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

[Tenor Viol]

Now that Covid is fading in the rear-view mirror (hopefully) a couple of guitarist mates and I are jamming one evening a week. This is new to me on sax as I took it up during lockdown, and practice to-date has been exercises and learning to read the dots.
Improvising, I’m fast discovering involves being unafraid to make mistakes! You soon learn to avoid notes that would take down the walls of Jericho, or leave in accidentals that sound OK.

Sounds good. Unfortunately, I don't know any people to try that kind of thing with.

 

[Halfers]

My playing mainly consists of trying out melodies or bits of solos that come to mind and trying to get them down from memory. I'll then at some point play the original, find out I'm a half a step or more out on the original key, which gives me the opportunity to transpose, if I fancy doing so.

It's amazing just playing around with scales, I'll stumble across an interval that reminds me of a tune, which I then spend some time working out. And we go from there. It keeps me happy..

 

[Moz]

While I can read music, I'm really not very good at it and prefer to learn the piece by ear then play it. I know the notes but I never have any idea what key anything is in. My son plays piano and tells me what key he's going to play in and I just ask how many sharps or flats as the name of the key means nothing to me, I also get him to tell me how many on a sax too, that helps a lot 🙂.

I know C though! 🙂

I can listen to a tune once then play it on the saxophone, for most tunes I can listen and improvise at first listening as I tend to know instinctively where the song is going next.

Having said all that, I would love to be able to read music as if I were reading a book, it must be lovely.

 

[John Setchell]

While I can read music, I'm really not very good at it and prefer to learn the piece by ear then play it. I know the notes but I never have any idea what key anything is in. My son plays piano and tells me what key he's going to play in and I just ask how many sharps or flats as the name of the key means nothing to me, I also get him to tell me how many on a sax too, that helps a lot 🙂.

I know C though! 🙂

I can listen to a tune once then play it on the saxophone, for most tunes I can listen and improvise at first listening as I tend to know instinctively where the song is going next.

Having said all that, I would love to be able to read music as if I were reading a book, it must be lovely.

Ah - but is that C on a blues scale?
3 black notes.

 

[turf3]

Everyone plays by ear. Unless they're completely deaf and still play.

 

[Moz]

Ah - but is that C on a blues scale?
3 black notes.

Don't start. We'll be talking mixolydian and frigian next and no, I don't know anything about those either. I look upon things like that as knowing what metal they made engine mounting bolts out of on a car -- it's something I just don't need to know.

 

[Taz]

Everyone plays by ear. Unless they're completely deaf and still play.

I disagree, both my niece and and good friend both play sax, one to a very high standard. If you take the dots away from them both, they don't have a clue what to play. Both have tried and both have failed miserably, yet both can sing in tune with no problem!

 

[thomsax]

I can read music but I was never any good reader. Playing by ear? Sometimes, but not that often. I was more or less playing from memory most of the time. I learned from reading and when I could play it as it was written then I put away the sheet music. When I played a solo I played something that I have heard before or done before. For many years we were 3 friends that played in a 3-horn section. Rock and Blues stuff. The trumpet player couldn't play without a notestand and sheet music. Another guy (soprano, alto, tenor. bari, flute, harmonica ...) he became so nervous when he saw sheet music so I just couldn't play. He didn't read at all. The trumpet player did a good job at the horns rehearsals. When we had learned to play the parts as it was written we used to say: "Now it time to make it more dirty!"

 

[Moz]

I disagree, both my niece and and good friend both play sax, one to a very high standard. If you take the dots away from them both, they don't have a clue what to play. Both have tried and both have failed miserably, yet both can sing in tune with no problem!

I can read music but I was never any good reader. Playing by ear? Sometimes, but not that often. I was more or less playing from memory most of the time. I learned from reading and when I could play it as it was written then I put away the sheet music. When I played a solo I played something that I have heard before or done before. For many years we were 3 friends that played in a 3-horn section. Rock and Blues stuff. The trumpet player couldn't play without a notestand and sheet music. Another guy (soprano, alto, tenor. bari, flute, harmonica ...) he became so nervous when he saw sheet music so I just couldn't play. He didn't read at all. The trumpet player did a good job at the horns rehearsals. When we had learned to play the parts as it was written we used to say: "Now it time to make it more dirty!"

The inability to play by ear or, by definition, improvise, baffles me. I know everyone is different but to not be able to play unless someone has written it down is, to me, just weird.

The band in which I used to play had no music written down at all, not one jot (except the very first piece I learned because the band didn't know what I would need when I joined -- I didn't need it). In the end we had two and half hours of original music and could do three sets without repetition and every note played by ear. I'm not bragging, I just find it difficult to understand why everyone can't do this. Even my old music teacher couldn't play a note unless it was written down.

 

[mizmar]

I find it interesting both that some people don't understand how playing by ear can be hard; and others that reading can be hard. Both are learned skills. Some folks pick one, the other or both up more or less easily while others struggle. Folks are different.

 

[thomsax]

The inability to play by ear or, by definition, improvise, baffles me. I know everyone is different but to not be able to play unless someone has written it down is, to me, just weird.

In this case it was more a ritual. He knew what to play. But to feel good the notestand, the small light, the folder with sheet music was important to him. I did that as well when I worked as a chef. The "Mise en place" was 100%. Something like to get ready before the battle. I think we should blame the "Sone Age man" that still lives inside of us.

 

[thomsax]

I find it interesting both that some people don't understand how playing by ear can be hard; and others that reading can be hard. Both are learned skills. Some folks pick one, the other or both up more or less easily while others struggle. Folks are different.

I had to practice a lot when I learned to read music. But it didn't help me so much. Still a bad reader. Playing by ear? A member here at CS (Pete E .... ) wrote something like playing by ear is not the same as playing as you remember a song (memory) , lick. To play by ear is more to play things that you don't know before. Differnt types of jams are good to improve the ability to play by ear. Play the songs that you never heard or played before.

The music I played (Blues, Rock ....) was not so difficult. In fact, they were easy to read and play. But I had to practice to learn the music. Often 10-12 hours/week. I can close my eyes and see still see the horn lines. But that's just the songs I liked.

 

[Clivey]

The inability to play by ear or, by definition, improvise, baffles me. I know everyone is different but to not be able to play unless someone has written it down is, to me, just weird.

The band in which I used to play had no music written down at all, not one jot (except the very first piece I learned because the band didn't know what I would need when I joined -- I didn't need it). In the end we had two and half hours of original music and could do three sets without repetition and every note played by ear. I'm not bragging, I just find it difficult to understand why everyone can't do this. Even my old music teacher couldn't play a note unless it was written down.

Thats pretty well WAS the norm in Pop, rock, folk and indie from my experiences, but I do suspect by the number of college courses for pop and rock, that things have probably changed, and perhaps not for the better.

 

[Tenor Viol]

Everyone plays by ear. Unless they're completely deaf and still play.

I'm not entirely sure what you're saying here?

 

[Pete Thomas]

Everyone plays by ear. Unless they're completely deaf and still play.

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[Tenor Viol]

This comes up on a regular basis as a topic. As @mizmar said there tends to be mutual non-comprehension between the two schools of playing: those that read notation, and those that do not. I also think there is a nomenclature issue. For me, 'playing by ear' means you hear something and are able to play it back immediately: they hear it then play it. I know people that can do that, some to an astonishing degree. Most people can't do that. What a lot do is listen to a piece then work out how it goes, to me that is a version of learning by rote.

I read music and have no problem with reading notation. I can sight read music for cello and sax up to about ABRSM grade 5 standard, probably a bit more than that for singing.

I can learn to play something from memory - I find it incredibly tedious and an extremely inefficient way of doing things. Of course it has its place and concert soloists do that all the time.

I tend to play in groups/ensembles where you are playing arranged music or orchestral scores. For those you need to be able to play what is written in the parts/score. I therefore have no requirement for that to be able to 'play by ear'.

With learning bass, there is more expectation it seems to play from memory, which I'm not fond of. I find it hard. I end up spending a lesson learning a piece and within a few hours I'm struggling to remember the details. If the piece was written down in notation, I'd just be able to play it.

 

[LostCircuits]

I disagree, both my niece and and good friend both play sax, one to a very high standard. If you take the dots away from them both, they don't have a clue what to play. Both have tried and both have failed miserably, yet both can sing in tune with no problem!

My sister is that way, she's a classically trained pianist but ask her to play "blowing in the wind" by ear and she'd fail. Interestingly enough, she dabbled on guitar for awhile and had no problem playing by ear.

 

[turf3]

This comes up on a regular basis as a topic. As @mizmar said there tends to be mutual non-comprehension between the two schools of playing: those that read notation, and those that do not. ...

Well, sometimes I read the dots and sometimes I don't. Do I have mutual non-comprehension of myself?

 

[mizmar]

To play by ear is more to play things that you don't know before. Differnt types of jams are good to improve the ability to play by ear. Play the songs that you never heard or played before.

I understand there's a range of skill levels - which is why I find it interesting that someone finds it weird that not everyone functions at the highest level...

Do I have mutual non-comprehension of myself?

It's just too tempting...
Welcome to the club
😀

 

[John Setchell]

With learning bass, there is more expectation it seems to play from memory, which I'm not fond of. I find it hard. I end up spending a lesson learning a piece and within a few hours I'm struggling to remember the details. If the piece was written down in notation, I'd just be able to play it.

lol. This reminds me of playing in an orchestra pit some years ago. It was an amateur Christmas production and I was playing bass. The musical director, a very gifted pianist gave us all dotted scores some days before which I “learned”. At rehearsal I got fed-up with the bass part in the arrangement and improvised - he went ballistic, but the other guys in the pit said it sounded great!