the turkish viking
02-02-2004, 06:33 PM
It may take some time to read all the stuff as I included some of my musical background in order to help you sort out what I should be doing right now. I hope you are patient enough. (it's about 3.5 Word pages, to cut a bit of it you can directly scroll down to "My practice routine" part) oh well! :roll:
Coming from a non-musician family, without even someone really deeply interested in music around me I undertook learning to play saxophone some 7 years ago when I was 18, that is 3 years later when I was coincidentially introduced to jazz music by one of Billie Holiday’s album. Then I got in love with the sound of saxophone by Jan Garbarek maybe not a traditional jazz but still… That followed Stan Getz and that was when I first decided to play saxophone.
But unfortunatelly those 7 years passed, and I’m actually just beginnig and really awakened, conscious and determined of what I’m doing or what I have to do. If it wasn’t this website and the forum, I would’ve been still skidding at the same place for more years and then maybe could have given up already. Although I had 3 instructors (maybe excepting the last one which I couldn’t really stick to for a long time) so far I feel as if I couldn’t have much benefit from them. Just going on etudes again and again and again. I had the misconception of if I was technically good I could improvise anything, but all those years I never tried to improvise, learn any tunes, I mean there are many things. I finished Paul Harris’ books, the first volume of advanced book of Rubank, some of the Ferling’s etudes. But basically not much of them left behind after stopping totally for 1,5-2 years or I can say I haven’t practiced effectively for 3 years now. But as I’m working my way through all the way from the beginning my previous studies help a lot as I can orientate myself quite easily.
I know that it’s hard to obtain the true knowledge (though some do quicker than it occurred to me) but I really regret all those years that passed by, but nevertheless I guess it’s easier to get the true knowledge that I really need, in here 8)
Anyhow, right now I’m 25 which can be seen as an old age to begin music, but at least I don’t have to worry about my tone quality so much and try to adjust it as for the beginning level (definitely I’ve got a long way to go to have a better sound), and technically I’m not all that horrible, can sight-read pretty well. As I said I’m determined, conscious and very ambitious which I think matters a lot. Right now my goal is to be able to learn how to come up with a listenable and enjoyable improvised solo I don’t mind how long it takes for me to achieve this. Well, actually I recently realized that I should have decided to be a professional jazz player long ago :oops: rather than the engineering stuff that I’m doing now. But maybe that could also come many years later who knows J
So I need all of your helps about my practice routine, and many many other things.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MY PRACTICE ROUTINE
I’ve got Jupiter 787GL, use 4C Jupiter mouthpiece that came with the saxophone and 3,5 reed. I started about 2 weeks ago and I practice about 5-6 hours a day (I know everyone says that it’s too much but I’m so behind of most of you and I’ve to catch up, right? :P
I usually do 3 sets, 2 of which are consecutive. Then I rest about 5-10 minutes every hour.
For the 1ST set
1) Long tones:
a) I play from the lower pitch to the higher and then down, in chromatic scale, 60 bpm trying to hold for 12 beats each.
b) I do the same thing crescendo and diminuendo
This takes about half an hour. But I’ve got some problem on the lower pitch especially B and Bb as if I want to play them piano, then there comes this wavering and unsteady sound. I don’t know what to do about it.
2) Scales:
a) I go up and down the Major scale, Natural, Harmonic, Melodic Minor Scales, Dorian and Mixolydian Scales in all keys, full range in 120 bpm. I’m not very quick to think about all the accidentials in each key (takes some seconds) but rather fluent in playing once I know them. But every day it’s getting more automatic rather than trying to guess which notes I should play.
This would take around 30-40 minutes
After that I go rest about 5-10 minutes. I read some theoretical stuff each time I give a break. Currently I’ve got Hal Crook’s Ready, Aim, Improvise book and Mark Levine’s Jazz Theory book. Mostly using Hal Crook’s book now. As reading the theory, I’m thinking of things to apply to my instrument as I’m practicing. It seems as if I need some serious ear training.
b) Then I choose 2 keys of one of the certain scales that I’m studying every day and play them in thirds, diatonic thirds, fourths, fifths, sixths and sevenths up and then down. I deal with them until I can reach 180 bpm and play them without any fault 10 times consecutively, this means it may take several days to accomplish for me, and I guess I’ll be working on those 6 scales for about 2 months but I’m not in a hurry :) I practice these exercises about an hour.
Then I go rest a bit (half an hour or so), listen to some jazz, do some reading either theoretical or currently reading the “Jazz People” book by Dan Morgenstern with Ole Brask’s photographs.
For the 2nd SET
1) I’m practicing the etudes of Paul Harris and John Davies’ 80 Graded Studies. Checking the previous day’s etude(s) and hoping that I can play flawlessly in the first playing. Then taking one etude at a time. I move on to the other if I’m able to play 10 times without any fault. On the 33rd etude at the moment. I give 30-45 minutes to these exercises.
2) I also study from Rubank intermediate method 18th page at the moment. 25-30 minutes for this
After mastering each etude, I kind of vary the rhythm, articulation etc. of some measures that I find melodical and see whether there’s any interesting idea if so I write it down and play it for a while, try to do it in all 12 keys
Resting at this point 10-15 minutes
3) I started with Tim Price’s studies recently. The first exercise that’s available in the web-site about Major and Minor Triads, Dominant-Sevenths in cycle of fourths. Try to do the exercises as described. Depending on my mood, I give about 30-45 minutes to this.
Then I go and do something else as I guess I deserved a longer break at this point.
For the 3rd SET
1) I start with Jamey Aebersold Major and Minor in Every Key. I practice on the 2 keys that I’ve chosen before. First with the patterns and then licks, after that I try to play with Jamey Aebersold’s sample playing. Taking phrase by phrase if I can manage otherwise measure by measure until I can play accurately. These take about an hour.
2) Then I pick up Maiden Voyage. I’m still studying on Summertime. What I’m trying to do when learning tunes and improvising is that, first I learn the notes of the tune by heart, then try to memorize the chord changes (though I don’t know much about these theoretical things at the moment), and then I listen to the rhythm section and try to hear how it sounds. I play the melody without looking at the notes. At the first week, I tried to improvise without thinking about scales & chords, basically improvising thinking about the melody and whatever came to my mind. And at the second week as I’ve managed to internalize the piece, I started to work over chords, chord progressions, scales etc. (with my little knowledge of how to deal with them). Sometimes comes up an interesting idea but my main problem is once I start improvising I lose the track of the rhythm section and don’t have any idea where I’m. I’m not good at sorting out which chord is being played so that I can go in the music at any time. I guess I need reccomendations at this point. And it would be very helpful if someone can really explain briefly what to do with those chords/scales, what do I have to take care of etc.
I made sure that I did these practices almost every day but as I’m attending lectures in the university and have got dozens of assignments to do, I missed a few days but generally I can say that I practiced 10-11 of 15 days.
In addition to this practice routine, once a week I practice piano. I bought Czerny’s technical exercises. Go over it 1-1,5 hours and then do some ear-training on my own, trying to hear intervals, some chords, the sound of scales etc. for an hour or so. Not planning to be a pianist though, I think it just helps to my ear development.
Again once a week I play with a trumpetist (again the Summertime piece) who is about the same level as I am. It often enables for both of us to expand some ideas and get inspired from each other.
Then one of the trombonists that I know whom also studies in jazz school told me this last weekend that he’ll help me with the improvisation stuff once a week. So we’re gonna meet next Sunday (getting very excited for that)
I guess I’ll have an instructor in weeks to come who’s a teacher in a jazz school here…
So I guess that’s it, I don’t know whether I missed out something… Otherwise the thread will be here I guess, so I can add some more :wink:
I’d really appreciate any reccomendations about my practice routine, helps, explanations, just anything… I just don’t wanna be left out anymore and wanna keep the steady work.
Also my e-mail is who would like to contact me for anything is hakansax@yahoo.com
Thanks in advance for any help. It’ll be really appreciated
The Last of the Turkish Vikings
Coming from a non-musician family, without even someone really deeply interested in music around me I undertook learning to play saxophone some 7 years ago when I was 18, that is 3 years later when I was coincidentially introduced to jazz music by one of Billie Holiday’s album. Then I got in love with the sound of saxophone by Jan Garbarek maybe not a traditional jazz but still… That followed Stan Getz and that was when I first decided to play saxophone.
But unfortunatelly those 7 years passed, and I’m actually just beginnig and really awakened, conscious and determined of what I’m doing or what I have to do. If it wasn’t this website and the forum, I would’ve been still skidding at the same place for more years and then maybe could have given up already. Although I had 3 instructors (maybe excepting the last one which I couldn’t really stick to for a long time) so far I feel as if I couldn’t have much benefit from them. Just going on etudes again and again and again. I had the misconception of if I was technically good I could improvise anything, but all those years I never tried to improvise, learn any tunes, I mean there are many things. I finished Paul Harris’ books, the first volume of advanced book of Rubank, some of the Ferling’s etudes. But basically not much of them left behind after stopping totally for 1,5-2 years or I can say I haven’t practiced effectively for 3 years now. But as I’m working my way through all the way from the beginning my previous studies help a lot as I can orientate myself quite easily.
I know that it’s hard to obtain the true knowledge (though some do quicker than it occurred to me) but I really regret all those years that passed by, but nevertheless I guess it’s easier to get the true knowledge that I really need, in here 8)
Anyhow, right now I’m 25 which can be seen as an old age to begin music, but at least I don’t have to worry about my tone quality so much and try to adjust it as for the beginning level (definitely I’ve got a long way to go to have a better sound), and technically I’m not all that horrible, can sight-read pretty well. As I said I’m determined, conscious and very ambitious which I think matters a lot. Right now my goal is to be able to learn how to come up with a listenable and enjoyable improvised solo I don’t mind how long it takes for me to achieve this. Well, actually I recently realized that I should have decided to be a professional jazz player long ago :oops: rather than the engineering stuff that I’m doing now. But maybe that could also come many years later who knows J
So I need all of your helps about my practice routine, and many many other things.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MY PRACTICE ROUTINE
I’ve got Jupiter 787GL, use 4C Jupiter mouthpiece that came with the saxophone and 3,5 reed. I started about 2 weeks ago and I practice about 5-6 hours a day (I know everyone says that it’s too much but I’m so behind of most of you and I’ve to catch up, right? :P
I usually do 3 sets, 2 of which are consecutive. Then I rest about 5-10 minutes every hour.
For the 1ST set
1) Long tones:
a) I play from the lower pitch to the higher and then down, in chromatic scale, 60 bpm trying to hold for 12 beats each.
b) I do the same thing crescendo and diminuendo
This takes about half an hour. But I’ve got some problem on the lower pitch especially B and Bb as if I want to play them piano, then there comes this wavering and unsteady sound. I don’t know what to do about it.
2) Scales:
a) I go up and down the Major scale, Natural, Harmonic, Melodic Minor Scales, Dorian and Mixolydian Scales in all keys, full range in 120 bpm. I’m not very quick to think about all the accidentials in each key (takes some seconds) but rather fluent in playing once I know them. But every day it’s getting more automatic rather than trying to guess which notes I should play.
This would take around 30-40 minutes
After that I go rest about 5-10 minutes. I read some theoretical stuff each time I give a break. Currently I’ve got Hal Crook’s Ready, Aim, Improvise book and Mark Levine’s Jazz Theory book. Mostly using Hal Crook’s book now. As reading the theory, I’m thinking of things to apply to my instrument as I’m practicing. It seems as if I need some serious ear training.
b) Then I choose 2 keys of one of the certain scales that I’m studying every day and play them in thirds, diatonic thirds, fourths, fifths, sixths and sevenths up and then down. I deal with them until I can reach 180 bpm and play them without any fault 10 times consecutively, this means it may take several days to accomplish for me, and I guess I’ll be working on those 6 scales for about 2 months but I’m not in a hurry :) I practice these exercises about an hour.
Then I go rest a bit (half an hour or so), listen to some jazz, do some reading either theoretical or currently reading the “Jazz People” book by Dan Morgenstern with Ole Brask’s photographs.
For the 2nd SET
1) I’m practicing the etudes of Paul Harris and John Davies’ 80 Graded Studies. Checking the previous day’s etude(s) and hoping that I can play flawlessly in the first playing. Then taking one etude at a time. I move on to the other if I’m able to play 10 times without any fault. On the 33rd etude at the moment. I give 30-45 minutes to these exercises.
2) I also study from Rubank intermediate method 18th page at the moment. 25-30 minutes for this
After mastering each etude, I kind of vary the rhythm, articulation etc. of some measures that I find melodical and see whether there’s any interesting idea if so I write it down and play it for a while, try to do it in all 12 keys
Resting at this point 10-15 minutes
3) I started with Tim Price’s studies recently. The first exercise that’s available in the web-site about Major and Minor Triads, Dominant-Sevenths in cycle of fourths. Try to do the exercises as described. Depending on my mood, I give about 30-45 minutes to this.
Then I go and do something else as I guess I deserved a longer break at this point.
For the 3rd SET
1) I start with Jamey Aebersold Major and Minor in Every Key. I practice on the 2 keys that I’ve chosen before. First with the patterns and then licks, after that I try to play with Jamey Aebersold’s sample playing. Taking phrase by phrase if I can manage otherwise measure by measure until I can play accurately. These take about an hour.
2) Then I pick up Maiden Voyage. I’m still studying on Summertime. What I’m trying to do when learning tunes and improvising is that, first I learn the notes of the tune by heart, then try to memorize the chord changes (though I don’t know much about these theoretical things at the moment), and then I listen to the rhythm section and try to hear how it sounds. I play the melody without looking at the notes. At the first week, I tried to improvise without thinking about scales & chords, basically improvising thinking about the melody and whatever came to my mind. And at the second week as I’ve managed to internalize the piece, I started to work over chords, chord progressions, scales etc. (with my little knowledge of how to deal with them). Sometimes comes up an interesting idea but my main problem is once I start improvising I lose the track of the rhythm section and don’t have any idea where I’m. I’m not good at sorting out which chord is being played so that I can go in the music at any time. I guess I need reccomendations at this point. And it would be very helpful if someone can really explain briefly what to do with those chords/scales, what do I have to take care of etc.
I made sure that I did these practices almost every day but as I’m attending lectures in the university and have got dozens of assignments to do, I missed a few days but generally I can say that I practiced 10-11 of 15 days.
In addition to this practice routine, once a week I practice piano. I bought Czerny’s technical exercises. Go over it 1-1,5 hours and then do some ear-training on my own, trying to hear intervals, some chords, the sound of scales etc. for an hour or so. Not planning to be a pianist though, I think it just helps to my ear development.
Again once a week I play with a trumpetist (again the Summertime piece) who is about the same level as I am. It often enables for both of us to expand some ideas and get inspired from each other.
Then one of the trombonists that I know whom also studies in jazz school told me this last weekend that he’ll help me with the improvisation stuff once a week. So we’re gonna meet next Sunday (getting very excited for that)
I guess I’ll have an instructor in weeks to come who’s a teacher in a jazz school here…
So I guess that’s it, I don’t know whether I missed out something… Otherwise the thread will be here I guess, so I can add some more :wink:
I’d really appreciate any reccomendations about my practice routine, helps, explanations, just anything… I just don’t wanna be left out anymore and wanna keep the steady work.
Also my e-mail is who would like to contact me for anything is hakansax@yahoo.com
Thanks in advance for any help. It’ll be really appreciated
The Last of the Turkish Vikings