[Saxophone Strange]

Ultimately, what you do is up to you but, you asked for advise so I’ll give mine…

There is no one way to learn but there is a tried and true “historical” way to to learn. If you have been focusing on sound quality that is great… for sound quality. It doesn’t have much to help you with facility on the horn though and, doesn’t help you with rhythm. The most historical way to learn to do this is to internalize what you are hearing. That means learn to listen a lot. Learn to feel the rhythms in what you are listening to a lot. Then, as in all areas of learning, you learn to mimic what you are hearing.
No slight against someone like Chad LB. He is a great player. I don’t personally “like” his playing but, I respect it. What he is focusing on is just technique, not application. Application comes from listening and feeling. Patterns and scale to chords can work but not if you don’t know why. A solid theory foundation would go further and then you find ways to practice things in your playing to help those. Composition lessons would also help. They would help you understand melody and how they interact with harmony and rhythm better… just a thought.

Now back to my original thought… sing the solo you want over the changes. Learn to play what you can sing. If you don’t enjoy what you are singing, your saxophone playing won’t be more interesting. Train your ear and you hands and you’ll get there. Insert licks and you won’t necessarily be you. Hope it helps.

 

[Saxophone Strange]

So… going back to what I mentioned earlier… it will mostly have to do with your ear but another thing too… do you like the solo you are working to transcribe? When I mentioned your ear, I wasn’t just mentioning transcription. That is a technique to try to help marry the two but, in all actuality, it is a deeper thing than just transcribing. I like to say it like this… when you are in the car and singing along with the radio or whatever, you are internalizing music. So do you sing along? Can you mimic the inflections of what you are hearing? Do you try? Do you only listen to music passively unless it is in an educational setting like transcription? These questions are supposed to directed at the fun and enjoyment of listening to music. It should show you what you like to listen to but if you like it a lot and want to sound like that, then study it. The focus and approach matters so much. Music can’t just be academic, it needs to be part of life.

The thing about scales and patterns to work on facility is just that, it is an exercise. Just like exercise you do repetitions over time to get better. Scales are a building block. Patterns are a building block. Patterns are not full through chord change motion things… they are groupings of notes designed to make a feeling be able to be heard. Patterns should be a small 2-8ish note series of repeatable note groupings intentionally designed to move around the horn. Just the most basic of which which is by no means basic, just arpeggiating triad in a scale.

Example (triads; ascending only; Single octave at a time)
C maj
D min
E min
F maj
G maj
A min
B dim

Start at a metronome speed of 60 quarter notes. After completing, with no mistakes for 5 times up the metronome to 70. Repeat… perfect 5 times then 80 repeat until you get to 120. Then start again with with notes at 60 (same as quarter notes at 120) the. Proceed to eighths at 70 then 80 then 90… on up to 120… then sixteenths rinse and repeat… then do descending only… That is just C major… then move to another key… now that you have done all the major… then melodic minor… then harmonic minor… the natural minor… then Dorian minor… then Phrygian minor… at some point diminished and whole time… this is just a start… note… if you want to be able to do this into the altissimo, you have to practice it into the altissimo…also if starting at quarter notes at 60 is too fast start with half notes instead and work to quarters then eighths etc…. After this you can do the same with inversions and even quartal or quintal patterns

Ok now that you have started doing these hearing them in the music you are listening to should be both easier and help you understand… then go find a tune that allows you to use what you have been working on and SING a solo. Record yourself and then go back and see if there are parts you like. Try to play what you sung. Keep doing this process until it is easier and was sure to play what you hear. At that point it is continuing to increase what you hear…