scales by ear or by eye - or both?

[tenitup]

after avoiding scales, argeggios.... like the plague through school (yes i did have a teacher no i didnt listen) and after a year off sax this year at uni i've really started missing the good ol tenor and am starting to get into it again - pretty badly... I want to relearn the scales. I was wondering whether i should go find myself a decent scale book or do it by ear - ie. work out what c maj, min, dom, dim.... sounds like and then work out the other 11 keys from there... I can see how it would be good for the ear, and some of my friends who play(far far better than i) have done it that way but i can see it taking a whole lot longer than the book... Anyone got any ideas which way is best, more useful, more efficient???

[colibri]

First key by eye, all other keys by ear.

[gary]

Joe Viola has two excellent books, "Technique of the Saxophone! Vol I (scales) Vol II (chords). These orgainze your practice and have some great exercises in them to reiforce your scale and chord practice. It's not only scales and chords but ways of playing them and putting them together. I would definitely take a look at them.

Then, of course, the goal is to play all that without music, so I have worked out of these books, on the one hand, and play scales and chords from memory, in different patterns as well, on the other. I think the one complements the other.

[tenitup]

cheers for the input people - i'll have a look at those books gary - time to get too it, so much to learn, i can't wait

[Harri Rautiainen]

Joe Viola has two excellent books, "Technique of the Saxophone! Vol I (scales) Vol II (chords). These orgainze your practice and have some great exercises in them to reiforce your scale and chord practice. It's not only scales and chords but ways of playing them and putting them together. I would definitely take a look at them.

Available from Amazon.com:

Vol I : http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0793554098/saxontheweb/
Vol II: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0793554128/saxontheweb/

Available from Amazon UK (also for Europe):

Vol I : http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0793554098/saxontheweb-21/
Vol II: http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0793554128/saxontheweb-21/

thanks for supporting Sax on the Web,
-Harri