Got a new book...

[Nick Cook]

...Swing Standards Tenor Saxophone, and really enjoying the tunes.

I'd wanted to play Mack the Knife as a solo at our next concert and got this book as it has a CD with it and all the tunes have with and without sax tracks.

I get very confuesd with this version though, the key changes from G Maj to Ab Major in the middle and I keep playing F# and wondering why it doesn't sound right!
I also keep getting Ab and Bb on ledger lines wrong! But I'm sure I'll get there!

I'm now thinking of doing 2 pieces at the concert - Caravan by Duke Ellington as the other piece.

 

[Taz]

Way to go Nick, there's nothing like setting yourself little challenges to help yourself get on. I hope you do/ I'm sure you'll do really well!

 

[Nick Cook]

Did a bit more practising on Mack the Knife last night - and it's even more confusing that I thought!!!

So, it goes from 1 sharp to 4 flats. A bit further along it changes to 3 sharps (in the middle of a line) then back to 1 flat!!!

I'll get there though!!!

 

[Pete Thomas]

That all sounds likely, it's going a up a semitone each chorus, quite usual for that tune. But are you sure the last change is to one flat, two would make more sense so it goes up:

G Ab A Bb.

And it should change in the middle, only at the end/beginning of the choruses.

 

[kevgermany]

It might be easier if you listen to the tune whilst reading the notes, then the change of key will get locked into your musical memory, so be less of a shock as you read the dots. Key changes are quite common, and assuming it's all major, it's starting in G major, up a semitone to Ab major, then another semitone to A major - then back down to F major.

I'm in the middle of struggling through a simple gospel medley - and one tune (Amen) in the medley is played 3 successive keys, albeit with only one change of key signature. And if you listen to Baker St that we discussed q little while ago, there are some key changes there to listen out for.


Sorry, didn't see Pete's post before I posted this.

 

[Nick Cook]

That all sounds likely, it's going a up a semitone each chorus, quite usual for that tune. But are you sure the last change is to one flat, two would make more sense so it goes up:

G Ab A Bb.

And it should change in the middle, only at the end/beginning of the choruses.

It could well be 2 flats at the end - I haven't got the music here with me!!

 

[Nick Cook]

Mack the Knife bit me on the bum again last night. A couple of Eb's sounded completely wrong, couldn't figure out why - on closer inspection, they were E#'s (bloody enharmonics). Sounded much better then!!!!