How to Do a Jazz Improvisation for Tenor Saxophone

Improvisation expresses a musician's creativity. Many great jazz tenor saxophone players were famous for improvisation. The saxophone is especially suited for improvisation in that it allows for smooth, legato runs to be improvised with a wide range of subtle intonation.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Start by playing the melody straight and unaltered to thoroughly understand it. The melody as written acts as the backbone or foundation of the improvisation.

2. Improvise within the harmonic structure of the melody. The melody is the catalyst for the improvisation--alter the notes of the melody based on the melody's composition.

3. Base the improvisation on the chord changes. The chord changes provide the direction or points of change for the shifts in the improvisation. As the other musicians play chord changes, the improvising musician should alter the notes to go with them.

4. Pay close attention to not only the harmony but the rhythm. The tenor saxophone must harmonize and be on the same beat as everyone else.

5. Play a chromatic variation on the notes in the chord. The saxophone improvisation can take each note in the chromatic scale of the song's chords and blend back into a fresh version. Rifting up and down the scale is a simple but effective improvisation, but don't do that for the entire improvisation as it quickly begins to sound more like tuning up rather than turning on.