gary, I have seen this question come up over the years and I do not remember any book that contains his solos. A sax player named C. Swift has written several for purchase but I do not recall how to contact him. Maybe someone else knows his email address?

Which song are you looking for? I have a couple.

 

Curtis Swift

http://www.saxsolos.com

good stuff and inexpensive. Unfortunately I cannot remember the price. but you paypal him withthe $$ and let him know what you want and he sends pdf files.

 

Oh, wow. The man's a maniac! That's a great resource, thanks, Gents!

 

Urgent

I really wanto to have the transcription of Walker's solo at Foreigner's Urgent.

Please let me know where can I find it.

 

here's a pretty good midi file, you'll have to transpose the sax track as it's most likely in Concert key, but it sounds durn close to me...

http://the_resonators.tripod.com/FOREIGNER__Urgent.mid

enjoy

 

couldn't get that page to come up billmecca....is there another source for it. That solo in "Urgent" is something else!!

 

it's not a page, but a direct link to the midi file, right click on the link and save target as

 

I've always wondered: Is it legal to transcribe a solo and then sell it? Can you get sued for this? Seems like a good way to make money off something we do anyways.

 

I've always wondered: Is it legal to transcribe a solo and then sell it? Can you get sued for this? Seems like a good way to make money off something we do anyways.

interesting question Nef, it could be considered a "derivative work" but since it's in a different medium than the played/recorded solo, would it be? Maybe Tim Price would answer this, doesn't he have a book of transcriptions out? or Trent Kynaston...don't know the legal wranglings behind the scenes.

only way to be truly safe would be to transcribe and sell your own solos, in my case they wouldn't be worth much ;-)

 

Please help me to find the transcription.

I was hearing the solo at Urgent at my car as coming to my job.

I really need to have the transcription, so I can try, just try to play it.

 

I found it!

www.ease.com.au/sax/

 

Here's something to think about. Although a transcription would be useful in learning what notes he was playing, that will only be a very small part of getting a sound like Jr. Walker. The actual notes he played were usually based on a pentatonic scale and the melodies were pretty simple. What made it happen was HOW Jr. Walker played those notes. His articulation, rhythm, tone quality, timing, and feel were the important elements. You won't get any of that from a transcription. I'd suggest listening and playing along with some of his recordings, trying to match his phrasing and overall concept. It's easier said than done, but that would be the best approach, IMO.

 

You don't need a note for note transcription you just have to know the main notes Junior hits and the underlying chords and then try to get as close to Juniors feel as possible. Junior hits the Altissimo notes with great tone.

The chords are Em C A for the start and verses with a funky synth Eb to E pedal point drone. The E note used as a pedal point is common to the Em C and A chords so the (Eb to) E pedal point synth riff stays constant while the underlying chords change from Em to C and to A. The Chorus chords are Em D C (D). The solo is done over the verse chords of Em C A and this is a common chord progression in rock and the E minor pentatonic (E blues scale) is used over the Em C and A chords with some blues notes like the b5 added. After the little solo intro sax hook that's built around a Em arpeggio (Alto C# minor, Tenor F# minor) Junior hits a high E (Alto C#, Tenor F#) to start the solo. The solo is just regular R&B E minor (Alto C# minor, Tenor F# minor) pentatonic blues stuff with the b5 added sometimes and some of the sustained blues like notes are fluttertongued http://www.saxontheweb.net/Rock_n_Roll/FlutterTongue.html http://www.petethomas.co.uk/saxophone-fluttertongue.html. At the end Junior goes up to a high F# (Alto Eb, Tenor Ab) then to a high E (Alto C#, Tenor F#) then to a few high D notes (Alto B, Tenor E) and back to the high E (Alto C#, Tenor F#) and finishes with a bit of regular E minor (Alto C# minor, Tenor F# minor) pentatonic blues stuff to lead into the chorus.

http://www.i-love-cats.com/postcards/images/postcardimages/music/FOREIGNER__Urgent.mid

 

I'm not familiar with the tune. How would you classify this chord progression? Im VI IV ????

What are some other tunes with this progression that I might be familiar with?

 

Does any body hae a transcription of " Hot Cha" by Jr. I know the chords for guitar but would like to see a transcription if someone has one

 

I play this tune, but have never seen a transcription. It is really pretty easy to transcribe (play along) from the recording. Once you know the head it is pretty easy to solo over the chords. I don't really think about the chords that much, but play mostly off the major pentatonic ("minor" blues scale won't do the job on this tune), with an occasional b3rd thrown in. Once again hit some altissimo and use some flutter tongue to get that authentic Jr Walker sound.

If you can find a transcription, so much the better, but really you'd probably save time by taking it direct from the recording.

 

Thanks JL I play it in c cannot play altissmo can do overtones but still working on altissmo .

 

Curtis' transcriptions of Shotgun and Cleo's Back are especially good for beginners.

He will also transcribe anything you need for an incredibly small fee.

He used to sell all of his work bundled into three volumes. I have been studying my set for about 7 years, and it is an incredible reference. Now days he wants you to buy each separate piece.

He is a terrific resource.

 

The Em C A chord progression is in Aerosmith's Take Me To The Other Side http://www.guitar-addicts.com/tabs/id/6885.php and other songs that I can't remember at the moment. When I was playing guitar in a band the Em C A type chord progression would pop up now and then in some songs we did, I've always thought of it as a standard rock and roll thing. There is also the other standard rock and roll progression Em D C and Em C A is really just a variation of Em D C and the Em C A progression is often used with the D so it becomes Em D C A. In the Foreigner Urgent song the D chord pops up in the chorus so the chorus is the Em D C chord progression and the verses are the Em C A chord progression.