Saxophone Forum


by Sonny Swingin
(9 posts)
18 years ago

Enough With Embrouchure questions and on with the real deal

Hey every one if you haven't been able to tell by my name Im a huge fan of sonny rollins, just can't get enough of him, I am trying to get more transcriptions of his off the net but am have trouble gettin his good ones. Ive gotten st. thomas though, great song, I also want to know other must have songs of this Collosal saxaphone figure. A man of true greatness SONNY ROLLINS

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  1. by jamterry
    (573 posts)

    18 years ago

    Re: Enough With Embrouchure questions and on with the real deal

    Buy "ALFIE" and " East Broadway Run Down". Get somebody to run the stereo while you stand up amd play with it. Don't let the net be your safety net. Stand up and play. The good transcriptions are those that you get with your ear. Then you can play that stuff in your sleep. Another benefit is that you will hear other great musicians like J.J. Johnson, Jimmy Garrison. Kenny Burrell, Elvin Jones, and Freddy Hubbard. It's way more fun, and you can learn any tune that want to. Have Fun :)

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    1. by MarkLavelle
      (300 posts)

      18 years ago

      Re: Enough With Embrouchure questions and on with the real deal

      I'll second that. I've never met a better-than-average soloist (especially jazz) who learned from transcriptions. Being able to play what you hear in your head is the key skill (not that *I've* got it!)...

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      1. by jamterry
        (573 posts)

        18 years ago

        Re: Enough With Embrouchure questions and on with the real deal

        You have the mindset !!!! That will take you higher. Listen to some Latin amd Asian music when you get a chance. Some of those scales have quarter tones which you can do with your emboucher. American jazz is just one genre from which you get ideas. I go to asia every year for my holiday. There is a guy in Vietnam that walks the streets playing guitar and singing. He is blind and has a guide carrying a bullhorn hooked up to a mic and his guitar. He plays riffs just like they do on traditional Vietnamese stringed instruments. I pick up those licks for my sax and keyboards. The possiblities in improvisation are endless. I also listen to Flamenco licks, and there is not enough time in a day to learn new stuff. I think that some people want to take a course, read a theory book. buy $10,000 worth of mouthpieces and ligatures and expect to be jazz players. I like your attitude, and I wish you all the best :) Terry

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      2. by knorter
        (205 posts)

        18 years ago

        Re: Enough With Embrouchure questions and on with the real deal

        I'm clarifying-When you say transcriptions do you mean written solos? Because if you mean that you've never met a better than average soloist who learned from imitating recordings of others I will have to strongly disagree with you. Terry knows how I feel on this subject. I know that technically the "scribe" part of the word means to write it down but over the years it has evolved to mean " to learn another's solo". I just didn't want less experienced musicians to think that learning from the pros wasn't important.

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        1. by jamterry
          (573 posts)

          18 years ago

          Re: Enough With Embrouchure questions and on with the real deal

          test

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        2. by jamterry
          (573 posts)

          18 years ago

          Re: Enough With Embrouchure questions and on with the real deal

          Kristy, sometimes I don't explain stuff very well. . Kristy is absolutely right !!!! I transcribe countless solos from many types of music. I retain what I like and discard what I don't like. Kristy is dead right when she says to learn from the pros. When I was a kid I got fed to the lions. My teacher used to say OK, what are you working on? Then he would put on the record, yank the needle off, and criticize me. I had another teacher who was a writing genius. He could write from memory, and really fast. He played piano while I sight read my part. I had all those solos on paper which was nice. I didn't have to write either way. Some of you less experienced players might do well to take a piano class. My point is that I think you will benefit more by transribing on your own. Whether you write, or do it by ear, try do do it off the recording. It's good ear training :) Kristy, you and I pretty much agree on most everything, about NO MAGIC JAZZ PILLS !!!! :) Terry

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        3. by MarkLavelle
          (300 posts)

          18 years ago

          Re: Enough With Embrouchure questions and on with the real deal

          The original post said 'trying to get more transcriptions', with the clear implication being written-out solos, and that's what I was advising against. On the other hand, I think figuring out by yourself what's going on in great performances is one of the *best* ways to build your ear (although some theory on the side can certainly help). I guess it can still be called 'transcription' *if* you write down what you figure out, but that's entirely secondary to the learning by ear part

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      3. by flatfive
        (3 posts)

        18 years ago

        Re: Enough With Embrouchure questions and on with the real deal

        The guy who runs www.saxsolos.com has a bunch of trancsriptions for sale. $0.50 per page if I recall. He has some free samples too. I am working on Sonny's Blue 7. He has Tenor Madness and I'm sure a few other Sonny solos.

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