The changes for this solo are C-7 D-7 A-7 F-7 (concert pitch)
So D-7 E-7 B-7 G-7 for tenor sax and soprano sax.
A-7 B-7 F#-7 D-7 for alto sax and bari sax.
Going to teach the solo I played over it, piece by piece.
There first part sounds like this:
piece_1 (mp3, right click and save onto your computer)
Visually, the first six notes look like this.
Those notes are G, A, G then A, C, B on tenor sax.
That would make them D, E, D then E, G, F# on alto sax.
Listen to the recording a few times to get the rhythm and articulation.
Let me know if you have questions!
And leave a comment once you get the first piece!
Brooks says
A baritone sax player on youtube with the same last name as the new commie mayor of NYC preaches the same sermon as Neal. He calls it “tempo de learno”—slow down so that you can read ahead and play without mistakes.
Neal says
Yep, you don’t want to practice mistakes so they become habit.
Most things become more manageable at a slower tempo.
jeff says
ok .I have sheet music I try to play, don’t know if I am playing it right. but it sounds like it cause I know the song. As for my scales still working on them. I play c – Dd that’s what I am working on. what did you find to be the best way to memorize them just repetition?
Neal says
Hey Jeff,
To memorize the scales?
Repetition is necessary and slowing down. Finding the tricky transitions between notes will help you focus your practice more effectively.
jeff says
hi neal my question is what dose D-7 E-7 F#7 B-7 ALL STUFF MEAN?
Neal says
Hey Jeff,
Those are called chord symbols, used a lot in jazz and some other styles. In classical music, from what I have seen, the notes of chords are usually written out.
Each symbol stands for a whole chord. If you just saw letters, D, E, F#, B. That would imply triads- three note chords.
The minus sign means it’s a minor chord.
The seven means it’s a seventh chord, a four note chord.
You want to know your major scales before getting too far into this though. Otherwise it’s like trying to read philosophy without knowing the alphabet. How are you doing with the major scales?
-Neal
Kelly Dacey says
Sounds Great Neal!!
Neal says
Thanks
Jerry Price says
My question is should I be playing G, A, G, THEN A, C, B OR D-7, E-7, B-7, G-7.
D-7 = D, F#, A, C
E-7= E, G#, B, D
B-7= B, D#, F#, A
G-7= G, B, D, F
Neal says
Hey Jerry,
That’s a good question actually. You can’t really play multiple notes on a saxophone at once, so I would suggest taking them one at a time. If you want to play what I played, which could be a good starting place, then play the notes I listed (G, A, G, etc). If you wanted to come up with something of your own, then looking to the chords could help.
How you defined the chords, isn’t quite right though and would probably sound funny. The minus sign (-) means minor. So you’re going to have minor thirds in all of those chords and you wrote out major thirds for each one.
The first notes of what I played in my solo were G, A, G, then A, C, B (individual notes). I didn’t come in on beat one of the beginning of the changes though. You want to look at the context and timing of where I came in if you want to compare it to the changes.