Question:

How do you read Tenor saxophone sheet music?

-John

My Response:

You start by recognizing the notes and rhythms.

Notes:

The pitch of the note is determined by its vertical position on the staff. Higher is a higher pitch, lower is lower.

The symbols ‘b’ and ‘#’ either lower or raise notes by a half step, respectively.

Use a saxophone fingering chart to find where your fingers go for the notes.

Start by learning the mid range of the saxophone, the first note I would learn is ‘B’ in the middle of the staff.

Rhythms:

Music is divided into measures. Each measure lasts the same amount of time.

Notes and rests occupy the space.

If the measure has only one note and no rests, then the note lasts for the whole measure.

If more notes are in a measure, they are played faster and the notes are shorter.

They are called ‘whole’, ‘half’, ‘quarter’, ‘eighth’, etc.

 

Beyond notes and rhythms, there are also articulation, phrasing, dynamics, and other things to learn about. But start with notes and rhythms.

You can also get a sample of my beginning saxophone class and sign up if you would like.