Hi well im alex i play alto saxophone and i have just started to find my self in a world of jazz and i am still learning the basic stuff and i just want little tips on the basics I know some blues scales Oooo ya is there any adive on switching the improvise scales during a song thats a stumper for me if any 1 has got any advice on this problem or any thing on jazz please just post it i want to learn.

Alex b

cant help ya there dude

The best advice I can give is: listen to jazz. Jazz DOES NOT include Dave Koz or Kenny G so don`t listen to that crap. Try Charlie Parker, Sonny Stitt, Phil Woods, Art Pepper, Cannonball Adderley, Kenny Garrett, and the list goes on.

As far as scale theory goes: blues scales usually sound good but if that`s all you know your solos will quickly become repetitve and cliche. Only playing blues scales would be like Mozart only composing in C major- This would be very boring.

Learn all your major and minor scales, and then learn your major and melodic minor modes, and then learn your octatonic and whole tone scales. This should be enough scale study to last you awhile.

As far as changing scales in a tune: the chord symbols that you improvise over on a song correspond to a scale. If you have a specific question about a chord and which scale to use let me know, or get a jazz theory book.

Bryan

Practice, practice, practice. Again, listen to jazz. If you are in a jazz band, be sure to go to meetings as often as you can and really spend time with your music.

If you don`t love jazz it will never come out right. It is never forced.

As for changing scales... I can`t help you. But practice your blues scales, and never EVER stop in the middle of a solo. If you play a note that`s not within whatever scale you`re trying to play.. forget about it! Either that or play that note again-it won`t sound like a mistake if you do it more than once. Trust me.

Don`t plan improv at all. Know your scale, your start note, and your end note, but never plan beyiond that.

Good luck!

~JazzSaxKitten

JazzSaxKitten,

I disagree with some of your advice. I think that improvisations should be very planned out.

For instance, when playing an improvised solo on a piece you should take note of the style, tempo, meter, key signiture, motivic material, harmonic material, rhythmic material, what the band is playing during your solo, who soloed before you, etc, etc. If you cannot play at quarter note equals 320 on a tune, then you must practice playing at 320. If you cannot play a samba, then you must practice a samba. If you cannot play in 5/4, then you must practice in 5/4, etc.

Improvising should be spontaneous COMPOSITION. Remember the basic concepts of compostion- rhythm, harmony, melody, etc. I believe that you should have an idea of how you would like to approach these concepts in a solo. You should have a concept of direction in the solo, where you are taking the listeners, what direction you are taking the tune in. Without thinking this out you will sound like you are wandering in a solo or lost.

The spontaneous part involves the actual performance of the solo. You may alter things depending on the way your fellow musicians perform that evening, or how the audience interacts with what you are playing, or how you felt that day.

If you listen to alternate takes of John Coltrane playing Giant Steps you`ll notice that his solos sound very similar. This leads me to believe that even Trane had a notion of what he wanted to say on a particular tune before soloing.

Bryan

Hi,

I`m just saying from my own experience. I find that people in middle school or high school (as I am and Alex appears to be-sorry if I am wrong) tend to get flustered if they plan everything out and mess up. An all too common mistake is to know what to play down to each individual note and mess up, and then stop right there thinking, "Aw crap, I`m so screwed". But you are right now that I think about it, it is better to plan some. Practice the notes leading up to your solo, and then while practicing, experiment with what sounds good and what doesn`t. Try different intervals, start/end notes, use parts of the riff or melody line into your solo. Find out if there are any accidentals or blues notes that sound good, but use them sparingly. If you find something that works, remember it or even jot it down-but change it up a little.

Other than that, there are two things to remember:

1. If you plan and mess up, or if you get nervous, or no matter what, do not stop in the middle of a solo. Sure, it`s one thing to put in a rest, but don`t just freeze-especially if your improv line is only a few measures long.

Good luck, and happy playing!

-JSK
2. Stay on the beat. Always. Don`t go crazy and forget about the drummer/pianist in the background keeping time. Don`t stop tapping your foot or turn off the little metronome in your head.

Wait a second, that wound up a little out of order. Oops.

thanks guys you helped me out ( its me Alex) well does any 1 have the sheet music for billies bounce by charlie parker


Alex b

hey alex-
i am the 1st alto in my jazz band and my advice is to learn your scales so you can play them without thinking
if you are soloing... do the same thing... and when you are practicing just play th e scales for your solo then funk it up!
fenderchic