Things You'll Need:
- saxophone
- jazz sheet music or fake book
- jazz music or CDs
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Step 1
Start with the basics. The best way to start to play jazz saxophone is to find some of the classics that are in every jazz book. Jazz fake books and song books will have melodies that you can follow and learn if you are just beginning. Songs such as "Funny Valentine," "I Hear Music," "Blue Train," Besame Mucho, "Caravan," "Green Dolphin Street" and "Moon Dance" are some simple tunes to start you off.
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Step 2
Imitate. Once you start to get the idea of some of the melodies, imitate recordings of the songs on the saxophone. This doesn't just include the melody, but also the improvisation parts that the songs are putting together as they go.
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Step 3
Improvise. Improvising in jazz simply means to go around the notes that you are already on to create a sub-melody. You can do this by finding the chord structure on the music or from the melody, then putting an alteration into that note.
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Step 4
Learn the form. Jazz typically follows the same form, especially if it is classic jazz. This will start with the melody, go into a chorus, then either repeat this or go into an improvisation for 8, 12 or 16 measures. You can follow this in order to learn where your parts should be.
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Step 5
Put everything together. Once you begin to analyze and understand the melody, structure and ways to play the song, you can put everything together and start playing it in order to enjoy the music and to improve on your saxophone skills.
