Category Archives: Beginner

How to use the blues scale in jazz and sound amazing

A lot of times in jazz you hear a great solo and suddenly a super fat blues lick.
Between the somewhat complicated lines many players often add a super great over the top blues line.
Blues and jazz are right out of the same bag. Learn here how you can play and mix both
In this video I go through some blues scales and blues licks and how to apply on different chord progressions

LINK TO VIDEO

In this tutorial
What is the blues sound?
Why does blues work?
The common blues scale
Blues licks
Using the blues sound in chord progressions
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BASIC BLUES – SOUND GREAT WITH ONLY ONE PENTATONIC SCALE
https://youtu.be/NaK81KNJBiI

Dave Brubeck tune – take 5
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tT9Eh8wNMkw

Dizzy Gillespie – Birks Work
https://youtu.be/nW8i_UfqYNw

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3 super bonanza embouchure exercises using only your mouthpiece

INTONATION, EMBOUCHURE AND VIBRATO – HERE IS HOW TO
3 super bonanza embouchure exercises using only your mouthpiece

I think it is difficult, I am always struggling with this, I have trained this a lot and am still doing it.
Tuning and intonation on the saxophone.
But we need impeccable tuning as saxophone players because one of the things most people can actually hear and relate to is bad tuning and bad intonation!

In this video I will take you through how to tune the saxophone and how to train your intonation.

In this tutorial
Why do you need good intonation?
The difference between tuning and intonation
Get great intonation
The greatest embouchure
Exercise – play a straight note
Exercise – lip bend
Exercise – Vibrato
Great sound is a part of great intonation
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“The overtone manual – exercises and licks – Get better control”
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Shop
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Practice overtones and get a much richer sound and better tone control
https://youtu.be/7AchOxuiDcE​

Sound is everything – get a better sound – exercises and how to’s
https://youtu.be/q9htAAR3SLk

4 of the most effective sound exercises for your daily practise
https://youtu.be/Y5rd49zooJ4

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Mouthpiece is an old Otto Link Babbit – refaced from opening 6 to opening 8/8,5
Alto – The Martin Alto
Soprano – Yanagisawa Elimona
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Blues basics 4 – pentatonics and approach notes

I have divided the pentatonic scale into small groups around the roots of the blues chords. These groups i will use to approach the roots in the blues, its simpler than it sounds 🙂

Blues - with a pentatonic scale_0001 the scale

I have devided the pentatonic scale into groups.
Blues - with a pentatonic scale_0009 groups (2)

the groups are associated with the roots of the chords in the blues. The D, G and A.
Blues - with a pentatonic scale_1 the form

Ill apply the groups and use them to target the root of the next bar.
in the following example i play the root of the chord on beat one. In the bar before I approach the one with the group belonging to the coming root.
Blues - with a pentatonic scale_1
You can see that the root is on the one of each bar and leading to the root I use the notes in the group of the coming root. Leading towards bars with the root D I use F and C as approach notes, leading to a G bar i use A and F and leading to an A bar i use the approach notes C and G. All connected through the groups beloning to the root.

You see in the above example that I in the first bar leading to the second bar, on the four, apply F leading to the G of the second bar. Bar two to three i connect with the approach note C in the group of D. On the ninth bar i apply the G leading to the A. The rule would be that i look in the coming bar for the root and backwards i apply the group beloning to the coming bar.

In the next example i only use the approach note from above. The notes would be F to D, A to G and C to A.
Blues - with a pentatonic scale_2
Its clear that the notes are upper approach note in the groups.

This exercise is only applying the notes below the root.
Blues - with a pentatonic scale_3
C to D, F to G and G to A. Playing towards the target note which in this case is the root.

This way of practising playing towards a target note is quite simple and easy to get used to.
When soloing in jazz music its common practise that you always play towards a target note to get a clear melodic line.

I go on to the next exercise where i change the approach notes. I dont play only one direction anymore but pick the approach note freely, above or below.
Blues - with a pentatonic scale_4

The most important to understand in this lesson to do this a lot, to get this way of playing into your ears and fingers.

in the coming exercise i play the approach note as an eight note so, keeping the same rhythm in the whole exercise but changing which approach note i use, above or below.
Blues - with a pentatonic scale_5

You can always add more rhythm which the next exercise will illustrate.
Playing two eight notes approach and melodically choosing the above or the below lying note.
Blues - with a pentatonic scale_0006
The more notes and rhythm you add before the target note the more complicated it gets of course.

In my next video ill get into more more examples where i use more approach notes.

Let me know if you have questions about this.
I hope that these videos inspires you as much as they inspire me.
Enjoy and have fun playing 🙂

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Blues basics 3 – applying the pentatonic scale chord groups in blues examples

Still playing the (basic) blues!
In this video lesson i give examples in how to apply the, in earlier videos, mentioned groups in a blues solo.


I have made some examples of how you can play the blues using the pentatonic scale divided into groups around the roots of the chords of a basic blues.

Example one – played two times
Blues - with a pentatonic scale_0014 example 1
In these examples i stay inside the groups and in most bars I start the line on the root note.
I start the first bar with the D group – root D one below C and then again the D, second bar i play the root G twice and the note below, the F. third bar – D and switch between the root and the note below C. ending the first four bars with not beginning on the root but answering to the third bar with starting on the note below C thrice and ending on the D.
Fifth bar I do not start on the first beat but on the second beat G F G, the pattern from the very first bar, continuing on the sixth bar repeating the pattern from the fifth bar, but placed on the first beat, as an answer to the fifth bar. The seventh and eights bar I build together in a continuing string of notes D C D C D C D C, getting into the feel of playing longer eight note lines. In the ninth and tenth bar i repeat a pattern in the A group – A A G A but add a tail ending in bar nine on a C and bar ten on a G leading the way towards bar eleven, a rhtymical pattern on the two and four – kind of bass pedal like on the root D and bar twelve A.

Example two:
The lines in this bar is more in continuation of each other, which means that the lines grow longer and are not individually placed but mostly answers or follow up on the previous line.
I also slowly move away from always beginning on the root. Fx. i can start the D group on F or C also, a line on the G group can be started on the F or the A, and in the A group i can start on the G or the C for example.
important to know is that you can start a line on these other notes but due to our limited material the starting note fx the F on a D does not mean that the F really sounds like D. Consider it more a leading tone towards D. The D is still nessesary to make the D bar sound like D.
Blues - with a pentatonic scale_0015 example 2
I begin with a rhytmical pattern on the one and three F D – F D on the second bar i start on the two of the bar playing all the notes of the G group, G F G A, the third bar play as quarter notes F D and end with eight notes C D. The fourth bar where i place two D´s as eight notes on the three sounds like an upbeat for the fifth bar where i continue with the quarternote pattern G G G – eightnotes G F – which i answer on the sixth bar on the second beat F G A G. In the seventh and eight bar i play a line in the group of D which definitely goes over the barline – On two and four i play D D which leads on to the second bar of D – F D and moved rhythmically F D. On the ninth bar i play a standard blues lick A C A C, kind of a shout which gets its answer on the tenth bar G A G A and ending with another answer A G, leading towards lower lines on the elleventh bar D D D C, going even lower ending on the twelvth bar with the shouth from bar ten A C A C as eight notes.

example three:
I now fully play eight note lines, in the bar but also extending the lines over the barlines, which is one of the goals with these exercises. Further i also change from only stating on the regular beats to also start a line on the off beats which gives the lines a more jazzy feeling.
Blues - with a pentatonic scale_0016 example 3
Bar one, i start on the lower note of the D group playing around the Root, C D F D leading towards bar two answering with the G group G F G F G, ending the sentence on bar three and four with a long eight note line over the barline playing around the D – C D F D C D—over the barline to bar four C D. Start a new sentence over the next four bars|G|G|D|D|in bar five, playing the G as off beats in bar five, continuing over the barline to bar six with playing around the G A G F G A G F leading down to the D and still continuing the line in eight notes D C D C D C D C ending in bar eight with an answer to it all leading toward the last D – D F C D. In bar nine i jump into a blues line in quarter notes, as an opposite of the eight notes just played before, A group – C A G continuing on bar ten A C G A ending bar ten leading towards bar 11 with a G going to the F D on bar eleven, Repeating the F D changing it rhythmically, ending on bar twelve with C A C A ready to start fresh on a next round 🙂

I really enjoy making these videos and it inspires me to practise my self, i hope it inspires you to do the same!
Enjoy and have fun playing 🙂

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Blues basics 2 – outlining the chords w/ pentatonic scale

This video is intended for the beginning improviser. I talk about the blues form and how you can easily apply a pentatonic scale and still outline the basic chord progression.
This is the second video in the series.

Blues - with a pentatonic scale_0001 the scale
In the pentatonic scale of D minor, the notes D F G A C D, i find all the notes of the roots of the simple blues form.
on the first degree a D, on the fourth degree the G and on the fifth degree the A.

Blues - with a pentatonic scale_0005 the form
As you see the first bar is a D, second bar is G third and fourth bar is a D, in the fifth and sixth bar you have G, seventh and eights bar is D, ninth and tenth bad is A, the elleventh bar is D and the twelth bar is A.

I divided the pentatonic scale into three groups, one around each root of the basic blues scheme.
Blues - with a pentatonic scale_0009 groups (2)
The groups consists of the root + one note from the pentatonic above the root and one note below the root.

The D group is root D + F above and C below, G group is root G + A above and F below, A group is root A + C above and G below.
These notes are all diatonic notes to the D pentatonic scale.

I will now slowly start improvising with these groups over the blues. This means that i actually outline the roots of the chords but still stay within very simpel and understandable material.

To learn the groups well you can play the following exercises.
Blues - with a pentatonic scale_0009 the groups exerciseD
You should try to learn these exercises by heart to be able to play it when you hear it and not when you see this on paper.

You can play these exercises using a metronome to also practise your timing while leaning these groups.
The is the group of G
set the metronome on fx. two and four. Blues - with a pentatonic scale_0010 the groups exerciseG

The group of A
metronome on 2+4 a bit faster.
Blues - with a pentatonic scale_0011 the groups exerciseA

Start slowly with the metronome in a slow tempo and get the notes into your ears and fingers.

Blues - with a pentatonic scale_0009 groups (2)
The groups are defined by the roots of the blues.
The D group is root D + F above and C below, G group is root G + A above and F below, A group is root A + C above and G below.
Sourrounding the roots with the closest by diatonic notes of the D minor pentatonic scale.

Ill play a few more examples so you can see how to get on with this concept and use it yourself in youor solos.

The first example:
Blues - with a pentatonic scale_0012 groups+form exercise1
This example plays a steady rhythm on all bars and applys root of the group and the note below the root. fx. on D group the D and the C. Play through the form many times till you have this very firmly in your ears and fingers.

In the next exercise i change the rhythm and the note choice.
Blues - with a pentatonic scale_0013 groups+form exercise2
I now play the group root + the note above, fx in the G group i play the G and the Bb.

Try to lear the groups by heart and play as much as you can over the blues with the groups till its firmly planted in your ears and in your fingers.

I wish you very much good luck with this and hope to see you back soon.
Enjoy and have fun playing 🙂

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Blues basics 1 – outlining the chords w/ pentatonic scale

This video is intended for the beginning improviser. I talk about the blues form and how you can easily apply a pentatonic scale and still outline the basic chord progression.

Ill play the D blues and apply the Dminor pentatonic scale to the blues.
Blues - with a pentatonic scale_0001 the scale
The notes are D F G A C D
To get the scale in your fingers and ears and down to the saxophone you should definitely play the scale over the whole range of the horn. Blues - with a pentatonic scale_0002 the scale whole range
From low D to the high F and back to the low D

Keep exercising the scale until you master it on the saxohone but als able to hear and recognize it.

The next exercise is playing the pentatonic scale from every step of the pentatonic scale from the D going 7 notes up and back to the D. Continuing from the F and 7 notes up and back. repeating this from every step of the scale.
Blues - with a pentatonic scale_0003 scale exercise every step

If you can play it up you can also play it down:
Blues - with a pentatonic scale_0004 scale exercise every step down
These exercises trains your fingers but also your ears to hear the scale.

To play the blues you also need the form of the blues. I made a very simple blues scheme to practise on.
Blues - with a pentatonic scale_0005 the form
I use only the first, fourth and the fifht degree of the blues. First degree D7, fourth G7 and fifth degree A7.
The first chord is a D7 chord, then follows a G7, then two times D7.
In the 5th and 6th bar you find two times a G7 chord and there after in the 7th and 8th bar we have again two times D7.
The 9th and 10th bar we have the A7, in the 11th bar we have the D7 and ending in the 12th bar with a A7.

You can practise the form by only using the roots of the chords. Play the roots for four beats each follying the progression of the form
Blues - with a pentatonic scale_0006 the root
When you have gotten used to the roots of the chords playing them without music you should try applying music, pick a simple playalong track of the blues.

Blues - with a pentatonic scale_0006 the root
play this a couple of times so you get used to the sound of the music.

You can of course change the ocatve of the root. Try to improvise with what octave you play the root in.
I play the following round written down and there after I improvise two rounds woth playing the roots in different octaves.
Blues - with a pentatonic scale_0007 the root octaves

+ two rounds improvised:
Blues - with a pentatonic scale_0005 the form

With this exercise i can explore the different sounds of the roots in different octaves and i can learn the how the chords of the blues move. Play these exercises intensly to learn this by heart, when you improvise you do not have time to check papers, the music has to come directly from your ear and be channeled directly to your saxophone.

When this is learned you can start applying different rhythms to the root notes of the blues.
Start change the rhythm and fool around with the different possiblities of rhythm in the bar, still playing only the root.
I made a little exercise of this. I have written out one chorus of blues and thereafter i will continue to improvise for two more choruses.
Blues - with a pentatonic scale_0008 root + rhythm
I continue for two more rounds:
Blues - with a pentatonic scale_0005 the form

i only use 8th notes in this exercise because i want to have that nice swing feel which is one of the most important factors in jazz. more advanced rhythmic patterns like triplets and 16th notes figures can be applied later. Now its time for the basics of the blues.
Listen to count basis, duke ellington, sammy nestico bigband music to get this feeling.

I hope you can use the notes,
Enjoy and have fun playing 🙂

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Diatonic approach 3 – diatonic 7th chords

In this video lesson I talk about the different 7th chords on a II-V-I in Dmajor.

I start with the scale of Dmajor, the scale has two sharps with the notes D-E-F#-G-A-B-C#.

Diatonic Approach 3 Diatonic 7th chords on a II-V-I in D - Dmajor scale

I strongly recommend that you learn the scale, the notes and how it sounds on the saxophone.
Here is an exercise how to learn the scale even better.

Diatonic Approach 3 Diatonic 7th chords on a II-V-I in D - Dmajor scale full range

The exercise start on the low D going to the high E, going back down to the low C# and ending on the low D.
This extends the exercise to almost the whole range of the saxophone and you develop your technique likewise. You can put any form to your exercises but make sure the meaning of the exercise stays intact, technique, speed, extremities of the horn etc.

This lesson will further discuss the diatonic 7th chords on a II-V-I in Dmajor. On each note of the Dmajor scale you have a chord that consist of 4 notes. I will play those chords.

Diatonic Approach 3 Diatonic 7th chords on a II-V-I in D - 7th chords of the scale

Dmaj7 on the D – D-F#-A-C#, Em7 on the E – E-G-B-D, F#m7 on F# – F#-A-C-E, Gmaj7 on G – G-B-D-F#, A7 on A – A-C#-E-G, Bm7 on B – B-D-F#-A, C#ø7 on C# – C#-E-G-B.
All these 7th chords are very important tools to use in a solo, but also gives you an overview of the scale and the functions.
I will now play an exercise to get to learn the diatonic 7th chords better.
This exercise have a written out rhythm in it and is fitting in a 4-bar period.

Diatonic Approach 3 Diatonic 7th chords on a II-V-I in D - 7th chord exercise1

You can make up any exercise in this matter pplaying the 7th chords going up or down, or both as long as the exercise fits whatever purpose you want to achieve.

The next exercise is the 7th chords going up but with no break in between, big breath!

Diatonic Approach 3 Diatonic 7th chords on a II-V-I in D - 7th chord exercise2 - no break

This exercise you can easily play as 8th notes as here, but you can also play it as 16th notes with the metronome on the 1 of the bar, training the 7th chords and your timing.
You can also play the chords going down instead of up.

You can also try this exercise playing one chord up – one chord down. Looks like this.

Diatonic Approach 3 Diatonic 7th chords on a II-V-I in D_7th chords up+down

Ill play this exercise faster to give an example of that you need to know this material very well.

The II-V-I in Dmajor have three different chords Em7 – A7 – Dmaj7.
Out of these chords you can find other diatonic 7th chords which also spells out the function of the II-V-I.
I extend the chords of the I-V-I to Em11 – A9 – Dmaj9

The first chords is Em11.

Diatonic Approach 3 Diatonic 7th chords on a II-V-I in D_Em9

On the Em11 – E-G-B-D-F#-A, you find three different 7th chords.
On the first degree of the Em11 you will of course find the Em7 – E-G-B-D.
On the third degree of the Em11 you have a Gmaj7 chord – G-B-D-F# and on the 5th degree of the Em11 you have a Bm7 – B-D-F#-A.

Diatonic Approach 3 - Diatonic 7th chords on a II-V-I in D_A9

On the dominant function of the II-V-I – the V, A9 – A-C#-E-G-B, we have two 7th chords, the A7 – A-C#-E-G and the C#ø7 – C#-E-G-B.

On the dominant function, A9, and on our tonic function, Dmaj9, we only have twho chords because if we get higher we get to the fourth degree of the chord which clashes very much with the third degree of the A9 – a D against the C# and the Dmaj9 – a G against a F#.

Diatonic Approach 3 - Diatonic 7th chords on a II-V-I in D_ Dmaj9

The root, our tonic function Dmaj9 – D-F#-A-C#-E we also have two chords, Dmaj7 – D-F#-A-C# and F#m7 – F#-A-C#-E.

Get to know these chords and functions well, they are very valuable in your soloing, transcribing solos of others and generally understanding music and what´s happening.

Fx. you dont always have to play up or down the Dmaj7 chord on Dmaj7 but you can easily use the F#m7 chord up or down. On the A7 you can use the A7 of course but also consider the C#ø7 chord which gives another sound. On the Em7 chord you even have three possibilities which are the Em7, the Gmaj7 and the Bm7 chord, check them all out.

Example 1 – II-V-I in Dmajor.

Diatonic Approach 3 Diatonic 7th chords on a II-V-I in D_no1

I start on the high D going down the Em7 chord, jumping up to the C#, going down the scale jumping down to the middle B playing up the Bm7 chord dragging over the Em7 (Bm7 chord) over the barline to A7 playing a small bebop lick going down the A7 scale to the C# of the Dmajor running up the C#ø7 chord of the A7 on the Dmaj7 approaching via the B+D, on top the C# going down the Dmaj7 7th chord ending on the C#.

Example 2 – II-V-I in Dmajor.

Diatonic Approach 3 Diatonic 7th chords on a II-V-I in D_no2

Starting on a Em11 chord in triplets going up to the A approaching the G through the A+F#, further approaching the F# on the A7 via G+E, jumping down to the low C# running up the C#ø7 chord ending high on a D+F# approaching the E, goiong down the scale to hit the C# on the Dmaj7 chord, jumping down to the D to play the Dmaj9 chord up approaching the D via E+C#, running from D up the Dmaj9 chord.
hint: check my video on diatonic approach notes here

Example 3 – II-V-I in Dmajor.

Diatonic Approach 3 Diatonic 7th chords on a II-V-I in D_no3

Going up the Gmaj7 chord of the Em9 approaching, through the F#+A, the G, going down the scale and via the D+B approaching the C# of the A9, playing the whole A9 chord in a triplet figure up to the high D of the Dmaj7, further up to the high F# going down the scale to the C#, jumping down playing the F#m7 up jumping to the A using a Coltrane line 5-3-2-1 on the Dmaj7 ending on the C#.

I hope you enjoyed the video and hope to see you back soon.

Check out my other videos

Diatonic Approach 2 – diatonic triads

In this video I talk about how to use diatonic triads in Gmajor.
Further i present the triads in the Gmajor scale and a II-V-I in G.

Diatonic triads is a strong tool which you can use in your soloing. Further by knowing the diatonic triads you get more overview of the theory of what you are playing. You get to know where all the chords are from and you attain flexibility in you improvisation.

The material we will work on is the G major scale:
Diatonic Approach 2 - Triads_0001 - G major scale
Diatonic means that you are only using notes that are in the scale, so no notes outside the scale.

You would want to know your material by heart and also over the whole range of the saxophone.
The next exercise will help you with this.
Diatonic Approach 2 - Triads_0001 - G major scale - full range

The triads of the scale are each on one of the notes of the scale. This means you get 7 different triads in a major scale:
on the note G in the scale you have a Gmajor triad, on A you have a Aminor triad, on B you have a Bminor triad, on C you have a C major triad, on D you have a D major triad, on E you have a E major triad, on F# you have a F# diminished triad.
Diatonic Approach 2 - diatonic triads of the scale

here is an exercise how to get this into your fingers:
Diatonic Approach 2 - Triads_0001 - Diatonic triads up
This exercise is written to cover the whole range of the saxophone. Its important that you have flexibility with all material over the whole range of the saxophone because when you improvise you never know how you react to what is happening around you in a band. Maybe you need those high or low notes.

The exercise i just played was written with a little pause in between the triads, the next exercise is not,big breath!
Diatonic Approach 2 - Triads_0001 - Diatonic triads up - no rest
This exercise without the pause in it will save you time when you practise, a very small amount but everytime you play the exercise you save this time, which you can use to practise more.

You can play the triads both up and down, like in the next exercise, first triad going up second triad going down:
Diatonic Approach 2 - Triads_0001 - Diatonic triads up+down
The exercises mentioned here are free to use anyway you want, play the triads up, down, cluster them in groupings etc.
Its important that you know your material well to get more freedom in your soloing. Learn the names of the triads, make you own exercises, learn the triads over the whole range of the saxophone.

Ill now present the material of a II-V-I in G major – Am9 – D7(9) – Gmaj7(9).
There are different triads on each of these chords which i will explain in the following exercise:
Diatonic Approach 2 - Triads_0001 - Diatonic triads structures Am
The first chord, the Am9 with the notes A-C-E-G-B consists of three triads, the Aminor triad on the first degree of the Am9 chord A-C-E, the Cmajor triad on the third degree of the Am9 triad – C-E-G and the Eminor triad on the fifth degree of the Am9 chord – E-G-B.

The next chord in our II-V-I is the D7(9)
Diatonic Approach 2 - Triads_0001 - Diatonic triads structures D7
We begin with the complete D7(9) chord – D-F#-A-C-E. The triads of this chord is Dmajor triad on the first degree – D-F#-A. On the third degree of the D7(9) chord we have the F# diminished triad – F#-A-C and on the fifth degree we have the Aminor triad – A-C-E.

The last chord of our II-V-I is the Gmajor 9 chord – G-B-D-F#-A.
Diatonic Approach 2 - Triads_0001 - Diatonic triads structures Gmaj7
The three triads on the Gmaj9 chord are: on the first degree, Gmajor triad – G-B-D, on the third degree, the Bminor triad – B-D-F# and on the fifth degree there is the Dmajor triad – D-F#-A.

One of the best ways to get this material into your fingers is naturally to play the above mentioned exercises but as soon as you know the material just a bit start to get it into live material like lines you make and play, licks etc.

I have made some examples of lines that uses the diatonis triads, the first line:
Diatonic Approach 2 - Triad lick 1
I start playing a Eminor triad down ending on a B going up the Cmajor triad. Using diatonic approach notes G and E to hit the F# on the D7 chord. Playing down the scale from F# to D jumping down to a F# playing up the F# diminished triad running down the scale from C to A. Jumping up to a D on the Gmajor9 shord playing down the Bminor chord ending on a E on Gmajor9.

The next example:
Diatonic Approach 2 - Triad lick 2
I start with a Eminor triad on the B jumping down to play the triad up, playing the scale down from a till E. Jumping on to the D7(9) dragging the Aminor triad to the D7(9) in a triplet playing it down. I use the diatonic approach notes G and E to get to the F# playing down the scale. eight note rest on Gmajor9 playing the Bminor triad down ending on an A repeating the Bminor triad ending on the low D approaching the end F# with a E – A to F#.

The third example:
Diatonic Approach 2 - Triad lick 3
I play up the Aminor triad with a triplet figure, ending on the high G going down the Cmajor triad using a diatonic approach over the barline G – E to F# of the D9 playing down the Dmajor triad, jumping to the high B playing down the scale extending the F# over the barline playing down the Bm triad jumping up to the F# going down the scale to pull over a D across the barline to end on a Bm triad going down ending on an E.

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