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Tenor Sax Transposition – How To?

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Talking about alto sax transposition the other day in response to Jerry’s question.  Transposition on alto saxophone is a bit trickier than tenor saxophone, on tenor (and soprano) you can pretty much transpose on sight.transposition

Tenor saxophone and soprano saxophone are both in the key of Bb.
Concert instruments – piano, flute, etc are in the key of C.

That means if you play a “C” on your tenor saxophone, it’s the same as a Bb on piano.

The interval between C and Bb is a whole step.

So if you read music written in C (piano music for example) you go up a whole step to transpose it.  If you see a Bb, you play C, if you see a G you play A, etc.

Not too hard to get comfortable just playing music by thinking ‘up a whole step’.

Any questions?

Eddie Daniels Clarinet Video

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Love his sound on clarinet! Been a fan for a while. I did start on clarinet before adding saxophone to what I play.

Still play clarinet sometimes, especially good since it’s portable for trips.

Enjoy!

Saxophone Transposition – Video Explaining C-> Eb, C->Bb

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This video goes into the details of transposition.  Let me know what questions you have or if parts don’t make sense.

To go from the key of C to the key of Eb (for alto saxophone and bari saxophone) you descend by a minor third or three half steps.

To go from the key of C to the key of Bb (for tenor saxophone and sorpano saxophone) you ascend by a whole step (major 2nd or two half steps).

Bb to Eb is a fourth or a fifth apart going up or down.

Alto & Bari Sax Transposition – How To?

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Got a question from Jerry the other day:

Hello Neal!transposition

I’m very glad for your response to me and your concern too.I know already all the scale of my alto sax,even all the major scale.

The only thing that i don’t know. How to use it and to transpose to alto notes. The reason why I’m very interested to know this is bec.for my Music Ministry in the Church.

God Bless,
JerryHey Jerry,
You’re welcome.  Sounds like you’re coming along with your saxophone playing.  Transposition isn’t too hard once you’re comfortable, but the explanation is a little bit long.So, how transposition works is like this:The alto (and bari) saxophone is in “Eb”

(The tenor/soprano saxophones are in “Bb”)

The music you want to transpose is very likely in “concert pitch” or the key of C.

That means if you play a “C” on your alto saxophone, it’s the same as an Eb on piano.

What’s the difference between C and Eb?
What’s the distance or interval between them?

C up to Eb is a minor third (three half steps). (Also, C down to Eb is a major sixth, but I usually don’t think of it that way)

Personally, I like to think about it as a minor third since it’s not as wide of an interval and the minor third is pretty familiar.

The note on alto or bari is down by a minor third compared to the concert pitch (piano, flute, etc), three half steps.

Eb on piano -> C on alto saxophone.

Db on piano -> Bb on alto saxophone

A on piano -> F# on alto saxophone

C on piano is A on bari.

Bb on piano is a G on bari.

Etc.

-Neal

Jazz on the Saxophone…How?

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Guest post on Sax Station by Randy Hunter, started talking to Randy a few years back, he’s written some good books on saxophone and can play!
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So, you are interested in playing jazz on your saxophone, but you’re not quite sure where to start. This can be a daunting dilemma for a developing sax player still working to cover many basic aspects of playing the instrument. In this article, I will offer some suggestions for practicing and studying that should help you develop a practical approach for learning to play jazz saxophone.

Private Instruction
Before continuing, it is necessary to mention the value in retaining the services of a private instructor that specializes in jazz. A qualified instructor can guide you along along the musical journey, validating your efforts in the practice room, while answering most of the questions that arise as you progress. In areas where a private instructor is difficult to find, online instruction in the form of podcast or webcam lessons may be a suitable and affordable alternative.

Even with private instruction, however, it is essential that you gather as much knowledge about your mission as possible. This will help you balance your goals and expectations while being certain to include all of the essential components of playing saxophone and jazz in your practice plan.

Categorize
Let’s define some categories that will help you develop a comprehensive and prioritized plan for achieving your goals. The basic categories should include listening, saxophone fundamentals, jazz reading, and jazz improvisation. There are many sub-categories that may be included at different stages of your development, but they often become self-evident as your mastery of basic jazz saxophone skills increases.

One of the most important steps you can take involves broadening your understanding of the instrument and the music by listening to the masters. Many students listen to contemporary smooth jazz sax players, but fail to get to the roots of the music by exploring the development of jazz saxophone over the generations. With today’s technology, it is easy to discover the masters through internet searches and locate their music through online radio stations like Pandora and Grooveshark.

Jazz is an expressive, personalized, and often technical music. Working to master the instrument through the fundamentals of tone production, the development of technical skills, and basic reading is crucial in honing your ability to play jazz with stylistic proficiency. These essentials may be approached through long-tone practice, scale study, and method book reading.

In addition to fundamental reading studies, it is necessary to learn to read and interpret various jazz styles. The most common jazz styles are swing, Latin, jazz-rock, and funk. There are interpretive elements unique to each of these styles that require focused study in order to achieve performance proficiency. Etudes are available that address the components of each jazz style.

For many, improvisation is the most intriguing and central aspect of playing jazz saxophone. The study of jazz improvisation begins with the practice of concepts as simple as staggering the notes in a major or blues scale and advances to include many complex rhythmic, harmonic, and technical components. A number of pre-recorded play-along series are available to assist in the practice of jazz improvisation.

Putting it Together
Learning to play jazz saxophone is a culmination of endeavors. Having insight into the essential components of learning jazz saxophone combined with the guidance of a qualified jazz instructor should help take the mystery out of how and what to practice. With this insight, you should be well prepared to develop your personal approach to learning how to play jazz on your saxophone.

Bio:
Randy Hunter is a professional saxophonist living in the north Atlanta area. He maintains a large private lesson studio and is the jazz saxophone instructor at Emory University. He is the author of the “Complete Jazz Styles” series of jazz etude, combo, and duet books. Randy also offers a series of online jazz improvisation and beginning saxophone lessons. For details, visit www.RandyHunterJazz.com.

Saxophone Tuning – Online Saxophone Tuner

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Just found a pretty cool online saxophone tuner.

(Click on this link)

Tuner

You need a microphone on your computer, the tuner itself is free.

Your computer will need a microphone – either built in or external.

If you want a portable tuner, here’s one.

I have a korg tuner and haven’t ever changed the batteries. It lasts for something like 85 hours.

You can also get apps that will do the same job. TE (Tonal Energy) is one that I have that is pretty good.

The tuner will name the note being played (in concert pitch).

It will tell you how close or far you are from being in tune on the note you’re playing.

A program that is very useful for learning music is called ‘Transcribe!’

You can loop sections and slow things down among other things.

Transcribe for Windows

Transcribe for Mac

Blues Saxophone Line – Alto Sax

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The blues saxophone line from before that I played on tenor, for alto!

I know it can be frustrating to have an entire combination of music (or whatever you’re learning) at full speed multiple times at the beginning of a lesson.  Since this is only two bars, didn’t think that an issue.  But let me know if you have questions!

So it plays three times at normal speed at the beginning.  You could probably learn it by ear if you’ve some experience doing that or at least pick it up quickly once you see the written line.

When it’s slowed down, I’m just playing the notes, not with the rhythm of the line.

Note for beginning players:

On saxophone, you don’t play the same key with different fingers.  Each finger has a specific role and may operate a single key or multiple keys.  There aren’t ‘voicings’ which can be done different ways.  I just play a little piano myself.

Check out the saxophone fingering chart if you’re confused on what the fingering diagrams mean.

Want to Learn a Blues Saxophone Line? – Tenor Sax

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Here’s a short blues saxophone line.  Something I heard a while back. Figured I would share it. Good to have music you can pull out whenever you want.

Listen, it’s also written, and slowed down note by note.  Click the ‘share’ button if you like it!  And leave a comment.

I play it on tenor sax, also recorded it on alto.

The line works over an A Minor chord, but could work in other changes as well.  Play around with it.  And I started on beat two, but you don’t have to!

Let me know what you think!

Alto Saxophone Finger Chart ?

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Received this comment asking about an alto saxophone finger chart earlier today with regards to the saxophone finger chart.

Alto Saxophone“Think this is lovely but i think this is for tenor sax. what of alto sax fingering chart! pls try and upload alto sax fingering chart for the sake of alto sax players. GREAT JOB!!!!!think this is lovely but i think this is for tenor sax. what of alto sax fingering chart! pls try and upload alto sax fingering chart for the sake of alto sax players. GREAT JOB!!!!!

So, just to make it perfectly clear.

The fingering chart for saxophone works for alto, tenor, soprano, baritone, bass, contrabass, sopranino, soprillo, c melody, etc.

There are minor variations (high F# key, low A key, etc).  But overall, the fingering system for all saxophones is the same.

So check out the saxophone finger chart.

You’ll need to enter your name and email address to receive the password to see the entire chart.

Saxophone Technique – How to Clean Up Schmutz Between C and D

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Received a question about saxophone technique.

Hi Neal
I hope this e-mail finds you doing well.
I have a question for you if you have time?
I’m working on slurring, when I go from D to C even though I have released the octave key sometimes I still get the high C? If I tongue the note it doesn’t happen. It seems the sound wave if not broken holds the octave key down??
Could my horn be haunted? Ha Ha!
Is that normal, is it me or the horn? It is not happening all the time. Maybe water in the octave pip?
Take care thanks for your time.

Tim

My response:

Hey Tim,
That’s actually a very good question that you’re asking.

It’s probably not a haunted saxophone or water in the pipe.

You can actually play up an octave from the low notes very easily without using the octave key.  You can even play up two octaves or more.  We can this playing the harmonic series, also known as ‘overblowing’ sometimes.

When you tongue in between notes, you create a space that allows you to ‘reset’ everything.  So pretty much anything will come out cleaner as opposed to slurring it.

You’ll learn a lot by slurring through the music about your technique though.

Going from C to D involves a lot of fingers.  Not just one, like going from G to A or something like that.

Are all your fingers moving perfectly in sync?

Probably not.

Slow things down and try and figure out what you’re doing and you’ll be on your way to fixing the problem.

Let me know how it goes.

-Neal