Big Ear - Saxophone Ear Training Class
Why take a class on music by ear?
So that you are able to hear musical ideas and play them. You also want to be able to play what you hear in your head. Getting to that level of control on the saxophone will make you a much better musician and give you freedom within the music.
It’s fun and becomes easier with a little practice. And once you get rolling, it’s a great skill to have. There’s more freedom in the music, more control, and it’s easier to get in the zone if you have a developed ear.
If you’re interested in learning more about music by ear on saxophone, enter your name and email address here:
Reading music is important too, but listening and being able to play by ear is a vital part of being a great saxophone player. It involves taking in the music and being able to play rather than going from the music to paper to music. Things are lost in that transition…..
The first piece of the puzzle is probably to focus on a small piece of music at a time.
Beyond that, it’s good to know the intervals in music really well. Having a melody in your ear that has each of the intervals is something that can help. Generally, we’re more comfortable with ascending intervals as well. When you combine intervals with several notes, you get chords. And we can hear the characteristics of chords.
However, really, getting the rhythm of something is harder than getting the pitch in my opinion. There are only 12 pitches, but the variation in rhythm and getting the articulation just right seems to be the more difficult part in transcription to me.
We have a 6 week online ear training class specifically designed for learning music on sax by ear…
It’s a systematic approach to learning the different dimensions of music through progressively more challenging pieces. You can work through them at your own pace in the comfort of your home or bring it with you.
The weekly lessons will be sent to via email and you can download all the files through Sax Station. You can see a sample lesson (here).
There are two choices for the class – standard (with the lessons only) and the Premium (with additional challenges). Full details are listed.
Learn More:
Hey, I have played sax for many years in school and then gave it up when I went into the military. I have picked it back up in the last two years mainly because ny son wanted to play,so I purchased his horn and then I got me the Selmar to play.I love the horn and the quality and proformance but I really want to be better so I come to you for the help. Thanks and I will be waiting with open ears.LOL
Hey Pete,
Thanks for sharing. Will keep you updated about this class. Glad you’re having fun with your saxophone.
-Neal
I believe that ear training is very, very, important and I’m willing to work hard to develop that ability. Given this chance to be part of a Saxophone Ear Training Class would be unbelievable and an edifying experience.
I want to work on sax ear training to help prepare me to start improvising. I am basically playing without sheet music and learning my scales has helped me so much.
Thanks Neal
Hey Erskine,
Cool, yep ear training really helps with improvisation. It’s a huge part of being a great saxophone player.
-Neal
Neal first of all thanks for all your useful posts I started playing my sax last year and you gave me excellent tips , specially on not getting frustrated and recording my self during my first try at the sax because they don’t sound that good ( but that is part of the learning process and I have loved it)
Now im a couple of months in the my process , on and off because of work , my kids baseball practice and other activities but im still hanging in there.
Now regarding ear training , I think its a essential part of learning the sax because when you are not that good on reading notes on paper its a struggle to get the songs right but on the other side ear training is what I think gives you the musicality of playing so….
1. Im begginer @ playing so learning ear training can help me develop my other side of playing the sax , improvisation and I think it will be fun process.
2. Why do you want to work on saxophone ear training? Like I said training my ear will help me give the step I need to make my learning more complete and fun .
Hope to hear from you and again thanks for all of your tips and like you say , its because saxophone is awesome.
Hey Jesus,
hmm, ‘hey Jesus’ sounds funny when you say it out loud, haha. But anyway, you’re welcome, glad it helped!
That’s a good point about how having a good ear will help you when you’re reading since you can hear when you’re playing something that’s off.
-Neal
Hey Neal,I’ve been playing sax for almost four years,and I have some trouble with take a solo by earing.I think that if I have some help to work on it,I’ll get it.I hope you can help me with it.Since now thanks.
Hey Pedro,
Cool, should be able to help. Do you learn anything by ear and/or transcribe at all?
-Neal
I really need this and I would love to spend more time on ear training, but my time is very limited. Will try to nevertheless!
Hey Mel,
Cool, just spending a few minutes a day on it will make you get better. Let me know what your questions are.
-Neal
1. I play at church and that is what I do in church is play by ear i want to improve both ear and in rthym.
2. To feel more confident in my playing.
Hey Joseph,
Cool, getting stronger with playing by ear should definitely help you with that.
-Neal
1. Why should you be chosen to be a part of the Saxophone Ear Training class? In the end its all about making muziek !!, a personal translation and interpretation of a piece and reading a score interferes with this process. An ear training class wiould be wonderful to follow to strengthen this.
2. Why do you want to work on saxophone ear training?
Because music for me is life and I not only want to enjoy others peoples music which can move me deeply , I want to be an active part of that. I have a long way to go , its a wonderful journey. !
Hey Christie,
Cool, looking forward to talking to you more about it.
-Neal
Hey Neal,
I hope that today brings you joy. Thanks again for all that you do and the time you put into sharing your profession with others! I think what you do is something to be very proud of! I get so much from your post and like I said I played in the band at my school for many years so I do know music. There is still so much to learn though. I try to do the same thing you do as when a child in the school band where my son goes needs help I am giving them free lessons. I hope that they are getting something out of it also, because music is such an awesome place and to see the making of a new musician is a joy!
Thanks Neal and keep up the good work!!
Pete
Hey Pete,
Thank you. I appreciate what you’re saying. Where are you at with your ear and what do you need help with?
-Neal
I would love to be able to play by ear. I have all of these melodies in my head. I cannot seem to get them to my fingers. Maybe I have a broken connection somewhere. Maybe I need to learn to play by ear.
I appreciate your website. Sax players need to stick together. We are all probably a little or a lot crazy.
Dick
Hey Dick,
Cool, we’ll get those melodies coming out of your horn then. haha, we just might be.
-Neal
Hi Neal
Thanks for all your upbeat (to use a musical metaphor) messages. I’m 64 and have just taken up the sax. I love it but I’m a terrible singer with no musical education and I’d really like to be able to both play along to music and especially, to play by ear. I could use some help. Keep up the great work.
Terry
Hey Terry,
You’re welcome. I’m not a great singer either, but I like working on it and have gotten better with some practice. Let me know where you’re at with learning music by ear.
-Neal
1. I’m a working musician and really have to improve my ear training.
2. I play Tenor Sax in a 4 piece horn section, we”re a Tower Of Power Tribute Band and I play the lead tenor parts. I have to stay on top of my game.
Cool, having a good ear is essential for a working musician.
Hey Neal, Tony G. here:
I am not trying to play reverse psychology; I simply want to become a better player.
I play in three church orchestras, not all music is written for musicians and need to play traditional hymns by ear. Also, Gospel/Jazz is a prominent style that is played and ear training will enable me to play spontaneously. I went to benefit that featured live musicians and they jammed! The leader was a protégé of Sonny Stitts; he was the heir apparent to Charlie Parker. I don’t need to say anymore.
He also invited young musicians from the Army band and Howard University to jam with his group. I don’t mind listening to learn, and I had to turn down his invitation to join his group because I can’t play by ear. I really want to jam with this senior musician when he comes back in town in the future. Also, this is the path to become a complete musician for myself. I want to stop turning down gigs because I can’t play by ear!!!!. Neal please let me know when you finalize the ear training program. You got a customer. Sorry for the long email. Keep swinging the notes.
Hey Tony
My name is Joseph Lowndes when I read your post I said, I need to reply for the simple reason is that I too play sax in church mainly by ear not by note.
My story is that I played in church when I was younger but I left it alone when I entered the service. But I re-picked it up again I say three years ago and I had to reteach myself to play ear.
In church we do not play the traditional hymns now it is more gospel and tropical styles where I myself have problems. But how I do it is You Tube. Yes, You Tube has helped me a lot but most of all the Good Lord.
What I have is playlist on my You Tube with both church and jazz and blues backings that I use to help me. I envy you but what I can say to you Just Do It. I wish I was in your shoes. I what you are saying but when they play go to the side and look for the notes on your horn and go for it. And feed off these pros by asking questions on tips etc. Always have fun if you screw up oh well lol.
I hope this works and helps I have no problem on sharing what I know.
Joseph Lowndes
Hey Joseph,
Thanks for telling us about how you have worked on it. Youtube’s great for learning stuff. Starting with slower stuff is a recommendation I would make. For my class I’ll play music slower than it is on the recordings. Building up speed like that tends to be easier to learn.
-Neal
Hey Tony,
Thanks for telling me a little more about your situation.
Basically, you can figure out anything you can sing back to yourself, but if it’s you’re a little unclear about exactly how it goes, then it’s tough. Having recordings and especially music that’s slowed down can help you get more comfortable with the process of learning music by ear and make you ready to learn stuff that you hear on records, videos, etc.
That’s cool you saw Sonny Stitt’s protege. Sonny Stitt’s definitely a bad ass on saxophone. He played at the same time as Bird and had a similar sound according to some people. The seeming solution of that was to play tenor instead of alto, which made his sound a little more unique. Parker was a pioneer of bebop, but in my opinion Sonny Stitt took it and refined it a little more.
I’ve been thinking more about how to approach the class. Should be getting it online pretty soon.
-Neal
I would love to have this class! I play alto saxophone for my high school and am currently first chair. I love to play my sax and this would be the perfect oppurtunity to advance my skills.
Cool, sounds like ear training will be a good thing for you to work on at this point.
yes, i think i have a little problem playing by ear especially phrases. i think this will be a good class for me. pls i can’t wait for the class to start.
Cool, thanks Sunday.
Hey Neal,
This ear training sounds just what I need. I find learning to read music for the first time along with the sax very hard going. If only I could play the tunes that are running around in my head.
Keep up the good work.
Cool Rich, seemed like it would be helpful.
Hey Neal,
My conductor stated if you want to start to learn to play by ear, start with a simply nursery rhyme. Novice improvisers can start with
“Mary Had a Little Lamb”. Next, play the jazz blue scales on the nursery rhyme, which I believe will be a half step below the original note of the song. Flat the 3rd, 5th and 7th note of the song and you will start hear the song is a difference light. Also, play the blues scale in the key of the song and you will start to stretch out you improvisation skills. This is a good way to learn to play a song in all twelve keys. Neal, let me know if this is a good technique for the novice improvisers. Keep the notes swinging
Hey Tony,
Yep, that’s a good way to start. I think I might have a few of those in the class.
Playing a half step below might be somewhat dissonant…… I’m not sure about that part.
But playing around with it and experimenting with lowered notes, the blues scale, etc, that can work.
-Neal
hey my name is samir im new in the saxophone world >few days ago i started to play in our church but sure i played like a beginner so i need your help to know what i have to do to play saxophone by the ear in another words i want to train my hands and my ears and to play by the ears not by the notes
At school 50 years ago (I’m not kidding) we were taught the recorder, the little woodwind tin whistle-like instrument. I messed around on it for hours at a time and eventually found I could play any tune by ear. Yet I lost that skill and never regained it again on sax. Now, my brain is like a sack of wet cement (I’m kidding – I think) but I would certainly like to regain that ability.
Sometimes I can scat sing reasonable improvisations over backing tracks, so if I could quickly reproduce those on sax by ear it would be great.
Peter
My situation is the same I played as a kid in bugle band and learned all the music by ear. Although I hear the melodies in my head I cannot reproduce them out of my head either on the sax or trumpet nowadays.
Bob
I would like to offer a couple of suggestions for all those wanting to play by ear. I’ve been playing professionally for over 30 years, and am known for my ability to jump into most kinds of bands, no rehearsals, & despite my just winging it, being able to sound like I”m a longtime bandmember.
I strongly suggest you put on any music you like, no matter what genre, & in fact, ideally you want to go all over the musical map, as the more versatile you are, the better your chances at getting gigs. Then, do whatever you would normally do, to relax, get in a good mood, clear your mind, etc, as you should be doing as little thinking & self-criticizing while you are playing. Also, it’s best to be away from other people, so as not to inhibit you, worrying about how you sound… When I first began playing, I would often spend hours a day doing this. I’d put on a record (yeah, they had them back then), & either close my eyes, or play to a mirror at times, and then PRETEND I WAS THAT PERSON! So, it might be Stanley Turrentine, or Trane, or Grover, or Jimi Hendrix, Santana, Jimmy Paige, or Albert King, but I’d take on their persona or “vibe”, imagine I was the lead instrumentalist, & then use the music & approach of the artist as a starting point. I would then go wherever my muse took me, I’d sometimes play my own solos, or play something along the lines of the melody or solo, & sometimes I would just play with the rhythmic groove, playing stuff that someone listening, might say (as my sister used to) “what ARE you playing”? “That doesn’t sound anything like what’s on the record”!!
And she was right sometimes, maybe even many times, it was a long time ago… However, what it did, was allow me to experience playing with great rhythm sections, of various genres, so via “osmosis” I enabled myself to jump in and flow with real bands of various genres, & sound like I know how to play whatever they did, which in fact, I did. I might not be able to describe it in strict musical terms, but when a Latin band played various styles, I could too, only because my ears could hear it, my body feel it, & have it come out the horn making some sense….
The idea is similar to what Kenny Werner speaks of in “Effortless Mastery”, you just still all those pesky thoughts, put yourself in the zone, and just go with the music, much like a skilled surfer jumps on a wave, never knowing for sure how it’ll end up breaking. The point of playing music, among all the others, is to enjoy what you’re doing, be able to use your horn to express what you are feeling, & have fun. I had a guitarist sit in with me a couple weeks ago, an excellent player, but on one song, after I took a solo, I nodded to him to jump in, and he shook his head & said he hadn’t quite figured out the bridge or the chorus, something, but I just told him to just play, & go with it. Sure enough, once he actually was out there playing it, when that section came around, since his mind was parked, he breezed through it with not problem at all.
I’ve done that with countless hesitant, inhibited players, as all that concern ends up becoming self-fulfilling, & they just never sound really happening. I tell them to just go for it, & if they are going to mess up, DO IT WITH AUTHORITY! It’s amazing how much better people play, when taking that approach. When your concerns & self-cricizing die down, the real artist in you, can better do it’s thing, which, when everything is really right in the groove, doesn’t even come from us, but we become a channel, just adding our own personal flavor, as the music moves into & then out through us… In those moments you actually feel like a bystander, watching the music just flowing through you, & on out to the people.
I hope this makes some sense, it is very late, well early in the morning, but I do hope some of you try incorporating a bit of non-structured activity to your practicing, you may be surprised at what happens…
Great, thanks I’ll try it at home!
I do enjoy your articles. please i need more instructions on playing by ear with the saxophone and as well i am not sound in playing along with beats or good timing
Hello, I am a saxophone jazz tenor player addicted in playing jazz saxophone but i have been playing for so many years and but when it comes to music i can solo and fill a a song within the rythyms but for my to scores songs is that that my ear is not tuning well just little ..i only to picked some note by ear but there some of the jazz artist like charlie parker and john coltrane and sonnyrollin there impovisation is fast especially john coltrane ..GIANT STEP…i hardly pick these notes ..what am i going to do.help me>
Don’t worry about it! Someone once handed Trane a sheet of music, he looked at, and asked the guy, “what’s this”? The man told him he had transcribed something Trane had played a few days earlier, and then asked if he could play it for him, to see if he got it right. Well, Trane looked at the music & said, “I’d love to, but I can’t play this, it’s too difficult”……
Great spontaneously improvised solos are not created to be repeated…. You would never find Trane, or Miles, Parker, or Sonny trying to duplicate a solo they had already played, I’m sure they were solely focussed on doing something better the next time, or at least different.
Approach it like a football player, watch the game tape of the one you just played, see if you can pick up ideas about what not to do, how to do better, and what you did that worked well, ….. then put that game behind you, and only focus on the one coming up next.
Thanks Steven,
I didn’t know about that about Coltrane.
About those guys never duplicating a solo they had already played…. I think at least phrases come back. And about Miles Davis, I have heard different recordings of ‘So What’ and his solo on there doesn’t change a lot before recordings.
That’s a good analogy about football, for the Americans anyway, haha.
Well Neal, of course you’ll hear some phrases repeated by players, & sometimes they even help define the artist. We all know many artists have certain “signature licks” & even how their songs are constructed, can have a similar pattern or feel.
The real innovators, well they kept moving on, not satisfied to stay in one area of expression. But no one is going to be 100% original, (despite what Keith Jarrett used to say at one time), but you can imagine how some solos, especially up-tempo ones, by someone like Trane or Brecker, written out, may be too difficult to play, just by reading. I know I couldn’t play many of my own, if they were written out, but then I’m not a great reader, so maybe some cats can, but I wouldn’t sweat it…
Hey Steven,
Definitely. I was thinking more about what you said earlier. I think it’s similar to how we use certain phrases when we speak. Like if you introduce yourself, you might say, “hello, my name is…..” – things like that. It happens in music too.
Joshua Redman said at a clinic I went to recently that really everything he plays in a solo he has played before, but it comes out spontaneously and the solos are not created beforehand.
Hey Eyitayo,
You either want to work on something that you can pick up more easily or slow down the music with software.
You are a selfless person Neal. Giving your time & experience, without pressuring people to pay for everything. I like your style. Personally, I am not currently at a sound financial stage, but I am expecting things to improve soon. I will not hesitate to purchase all of your classes when I am able. There should be more people like you around.
I’m wondering at what point a sax newbie should develop learning by ear, at the expense of learning to read the music? I’ve played the bagpipes for a (very) long time, and am used to very structured music, so I’m sure “ear development” would be useful, but at what point?
Hey Andrew,
I would recommend going ahead with it. Both are important skills. Some people start with learning music before learning to read. Depending on what you want to do, it may be more or less helpful to read or play by ear. If you want to be in a symphony, work more on reading. If you want to play in an R&B band, work more on playing by ear. You probably want to work on both whichever path you take.
-Neal
I would like to knw more about the mode of playing jazz. I also nid d way scales are form inorder to form a solo.
You might be thinking about the notes too much, think about things like rhythm, phrasing, articulation, dynamics, etc too.
The strange thing I have discovered when playing is that my brain will not let me play a completely wrong note. If I finger a wrong note no or very little sound comes out of the horn!! Weird or not??
That is a little strange. Does that ever happen when you’re playing notes that are right?
Keep up the good work, you have been helping a lot, thank you
These are great songs keep doing we like you.