Saxophone Forum


by YanagisawA-901
(312 posts)
19 years ago

"i want u to play for me!!.."

duuuddde, i cant remember how many times ive told someone i enjoy playing sax and its one of my passions and they go.. " i want u to play for me!! " im like...!!!! cuz i seriously am not that good.. and i kno im not that good.. put me with an ensemble and gimme some chords to work with i might sound decent..but just playing by myself i think most ppl have trouble sounding good cuz thers nothing to work with.. what do u play?? i cant get a mood with nothing?? i suck, suck suck at improv, but if i have a bass line gettn kicked out and a beat on a drum i can get an idea and want to express it thru my horn, it might suck but its an idea.. ..when someone tells me to play for them im like ! cuz i have nothin to work with alone.. does anyone have any light to shed on this subject?? how to maybe get better at playing "accapella" or w/e so when someone asks me hey play for me, i can be somewhat confident in my skill.... ??

Reply To Post [Report Abuse]

Report Abuse

Replies

  1. by connsaxman_jim
    (2336 posts)

    19 years ago

    Re: "i want u to play for me!!.."

    I also play keyboard, so I have sequenced some song on the keyboard with drums and bass, chords, etc. to play along with. You can even download midi files off the internet and play them through your keyboard. I started out playing piano and keyboard when I was 5, and learning to play keys has helped me so much with the other instruments I play. You can try playing along with CD's also. Whenever there is a particular part that I want to learn I play along with a CD over and over until I learn the part. As for playing solo, that's always tough. I'll start joking around on stage and start playing something, maybe even just a lick or something to get people's attention. Like one time I played the intro to the Simpsons and then stopped after the first measure and said "doh" Or I'll play Flint-stones, meet the flint-stone, their the modern stone-age fa-mi-ly....and then someone in the band will yell "Wilma!" It's just fun stuff.

    Reply To Post Yahoo!


  2. by kneejerk52
    (397 posts)

    19 years ago

    Re: "i want u to play for me!!.."

    well i can olny say that when i sat for an hour and a half and listened to Phil Woods and the late Caesar Diaz jam at Caesar's house in the pocono's, he turned and handed my horn back and said play something for me. well needless to say i was at a great loss and proceeded to lay and egg. he then veryly humbly said to me you have good tone, just learn to play as many melodies as posible. if you can do this yu can play for ever by yourself, just as you said not easy to do. keep up the good work and practice hard while your young

    Reply To Post


    1. by YanagisawA-901
      (312 posts)

      19 years ago

      Re: "i want u to play for me!!.."

      so i guess just learn as many lil licks as i can? recognizable tunes, cool sounding patterns and stuff like that? cuz most of the time the people that want me to play for them have never been experienced to music so as long as my tone is warm and i dont ....up a lot, theyll be like "wow thats great" but i dont want that.. i want them to be like.. ....., this kid is doin good.. ya kno?? eehhh

      Reply To Post Yahoo! AIM ICQ


      1. by Firk
        (31 posts)

        19 years ago

        Re: "i want u to play for me!!.."

        a lot of times what i will do to play by myself is play a bassline so to speak while i'm soloing. i'll do somethin like play the 7th and root on each new chord of a blues progression on beats 4 and +. then just fill in the rest with some fun blues stuff. the other week my combo openned up our jazz concert as people walked in. we just grabbed the fake books and walked out there. after while my bass player turned to me and said, "let's play a cookin blues" and which point i told him concert F. they counted off and went one time through. then i came in with what i was mentioning above-a simple little melody with a little embelishing. i just picked it up from there till it was smokin and i turned it over to the keyboard. i came back in with the same melody and finished the tune. i guess what i'm saying is, don't make it harder than it needs to be....well at first atleast. if it sounds good, people will like it, it doesn't need to be Bird or nothin. i prefer sometimes to practice improv by myself because it makes me focus on what i'm doing and where i'm taking the notes. i sometimes make up progressions in my head with II's IV's V's and I's and the sort. pick up some aebersole books too. they're good for theory work. volumes one and two are a good start. check out the local antique stores for old school books. they got some great stuff in them when you can find them. good luck ~Firk

        Reply To Post