Saxophone beginners What is your favourite music piece to play on Sax?

[Copstolemywife]

I Have a few songs/tunes that I like to play but no clear favourite. I supposr "Misty" is about the closest I have to a favourite. I would love to learn "Sophisticated Lady" all the way through. I have made a start but it gets quite hard later on for a beginner. What is your favourite or favourites and why? Also is there any good sounding tunes that you could recommend to a relative beginner?

 

[Pete Thomas]

I love the old cliche tunes like Harlem Nocturne, Night Train and occasionally Pink panther (but don't tell anyone please).

Often the tune is horn specific, so I might play Loverman on alto, but All the Things You Are on tenor.

 

[Jules]

Harlem Nocturne, Boulevard of Broken Dreams (Sam Butera version), Ain't Misbehaving, . Oh, and Rodriguez Guitar Concerto/Sketches of Spain on soprano.... All great tunes with plenty of room for flexibility and getting really expressive/hammy with swoops, bends, growls etc... (except the final one which is just- well a lovely bit of music)

 

[Mamos]

God bless the child
N.R Shackleton goes to the circus - Finn Peters
In a sentimental mood
I'm beginning to see the light
The nearness of you
Misty

Trying to play Zavodovski Island by the portico quartet

mamos

 

[thomsax]

I learned lots of Clareence Clemons solos!! (My Saxhero).

but also play (still struggling with them!)

A Change Is Gonna Come (Cook). Soprano or tenor. Tenor is easier for me! King Curtis version.

Ain't No Sunshine (Bill Withers).

There Is Something On Your Mind (Jay McNeely). I learned Grady Gaines version.

Try A little Tenderness (Woods, Campell, Connelly). Willis Jackson version but I have a live version by CC and the Redbank Rockers that I like a lot. Clemons tenor is burning!!!!

Please Send Me Somone To Love (Percy Mayfield).

 

[SignorTenor]

I love the old cliche tunes like Harlem Nocturne....

Unless you make it a SKArlem Nocturne.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEUsn1Ca4NQ&feature=related

 

[Mamos]

Unless you make it a SKArlem Nocturne.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEUsn1Ca4NQ&feature=related

I enjoyed that

Thanks

mamos

 

[Liz]

A Foggy Day (Gerswhin). Think the neighbours might not like it any more though.

Liz

 

[old git]

"Two Degrees East, Three Degrees West", Lewis.
"Night Train" for its fantastic low Bbs, love it like Pete.
"Moaning" but the quiet bits on flute and the louds on tenor.
"September Song", probably an age thing.

 

[Targa]

'Summertime', it was the first one I could play without the music.
I'm working on the second one, 'You must remember this'.
I just realised the irony in that as I typed it.

 

[dooce]

Desafinado is the current favourite, followed by Girl from Ipanema (must be hankering after some Brazilian sun 🙂 ), and a thing called Funky Blues by Bugs Bower which is good technical exercise for reliably hitting a crisp bottom B and Bb, but also sounds pretty good.

 

[half diminished]

For me this is a shifting sand..............

As I get more (moderately more 🙂) competent I play new things which I enjoy more so this is just for now.

Alfie & Paul's Pal (Sonny Rollins), Three O Clock in the Morning (Dexter Gordon), Honeysuckle Rose, Coco Beano.

I am also starting to work on Heavenless which is a great tune.

 

[Phil Edwards]

Changes a lot over time, but often find my way back to...

I wish I knew how it would feel to be free
The wedding
Mannenberg
Here's that rainy day
Blue bossa
Summer samba

 

[Mamos]

Changes a lot over time, but often find my way back to...

I wish I knew how it would feel to be free
The wedding
Mannenberg
Here's that rainy day
Blue bossa
Summer samba

I like Mannenberg as well. I was in my grade one ABRSM book

There was another fantastic one in there by Keith Jarrett called Everything that lives laments

mamos

 

[Buzby]

As a total beginner my repertoire of tunes is limited to say the least - I'm pretty happy with anything I can play that listeners recognise!! ;}
But, my fave tune to toot out at the moment is 'Suicide is Painless' (theme from M*A*S*H) except it does get a little stuck in my head so I go around the farm all day singing it!

 

[kevgermany]

Wish I was good enough to play a tune, instead of just murdering everything I touch...

 

[Mamos]

Perhaps we should have a tune (one of Petes maybe) that can become the site anthem.

It needs to have easy parts and more difficult parts so anyone can join in

A sax quartet maybe

mamos

 

[Ben Cain]

Stardust on tenor
Autumn leaves on alto

 

[CaillouSax]

Wish I was good enough to play a tune, instead of just murdering everything I touch...

I wish the same, but at this moment, I like murdering these:

Summertime

Stand By Me

Smile

Fly Me To The Moon

It's Now Or Never (I am a fan of Elvis Presley)

 

[RedBottom]

We did Summertime to the death a few years ago at an Open University summer school. You know the saying, 'you can have too much of a good thing' ...?

I'm currently working on a rendition of the Poirot theme music with a view to talking the MD into letting me play it solo at the next concert. I'm also trying to talk a rather rusty pianist into accompanying me (the MD would do it, but I want it to be all my own work).

Favourite tunes I can already play:

• Cry Me A River on Alto

• Bewitched, Bothered & Bewildered (on Tenor)

Favourite tunes I'm trying to learn (all on Alto):

• Syrinx (Debussy)

• Yakkety Sax

• Valse Vanite (Weidoeft)

• Csardas (Monti)

Not exactly predictable, me. 🙂