It is literally an `x` in the same place as a sharp or a flat right next to the note. The piece I was playing was a classical piece, `The Swan` (The Carnival of the Animals)by Camille Saint-Saens, in the book Take the Lead-classical collection. Hope this helps. It has a playalong CD and I do not notice a clap or anything.

I`ve just been told that it could be a double sharp???? What is this?

I could e-mail it to somebody in BMP format if they wanted, if it will help. It`s really bugging the F*** out of me.

I have a answer to you, and I know it`s right I read about it in my theory book. Basicaly when there are too many sharps in the key and the artist want`s to tern it too sharp and it is already sharped, he just writes x instead.
doesn`t make too much sense but it`s so.
For exsample xA is B.

Hope this helps.

A double sharp is simply up two semitones. For instance: Fx is G.

i had one of those before in one of my music i played and my teacher said it was a double sharp

Many Thanks

An x in sax music can either indicate a double sharp, as some of the previous replies have indicated, but can also indicate a note with indeterminate pitch. You find these in transcriptions, the sheet music of an improvised solo where a "ghost" note has been played that is more of a grunt or a growl or just a contrapuntal mouthpiece/diaphragm noise, for effect. I hope this helps.