How to Play Jazz Saxophone

The saxophone is a popular and very important sound in jazz music. Playing the jazz saxophone can be a hot commodity in a jazz band or a good way to showcase your expertise with the instrument. However, playing jazz music on a saxophone isn't quite as simple as playing traditional music; everything from timing and improve must be perfected for optimum appeal. Learn how you can play the jazz saxophone well.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Learn the basics of playing the saxophone before embarking on jazz playing. Elicit the help of a knowledgeable teacher and learn classical sax first.

2. Practice your scales religiously; jazz music is often made of broken and augmented scales and this practice will help immensely with improvisation technique. Train your ear by listening to scales and melodies and then locate the key on your instrument.

3. Drill technique; practice tonguing, alternate fingerings, and learn a wide range of dynamic contrast to help with the fluidity of your playing. Learn all of your chords and chord progressions front and back, this is the foundation to all music.

4. Soak up as much music theory as possible; knowing the mechanics behind the music will help when you begin playing the jazz saxophone alone or with a band. Listen to extensive amounts of jazz and blues music and identify the chords and scale progressions in the music.

5. Find a group to play with; try playing the music written at first and slowly try adding your knowledge of scales, chords and theory to help improve. Be patient as a good jazz saxophonist knows the importance of timing and fluidity.

Tips & Warnings

• Sing along with the music, this will help you train your ear.
• Play with character. You can play all the correct notes and it will sound bad if you do not have character in your music. Work on putting the spirit of jazz in your music.
• Once you know all the rules, break them. Jazz is about spontaneity and giving the music life. Experiment and have fun with it once you know the basics.

Resources

• Practice with some online lessons for playing jazz sax.
• This website is a great resource for anything to do with jazz.
• Read jazz saxophonist Dave Renz's tips for playing.
• Here is another great artist resource for budding jazz saxophonists.