Way back in the 1970's my sax teacher showed me a clever little diddy that goes like this: 1-3-5-b7-6-5-4, the 4th being start of another 1-3-5-b7-6-5-4, whose 4th begins the start of another... well, hopefully you get the idea and that I explained that clearly. In other words, iIt just loops and loops and if you know circular breathing can become the start of some kind of perpetual circle of 4ths. Anyway, great lesson, Dr. Wally. Speaking of Jerry Coker, his Appendix A on pages 81-82 of his book "Improvising Jazz" contains many pearls of wisdom.
I remember well the day I mastered a critical number of 7th chord arpeggios. It totally change my ability to solo on all my 1920s jazz tunes (and others as well). I could create a convincing solo just on the arpeggios and a very few passing tones. Also, every note I played worked and I didn't even have to know what key I was in.
Love your content. And the graphics help sooooo much. Ex. When you mentioned " flying fingers " you had an arrow point to the fingers which immediately directed my attention from your hair to the FINGERS ! Pedagogal genius. Butt seriously as always , great stuff. Thanks
Concerning flying fingers I have found that the slightly more tangible focus on keeping my palms as stationary as possible has helped a lot. Your fingers can only fly so far if your palms are motionless. I know there are times when your palm must move but the 90 percent of the time when this isn't the case will get you a long way.
Still getting over hearing Phil Woods, 'Stolen Moments' for the first time. Feel like a stunned mullet. But yes, I like this and this will certainly make arpeggios especially fun. Great stuff. Have a great weekend Doc.
Dr Wally the Wise guy Wallace...I don't know why I just found you today, but your info so far has been great and slightly comedic. I'm classically trained and haven't had lessons for quite a while. I've been trying to learn to improvise...I can, but playing up and down a major scale is quite boring. There is so much "do this, not that" from so many people, its overwhelming. You have given great advice, much appreciated. I will start incorporating your stuff into my practice time. Many thanks
Doing well, thanks! Got a bi-weekly lesson with an associate of Prof. Bobbi T. So he’s keeping me on track. I’m playing in two big bands, and staying busy. And for some crazy masochistic reason, I just started flute lessons. Glad to see you are still putting out great content!
As a fellow pirate I have to say since I am just starting my arpeggiated journey I love how you "Arrr"-ticulate this lesson. I too have "Arrr"-ived at utilizing the 9ths. By the way, those scales you're playing 'are' hauntingly beautiful. Pun most intended.
Thanks Wally! It still takes me a while to get chord inversions in my mind and into my fingers. I had a nice visit in NC. I play tested a Selmer Paris alto at a music shop in Charlotte, and a local sax teacher overheard me in the practice room and jumped in to jam with me. Nice horn and great fun. Also, I was scheduled to do some flute fills on an album my daughter (Cheryl Stevens - vocalist) is recording, but my flute suddenly stopped playing anything below G. A local resident graciously loaned me her awesome Sankyo flute (the nicest flute I've ever played!) for the session (& a gig in Miami) -- Southern hospitality!
It's very interesting that you play blue box Dr Wally. I'm going to try a soft one sometime. My "sound concept" is very similar to yours, I'm a Desmond fan, and since I stumbled on Roberto's reeds I've been playing and liking them a lot. I think they're quite woody but have a thin tip which aids that almost classical sound. I recommend trying them out if you haven't already. They're made by Rigotti and they sound darker than Rigotti's own brand. I play 2.5 hard on a Maestra 6, so I'll have to go quite soft on blue box I guess, the old ones I have lying around feel like planks. On this video I do like your sound best with blue box. On Tenor my fav player is Scott Hamilton. I use ZZ's (2.5 on a PhilTone Sapphire, a slant type piece) or sometimes Rigotti Wild which I find brighter but fairly similar. Thanks for the video.
An exercise I heard of to help with flying fingers is to stick a small drop of honey on the pearls so your finger has to stick to the key. Wipe the honey off after each session.
Sticky substances on pearls? I wouldn’t suggest that especially as it can easily get on the pads underneath and also would cause more of a mess than it would help.
Great sound/video! Who’s the composer? So is the group name really the Sononuats or was that a dyslexic misspelling of Sononauts? (I also saw someone who modified it to Sononuarts…probably a bad sign for future name recognition when people are already getting it wrong and changing it to something that makes more sense to them 😊…)
Hi Dr Wally, thanks for the lesson. So much to practice, so little time .... All of the exercises in your Fundamentals booklet look good. Do you recommend taking one exercise at a time through all 12 keys or doing all the exercises in one key before moving onto the next key?
That was a nice workout! To keep up with the cute Tyler on my alto, I had to transpose on the fly (I think?) anyway, had to slow everything down on the cogwheel in order to do it. Now I have earned dinner and re-learned the circ of 4ths..Thankyou good Doc! PS: You're cute too!
Just to be clear the diagram you are showing is the circle of 5ths going clockwise and circle of 4ths going counter-clockwise so the harmonic motion of the arpeggio exercises you are doing is moving counter-clockwise to align with most standard ii-V-I progressions??
Hi Dr. Wally, You're awesome and very inciteful but have a serious very important question... If I keep practicing my arpeggios, will my hair improve as good as yours? Arrrgh!
Beautifully noted and greatly explained. My lesson for the day .. and life. Thank you it's perfect (even with the added cute spelling of 'Cirlce' at 12:00 ;-)
Slow and slurred...does drinking while practing help with that? Nice video Wally. Also, I see Tyler is looking sharp in the Saxophone Academy uniform. When is the Sonoauts album coming out? I'm waiting for a vinyl copy.
Don't be a jazz snob! But doesn't the circle of fifths add a flat with each key change (like the B section of rhythm changes) while the circle of fourths adds a sharp (like Hey Joe)? Or is this the subject of your future lesson?@@drwallysax
![ร้อยพ่อพันแม่ - WanMai [Official MV]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/XY2pNYASEbg/mqdefault.jpg)
Q: What do trumpet players and pirates have in common? A: They're both murder on the high Cs
Level 12 Dad joke....well done sir!!
nooooooooo :O
When I listen to prof wally play, it sounds gorgeous and mythical and makes me want to practice more. Thank you for the encouragement.
Hi,Dr.Wally, I am from China. I start to learn sax and practice your fundamental book over 1 year. I make a big progress. thank you very much!!!
Hallo I can I download his pdf books
Way back in the 1970's my sax teacher showed me a clever little diddy that goes like this: 1-3-5-b7-6-5-4, the 4th being start of another 1-3-5-b7-6-5-4, whose 4th begins the start of another... well, hopefully you get the idea and that I explained that clearly. In other words, iIt just loops and loops and if you know circular breathing can become the start of some kind of perpetual circle of 4ths. Anyway, great lesson, Dr. Wally. Speaking of Jerry Coker, his Appendix A on pages 81-82 of his book "Improvising Jazz" contains many pearls of wisdom.
I remember well the day I mastered a critical number of 7th chord arpeggios. It totally change my ability to solo on all my 1920s jazz tunes (and others as well). I could create a convincing solo just on the arpeggios and a very few passing tones. Also, every note I played worked and I didn't even have to know what key I was in.
Love your content. And the graphics help sooooo much. Ex. When you mentioned " flying fingers " you had an arrow point to the fingers which immediately directed my attention from your hair to the FINGERS ! Pedagogal genius.
Butt seriously as always , great stuff. Thanks
Concerning flying fingers I have found that the slightly more tangible focus on keeping my palms as stationary as possible has helped a lot. Your fingers can only fly so far if your palms are motionless. I know there are times when your palm must move but the 90 percent of the time when this isn't the case will get you a long way.
Still getting over hearing Phil Woods, 'Stolen Moments' for the first time. Feel like a stunned mullet. But yes, I like this and this will certainly make arpeggios especially fun. Great stuff.
Have a great weekend Doc.
Happy practicing!
Dr Wally the Wise guy Wallace...I don't know why I just found you today, but your info so far has been great and slightly comedic. I'm classically trained and haven't had lessons for quite a while. I've been trying to learn to improvise...I can, but playing up and down a major scale is quite boring. There is so much "do this, not that" from so many people, its overwhelming. You have given great advice, much appreciated. I will start incorporating your stuff into my practice time. Many thanks
Thank you Doc Sax Vader, showing us the darker secrets of the sax
Most welcome Padawan
Great vid! Yes, I still finger flail and flub. These exercises help me isolate those probs.
Flail and Flub is my middle name. Hope they help! How's London life Bruce?
Doing well, thanks! Got a bi-weekly lesson with an associate of Prof. Bobbi T. So he’s keeping me on track. I’m playing in two big bands, and staying busy. And for some crazy masochistic reason, I just started flute lessons. Glad to see you are still putting out great content!
As a fellow pirate I have to say since I am just starting my arpeggiated journey I love how you "Arrr"-ticulate this lesson. I too have "Arrr"-ived at utilizing the 9ths. By the way, those scales you're playing 'are' hauntingly beautiful.
Pun most intended.
Happy practicing my pun-loving friend. Have a great weekend!
Thank you so much Dr. Wally for this very useful practice.
Thanks Wally! It still takes me a while to get chord inversions in my mind and into my fingers. I had a nice visit in NC. I play tested a Selmer Paris alto at a music shop in Charlotte, and a local sax teacher overheard me in the practice room and jumped in to jam with me. Nice horn and great fun. Also, I was scheduled to do some flute fills on an album my daughter (Cheryl Stevens - vocalist) is recording, but my flute suddenly stopped playing anything below G. A local resident graciously loaned me her awesome Sankyo flute (the nicest flute I've ever played!) for the session (& a gig in Miami) -- Southern hospitality!
Southern hospitality is real! (and my wife hates it, she's an introvert)
Another really helpful video. Circle of 4th practice was great
Thanks my friend :) Have a great weekend!
Thanks for the great chord theory, Dr. Wally and Tyler! Y’all have a great weekend.
Thanks, you too!
Hi, Dr.Wally, thank you for the saxophone fundamentals pdf now I have proper material to practice.
Wonderful, happy practicing!
This is a great exercise.
Thanks, happy practicing and have a great weekend!
I've been playing a circle of fifths pattern (1-2-3-5, etc) for years on clarinet, flute, and sax. I'm looking forward to something interesting.
I think once you're comfortable with the basic patterns, time is better spent transcribing and learning vocabulary!
Thank you for the free workbook it is great!
You're so welcome!
Is that a Lamy 2000 at 5:43?
Great re-inspiration to practice consciouslly the lovely arpeggios
wonderful, happy practicing!
Thanks Doc. Sweet sounds. Geez, and today I learned the front E fingering ! Zounds!
Thanks Andy, start working on the front E - great gateway to the altissimo as well!
It's very interesting that you play blue box Dr Wally. I'm going to try a soft one sometime. My "sound concept" is very similar to yours, I'm a Desmond fan, and since I stumbled on Roberto's reeds I've been playing and liking them a lot. I think they're quite woody but have a thin tip which aids that almost classical sound. I recommend trying them out if you haven't already. They're made by Rigotti and they sound darker than Rigotti's own brand. I play 2.5 hard on a Maestra 6, so I'll have to go quite soft on blue box I guess, the old ones I have lying around feel like planks. On this video I do like your sound best with blue box.
On Tenor my fav player is Scott Hamilton. I use ZZ's (2.5 on a PhilTone Sapphire, a slant type piece) or sometimes Rigotti Wild which I find brighter but fairly similar.
Thanks for the video.
Hamilton is a beast! happy practicing!
He's awesome, I saw him in London recently.
Immediate like for the intro pun. Thanks for the vid!
Most welcome my punloving friend :)
Hi Doc Wally, your exercises have helped me a lot with the high E and F notes!
Wonderful! Really happy to hear this! Keep practicing!
An exercise I heard of to help with flying fingers is to stick a small drop of honey on the pearls so your finger has to stick to the key. Wipe the honey off after each session.
Sticky substances on pearls? I wouldn’t suggest that especially as it can easily get on the pads underneath and also would cause more of a mess than it would help.
I'd recommend super glue
You would be a Lamy 2000 enjoyer.... Feel like that checks out. Thanks so much for your wonderful and entertaining info as always.
I mean, I'm not going to write with a Pilot. We're saxophonists, not farmers.
@@drwallysax Oh that hurts my 823 feelings! How could you! Love the new vid on reeds, great work.
hahah!@@DirkJ. I'm about to buy a cosmopolitan (so I don't stress about leaving it at coffee shops)
Oops. Made my comment. superfluous.
Great sound/video! Who’s the composer? So is the group name really the Sononuats or was that a dyslexic misspelling of Sononauts? (I also saw someone who modified it to Sononuarts…probably a bad sign for future name recognition when people are already getting it wrong and changing it to something that makes more sense to them 😊…)
Hi Dr Wally, thanks for the lesson. So much to practice, so little time ....
All of the exercises in your Fundamentals booklet look good. Do you recommend taking one exercise at a time through all 12 keys or doing all the exercises in one key before moving onto the next key?
That was a nice workout! To keep up with the cute Tyler on my alto, I had to transpose on the fly (I think?) anyway, had to slow everything down on the cogwheel in order to do it. Now I have earned dinner and re-learned the circ of 4ths..Thankyou good Doc! PS: You're cute too!
D'awwwww, I'll tell tyler you called him ugly and me cute.
@@drwallysax Now that's naughty!!!Bad Dr Wally!
Just to be clear the diagram you are showing is the circle of 5ths going clockwise and circle of 4ths going counter-clockwise so the harmonic motion of the arpeggio exercises you are doing is moving counter-clockwise to align with most standard ii-V-I progressions??
You got it - but ii/V doesn't necessarily progress any which way. It's a function within a key area.
7:33 I never even knew that was a thing! You're teaching me stuff ay-gain!
Yay, new skills!
Hi Dr. Wally, You're awesome and very inciteful but have a serious very important question...
If I keep practicing my arpeggios, will my hair improve as good as yours? Arrrgh!
It will indeed my friend, it will indeed ;)
Good explanation
Beautifully noted and greatly explained. My lesson for the day .. and life. Thank you it's perfect (even with the added cute spelling of 'Cirlce' at 12:00 ;-)
Thanks, have a great weekend!
большое спасибо
Добро пожаловать
Slow and slurred...does drinking while practing help with that? Nice video Wally. Also, I see Tyler is looking sharp in the Saxophone Academy uniform. When is the Sonoauts album coming out? I'm waiting for a vinyl copy.
drinking can help the listener. Thanks Hank, hope you're well my friend! Sononauts single coming out next month: Lost In Space!
8:07 Bud Shank album with Maynard! 🙂
That's the album that made me a west coast cool school convert. Never looked back.
"Dont leave."
I was about to lmao
What is a top E key? Is that the same as the buzz Key? Do all altos have them?
Front F - key, yes all saxophones (other than the earliest made) should have them.
uah! bel suono! 💥🎷💥
You are the best teacher but you look like kevin g still a fan of your work just wanted to say it😹
Play Flight of the Bumblebee and show off your skills !
What about the PDF sir
what is red and screems like hell?
My neighbour cause me gotta practice my arpeggios aswell
Well done....WELL DONE SIR.
This was a great exercise for me, playing it in the key of F on tenor along with you, and trying to sound good in the Altissimo range 😁
Rock on!
Is there a Guinness world record for fastest Bb major arpeggios on saxophone? Because I think I got a forkin' shot.
Sadly on the Eb arpeggio. We'll start a petition for a more inclusive key structure to the category nominations.
The jokes don't get better do they!
Can't get better than perfect.
Once your students master the circle of fourths they're ready to play "Hey Joe".
Huh, if they played guitar maybe? I was thinking more rhythm changes ;)
Don't be a jazz snob! But doesn't the circle of fifths add a flat with each key change (like the B section of rhythm changes) while the circle of fourths adds a sharp (like Hey Joe)? Or is this the subject of your future lesson?@@drwallysax
I like it when a sax player spends money on lessons rather than on a haircut!
One more pun like that, and I'm leaving! Arrrgh.
You'll miss out on all the aaarrrrtistic tips if you leave.
"Cirlce" of 4ths? Hahahaha
wait, that wasn't supposed to be funny? 😂