Any Saxophone Based Play by Ear Methods?

Playing by ear is being able to hear the lines you want to play and having the "facility" to key those notes accurately. You don't have to physically "sing" as the sax does your singing, which means that your thinking patterns are the same but instead of your brain coordinating your vocal chords it's coordinating your fingers, breath and embouchure to produce the sounds. Anything else simply isn't playing by ear. Can playing by ear be analyzed? Sure, you can listen to a tune or imagine a tune, then go that's a 2nd, followed by a fifth, then a flat 7, in the key of Eb (etc.), which on tenor puts me in F#, so I can copy that by playing (on the tenor) an Ab, C# (etc.). That's obviously NOT playing by ear, and is a mechanical translation, which is never going to sound like your sax is "singing".

It's possible a very good teacher could help, but many/ (most)? aren't proficient at playing by ear. Worth searching for though as most books tend to analyze playing by ear rather than giving a method that is 100% effective. The reason is simple, we are not all the same. Most people who wish to play are happy to learn to read (eye to hand learned coordination), which doesn't mean you can hear the note you're playing before it comes out of the horn. Leading with your ear, means that you hear the note, and can play the note through developing the coordination to do this at will. Simply said, but it takes years.

The only "system" that features this (in part) is the Suzuki method. It's primarily used to teach young children an instrument and geared towards their becoming an outstanding Classical player. The child is given an instrument and given simple tunes to listen to and try to copy. There is NO WRITTEN MUSIC or interval "ear training" involved until the child becomes proficient at playing by ear. Written music is then taught, but the child already has the facility to play by ear and can often then "hear" what they see and play with much more feeling and be able to have and give a whole experience to the music. The Suzuki technique is extremely successful with children since they are open/malleable and able to learn playing music in the same way we learn to speak a language. It's thought/imagined sound, given voice through the instrument.

As adults this is much harder, but certainly possible. If you can't conceive of sounds/songs, etc. you will NEVER be able to play by ear as an adult. Singing is an obvious expression of that ability, and it doesn't take having a good voice, just being able to internally hear the tune. Humming/singing/whistling are just manifestations of getting the sound into the air.

A start is to imagine any simple tune and NOT giving this any musical designation (for now). As suggested it can be a nursery rhyme tune. Give yourself a random start note then try to hear the next note and play each note that should come next. If you're doing this by analyzing the intervals and then picturing them as written, then you're NOT playing by ear. Go through lots of random start notes for each tune. This will be frustrating, but it's the simplest exercise I know for trying to coordinate ear/brain to hands. Eventually take on difficult tunes. Ultimately turn on the radio and see if you can play along with random (unknown to you) music in any genre. This requires hearing and anticipating then playing the notes you think will fit. If you can do that you'll probably also be able to improvise as a creative improviser rather than a "cut and paste" finger wiggler.

I'm not looking for a shortcut, but I want to learn within the context of playing the saxophone as much as possible. I've studied multiple theory books, I've even taken a beginner theory course (where we used a keyboard). I've been messing with guitar for decades. I can sight read. I have tried doing the apps that play random intervals and you guess what it is, but that was boring and I was hoping to do it just with the sax.

I have a lot of songs internalized; melody, tempo, timing. My ability to play songs from memory is non existent. I can hear it in my head, but there's no ability to punch that out without the sheet music. I've always used sheet music, or in the case of guitar sing the melody over the chords. On the sax, I recently started making an effort with a couple simple songs to play them without the sheet music. I almost have them down, but that's memorization. I want to be able to play the tune I hear in my head on the sax, without "no, that's wrong.. no.. no.. no.. was that it, wait.. that's it?". I get that it takes time, but I'd like to take a structured efficient approach. And there has to be a logical starting point.

Yes, I know 8 of my 12 Major scales, not interested in the rest right now; songs I'm interested in aren't in those keys, and if they are I can transpose them. Heck, I'd be happy to be able to play just songs in the key of C or G by ear. That would be progress toward the goal. Start small and build.

So, apparently no COMPLETE method focused on the sax, using the sax. So, I guess a complete method would be signing up at Julliard..?

So, I have three votes for work out simple songs across multiple keys. That's a consensus. How does the thinking go there? I'm thinking of all they keys in terms of their degrees, and I work out the song in one key, relate that to the degrees, then just play the degrees in the other key? Am I thinking in intervals? Or is it, just start on the correct degree of the scale and don't think, do it just by sound (back to no... no... that was close.. no), and if you do it long enough you get better at getting the note right the first time? I find that I want to just have a direct connection between the sound in my head (my internal ear) to the sax, I don't want to have to think this is the x degree, this is a major 3rd, that's a perfect 5th. That seems more complex than just memorizing the sheet music. The additional abstraction layers just slows me down. Hearing it in my head and my fingers know what to play, would be the goal, without additional mental processing that slows the process.

I have a couple votes for interval training. How do I do that on the sax? Is there an app that I can set to Tenor Sax and have it play interval exercises?

I don't understand the "play along with a recording". Are we talking at full speed? There's no way I could do that without looking at the sheet music, and that defeats the purpose.

JL said:

Unless I misread this somehow, the key of (concert) Eb would put you in the key of F on tenor (not F# - that would be concert E). Just for the sake of accuracy...


Yes. This is essentially what Keith was saying. And it probably could be done without any other knowledge other than using your ear. However, it would be considerably more effective if you know the key center, since that limits the note choices somewhat. IOW, knowing the 12 major scales would help considerably.

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Absolutely right JL...oldtimer's disease! I should proof read.

Knowing a lot about music is certainly a help and can be accomplished at any stage of one's development. If one is only trying to learn to play by ear, the point being made is to develop an ear to hand reaction for the note you want to hear. That's not dependent on knowing anything else, and is the backbone of the Suzuki method. We know that method works , but not as quickly or well for adults. Your right about "learning intervals" isn't playing by ear, it's translating. There is no quick way, but the Suzuki method is out there, although not totally applicable to adults (e.g. have your parents encourage you and make it a family affair).

This is much more like learning sign language as a person who already hears well. You are manipulating your hands to give specific meaning. To make that automatic takes a lot of time and frustration with your not often hitting the right notes for a long time. There is no mechanical method for this. Reading is seeing = finger positions. This is hearing =finger positions.