Playing the saxophone Learn to play by ear or by reading music

[Jeanette]

Keep on practicing the tunes you've "done". It will help your memory and make playing by ear easier.

Still practising 🙂

I've had a go at Frere Jacques starting on G, no cheating yet, just listening to my tutor playing I've got

GABG GABG BCD(octave key) BCD(octave key) DED(all with ocatve key) CBG repeat GDG GDG.

Any good?

Jx

 

[Taz]

What does your ear tell you?

 

[Jeanette]

What does your ear tell you?

I don't trust it yet 🙂

But I'm reasonably confident

Jx

 

[jbtsax]

I don't trust it yet 🙂 But I'm reasonably confident Jx

That is spot on. It sounds like you need a shot of self-confidence. Someday you might want to try singing the song and thinking in terms of (movable do) "solfege" like this:

| do re mi do | do re mi do | mi fa sol | mi fa sol | sol la sol fa mi do | sol la sol fa mi do | do sol do | do sol do |

When you can think of a tune like this, it becomes easy to move it from one key to the next, if you know the major scale in that key. This is also a way to begin to think of tunes intervallically or in intervals.

What song is this the beginning of? | do do | ti sol la ti do | do la | sol | la fa | mi do re mi fa | re ti do re mi | do |

Here's a hint: the do to do in the first measure is an octave. Maybe it could be written do1 do2 or something like that.

 

[Jeanette]

That is spot on. It sounds like you need a shot of self-confidence.

In respect of playing sax I need a barrel load never mind just a shot 🙂

Someday you might want to try singing the song and thinking in terms of "solfege" like this:

Ok will have a go

What song is this the beginning of? | do do | ti sol la ti do | do la | sol | la fa | mi do re mi fa | re ti do re mi | do |

My singing is rubbish I'll have ago at playing it or is that cheating?

Jx

 

[richardr]

What song is this the beginning of? | do do | ti sol la ti do | do la | sol | la fa | mi do re mi fa | re ti do re mi | do |

This has me foxed as well. If I can work it out without an instrument I'll be on my way to sight-singing!

 

[Jonesy]

Is it "Memories" from Cats?

 

[richardr]

What song is this the beginning of? | do do | ti sol la ti do | do la | sol | la fa | mi do re mi fa | re ti do re mi | do |

@jbtsax I'm ashamed that I haven't got the answer but I think that this kind of exercise might be very useful in improving my ability to play by ear and shift round different keys. Is there a name for it? I should imagine that such exercises are available for free download if I know where to look. I'd like to start with something easier - big intervals are difficult.

 

[Colin the Bear]

London's Burning. That takes me back to school recorder group age 8ish. We used to do it as a round. Good for harmony and timing. I seem to remember "Thou Knave" in choir" and that old favourite "Inch worm".

 

[Alice]

Inch worm, I used to like that one too.

 

[Colin the Bear]

All the " Sound of Music" tunes are good ear tutors. Drive you mad further down the road. 😉

 

[Alice]

I loved it when everyone harmonised perfectly, it was so much fun.

 

[Colin the Bear]

It is a film. They rehearse and take months to record the sound track. And the voices you hear may not belong to the faces you see.

 

[Alice]

It is a film. They rehearse and take months to record the sound track. And the voices you hear may not belong to the faces you see.

Oh no, I meant at school, in class 🙂

 

[richardr]

What song is this the beginning of? | do do | ti sol la ti do | do la | sol | la fa | mi do re mi fa | re ti do re mi | do |

It's occurred to me as I was showering this morning that it could be Ravenscroft's solo in Baker Street. The first few notes seem to fit but my memory of relative pitch isn't good enough to be sure.

 

[Alice]

Yes are all the dos the same or are some an octave higher?
Never mind, I just the read the thread and found JBT's edited post.

 

[richardr]

In Baker Street the first two "dos" are an octave apart. That's what led me to my guess but I haven't worked it out properly - my "ear" isn't good enough and I'd need an instrument to be sure which would be cheating.
If I could work out the melody by "ear" alone without an instrument I'd be able to sight-sing.

 

[richardr]

Recognising intervals instantly and accurately must be the key to playing fluently by ear. At present I can do this far better on my saxophone than without an instrument but I'm far from perfect, as my efforts with jbtsax's puzzle emphasise. I don't think I'm going to find time to pursue solfege exercises diligently, but it occurs to me that this may be the sort of thing one can practice mentally in spare moments and I'm going to give it a try. It would save some trial-and-error on my part if anyone knows of a set of such exercises that have already been devised.
I've remarked earlier in this thread about my way of finding the right start note for tunes I know, given only the key. It shouldn't work but it does and the only theory I have to offer as to "why" is that, knowing the tune, I instinctively recognise the identity of its notes in the tonic sol-fa.

 

[nigeld]

This seems to me to illustrate why dots are so much better than sol-fa as a way to communicate musical information. It was too hard for me in sol-fa, and I have been singing all my life. I had to write this out in abc notation and then play it repeatedly on the piano before I worked it out.

Personally I find it easier to imagine intervals if I see the dots, because I can see the physical distance between the notes. Sol-fa is more abstract.

Maybe we should have a "Sol-fa Puzzle of the week" thread.🙂

 

[Alice]

This seems to me to illustrate why dots are so much better than sol-fa as a way to communicate musical information. It was too hard for me in sol-fa, and I have been singing all my life. I had to write this out in abc notation and then play it repeatedly on the piano before I worked it out.

Personally I find it easier to imagine intervals if I see the dots, because I can see the physical distance between the notes. Sol-fa is more abstract.

Maybe we should have a "Sol-fa Puzzle of the week" thread.🙂

What a good idea! That would certainly be a way to wake up some brain cells! So far (see what I did there? 😛 ) I haven't been able to concentrate yet this morning so I'm going to give it a try now.