These are great! It gets me used to the alternative ways to play. Being a flute player, I especially love the side keys/ right hand. Middle C. Why is that so much fun to play? =D. You are a great teacher.
Brilliant , love your tips! I have such a hard time slurring from all fingers to no fingers, or one finger (D-->C e.g.). My horn aways squeaks (I know nothing is wrong with it because sometimes I get it right). Actively practicing with the fingers aways touching the keys helped me A LOT! But I still have a long way to go... more tips on this kind of slur, anyone? Thank you a lot! Cheers from Brazil
Brilliant video and practice tips. (Couldn't help noticing that playing Exercise 1 at full speed, even you get some loss of clarity on the D on the way up, there's hope for us mortals yet!)
Any Alto Sax Lessons??? Today i practice on my Alto by watching your 7 Chromatic Workout Video, Thank you it was really nice by the way!!! it take me a little longer than i was hoping for since i only play by Ear... Im a Solo Steel Pan Entertainer now trying to add the Alto to my Musician Life.
Hi +Trevor Cole. You can use this lesson on alto too, but I have loads of other alto lessons on my RU-vid channel. Also, checkout my full Sax School at www.mcgilmusic.com - there are hundreds more detailed lessons there that I think would help you.
The last chromatic idea, if you play the G# with the middle key on the platform,when you play the F# put that key back down. This sets you up for the low C#.
Since you are reading these message, might I suggest the possibility of your adding some intermediate/advanced level classes to your repertoire. I did sign up but did not in the end find many classes to suit my needs: chord progressions, analysis of progressions, fast swing, be-bop, melodic embellishment etc. You do have some classes that cover such topics and others for players with 4-5+ years experience but I wish you had more. Maybe you could have different streams. Just an idea for you. Best wishes with your endeavours. You must miss Oz; sure I do here in Northern Thailand. Cheers, Mike
Hi Nigel, This is a terrific lesson but I couldn't find it inside the sax school lessons where I'm a member. Can you post it there also? I find the lessons there easier to use since the scales might appear as a download and I can then practice from a printout. Thanks.
Love the alternative fingering. Would love to know what to do for practice for better breathing techniques. I'm a returning alto Sax player and have been playing for a over a year now, but I find my lips hurt and wonder if there is any techniques for improved breathing techniques. Any thoughts any methods work better then others. I'm practing long tones right now and probably the chromatic scales in your pdf. Again found the video very useful.
any videos or tips you can give me to jump back into being able to play my tenor sax again? it would really help cause i've missed playing it but i have gotten out of touch with reading sheet music
Hi. Have a dig through the other lessons on my channel to start with. I also have hundreds more in my main Sax School at www.mcgillmusic.com. Best advice is to just start playing and having some fun with it. Go for it!
Great question. You can practice either way, legato or tongued, but I prefer to tongue them in groups. So, either octave groups, or beat groups depending on which pattern I'm playing.
Hi there, I recently bought a tenor sax and one thing I've noticed is that the fingering and the note being played are different. As an example, I push down the fingering for D but the note being played is C. I've got no idea how to go about this since I am a beginner. Could you help me out? Thank you!
Hi. Your tenor sax is in the key of Bb - so it's designed to "sound" a whole step (or tone) higher than a piano or guitar. Lots of tuner apps have an option to "transpose" into Bb, so they will then display the correct note.
Hi +Jay LeVert , you could try using a more relaxed embouchure and also make sure all you fingers are fully down. It's common on tenor for people to leave their G key (left hand ring finger) not fully down. If all of those things don't help, it might be a good idea to get a repairer to check for leaks around the bottom of your horn. Hope that helps.
Thanks a lot for the tips. I believe it is breath supply and embouchure, but I will definitely check out your other suggestions in order to rule them out.
