Playing the saxophone After major and minor?

[FastFred]

What should I do next after major and minor and maiden voyage? I can now improvise quite well around those books but on the more difficult chords I generally play by ear which works well.
My main goal is to create more melodic lines and I can't do that even though I can hear the notes before I hit the keys. Is that just practice and listening to more jazz?
What Aebersold books should I go for next for a jazz learner?

 

[half diminished]

What should I do next after major and minor and maiden voyage? I can now improvise quite well around those books but on the more difficult chords I generally play by ear which works well.
My main goal is to create more melodic lines and I can't do that even though I can hear the notes before I hit the keys. Is that just practice and listening to more jazz?
What Aebersold books should I go for next for a jazz learner?

Getting it together Vol 21 is worth a look.

I also just bought 'Band in a box' which is fun. I would say transcribing solos and leaning to play them is a good thing also. Working on Dexter's Three O Clock in the Morning at present.

 

[Linky Lee]

I definitely agree with doing some transcriptions and learning to play them.
Go through your library and pick out some tunes that have solos in you think are great.

Transcribe them and learn to play them, but learn to play them in the style of the player on the recording. All the inflections, the phrasing, articulation etc.

I've been having trouble with the tone on my tenor the last few weeks, though the alto I'm really happy with. It was getting me down a bit so started doing more long tones and really focussing on getting the tone back all to no avail.

Yesterday I decided to get my Hank Mobley transcriptions out and started playing along - voila! I found my sound again after a few minutes and I was manipulating the tone to be more like Hank's.

Another idea might be to look at some alternative sounds to play over the tunes you have already learnt and/or some different styles.
Maybe you want to look at the altered scale or diminished scale and mix them in. Or may if you've been improvising in a dixie style you want to look at funk and rhythmic improvising.

 

[half diminished]

I can now improvise quite well around those books but on the more difficult chords I generally play by ear which works well.

I'm no expert (ha hardly a beginner!! ) but I have heard it said by those 'professional jazz musos' that you practice like mad and then forget it all and just play intuitively when you improvise. Sonny Rollins was one of the biggest exponents of 'going for it' and I believe he did little or no practice around scales/licks which is why he could be brilliant and inspiring one minute and then rubbish another when the 'inspiration' left him.

So playing by ear/feel is a very good thing but know your basics/chords/scales well.

 

[spike]

You might want to have a look at ii-V7-I 's
It'll help you use what you've just learned
gruss - spike

 

[Andrew Sanders]

Guten Abend Spike. Wie geht's?
Good to see you back
Andrew

 

[spike]

Alles klar Monsieur Sanders - und selbst? - It's tea-time - mine's a Weissbier - gruss - spike

 

[Pete Thomas]

Yes, nice to see you back Spike, I was just wondering the other day where you were.

To Fastfred, I would try to get hold of the Alfred mastertracks playalongs, I think they are nicer than most Aebesolds

 

[Andrew Sanders]

Alles klar Monsieur Sanders - und selbst? - It's tea-time - mine's a Weissbier - gruss - spike

Sehr sehr gut danke.
Weissbier mmmmm. Roll it along the bar to dislodge the sludge
und Prost!!!!

 

[AndyB]

Any idea why Aebersold used that order of keys on the CDs? It isnt the order of 4ths or 5ths. Just curious. I ripped the CD and burned another in order of the cycle of 4ths.