Good video, Lynden. It's a balance. I learned to read from the start, but it took years to get comfortable playing by ear. Bix Beiderbecke, possibly one of the greatest melodic improvisers of our time, could barely read a note, and he held down a chair with Paul Whiteman and Jean Goldkette. His friends covered for him.
Thank you Avon for this. It’s such a contentious question, I posted a link to this video on some Facebook sax groups and some people seemed to get very upset even that the question was being asked! Some people hold the view that their way is the only right way and unless you comply with that view you are mad, bad or sad. Personally I aim to keep a more open and inclusive view and take into consideration that everyone is different and that’s ok 👌 🤝🤝🎷🎷😎😎
Good video. You’re spot on. Reading is not essential but it does open up a huge library of ideas that we can choose from to add to our playing ideas. I personally decided when I started my musical journey at 26 to learn everything because I did not want any limitations on my musical journey. So, I read very well but when I perform I only use leadsheets or nothing because my ears take over and I listen and respond intuitively. It’s a wonderful experience because I am both the performer and the audience. As I play something I am hearing it for the first time and the last time. Love your videos! Thanks for putting them on TH-cam.
Hi Henry and thank you for your comment and for sharing this with me, I think you’re absolutely right 👍🤝🤝🎷🎷 So happy that you’re enjoying my videos too and I’m always open to hear about things that you think I could make videos about. Thanks again 🤝🤝🎷🎷😎😎
You are absolutely correct when you say that you must read music to play with a big band or an orchestra. I cannot see any way around that as your are part of a section as well as a group that is all playing against one piece of music. I would say, the larger the group, the more essential written music is to the overall success or lack of chaos. That being said, those of us that learned by reading music and then playing, we can suffer from not being able to play freely. Playing by ear takes practice, but it is essential if you want to be a well rounded musician. Even in big band charts, there are times where your part is just an improvisation over chord progressions. If you cannot play by ear (with the chord structure) then you will not be sitting in that chair very long. I think it's great to have both skills. It is great to be able to just pick up a sheet of music and play it without having heard the music ever before. It's also equally nice to be able to either replicate something you have heard or just create something.
You are right. If you are not going to play with a big band or an orchestra it is not necessary master reading music. I have done the same learning process like you. I also have your age and I learned with books, videos and now internet. I though that I have an efficient ear to learn music by ear but also I learned the basic skills to read music even though I am not a good music reader. Great channel
I use the score, as guide, but it’s always wise to study well ahead of a performance. I play by ear too, and I find you play with more emotion, using your interpretation, as you’re feeling the notes and not visually tracking the notes. But again it depends on how long you’ve been reading music, and how fluent you are at sight reading. The main aim, is to enjoy it, what ever way you learn.
I agree 100% I followed the same route as you did. That's why I like your explanations about how to improvise using chord systems and not just by heart as I did
I think it depends on your first approach. If you started learning by reading music that is your first approach. And if it was by Ear that's your first journey. In my case I started learning everything about music, a little bit by Ear now, which I am still learning but not perfectly good but I am enjoying it. And I am learning songs by memory as well. In future I might learn reading too but I think my first approach is by Ear and it's working for me. I love your videos.
Thank you too, after listening and watching your video on how to improvise over autumn leaves, how you analyzed the chords and So on. Understanding of improvisation becomes so much clearer to me because you explain the technics on what to do. I already learn many things about music. I am an adult beginner I started in my mid 50s, I'm going to be 63 this coming April. So I already had the tools is just to start putting them to use and that video made me get my confidence how to improvise already. I now Know what to do, how to solo everything combine so I'm gonna be using all that. I am going to take up you lessons soon because I had been doing it all by myself but is also good to have a feed back. By the way I had lived among British people in the past, they are lovely people. Thank you for honoring my opinion. I am watching from Nigeria, precisely Lagos. Thank you
@@ballyola9620 Wow thank you. It’s so cool to think that my videos are being watched in Nigeria and I reach out my hand to shake yours 🤝🤝 🇳🇬 🇬🇧🇳🇬🇬🇧🇳🇬🤝🤝
Learning to read music is not a particularly difficult skill but it does require consistent but not necessarily a lot of practice time to become proficient and you can practice without the instrument which is a great. Ten minutes a day or a couple of bars of new music a day will yield huge results in progress and reading opens so many doors to participate in different projects that would otherwise not be available.
Lyndon you definitely do not have to be able to read music. I’m classical trained and I’m now struggling to break my reliance on reading sheet music. I like your son learnt to play the piano then went on to flute and piccolo. Also sang I quite few choirs of mixed abilities. Now I’m learning the alto sax and trying to learn jazz specifically. Boy is it hard not to turn to sheet music I am persevering though. Well done with you videos
Great video Lynden , that’s made me feel better about myself .. I am in the middle , reading to a point and playing by ear in equal measures .. I have always felt that I should be better at reading .. maybe it’s not ultimately the most important thing . Thanks .
Hi lynden, your method of teaching helped me not rely on looking at the keyboard but feeling it with my hands ( because with a sax you can't turn it round to see where your fingers are) when reading the music so it broke down the need to have more than one thinking process at a time. Still early days for me but the journey continues. 👍🤘
Reading might not be essential but knowing music theory is right up there otherwise you might be all, over the place when working with other musicians.
Thank you so much for your vidéo. I read music, but very often I do not play exactly what is written… haha. I hope one day you will made a vidéo showing how to learn or exercice playing by ear. For me playing by ear is very very dificult, and by the way I do not know how to learn it … Thank s again for your vidéos
Thank you so much for your support! I did make this video about learning by ear, have you seen it? How to memorise tunes on the saxophone. th-cam.com/video/r3Z5dPpQRQM/w-d-xo.html
Thank you Linden, I realy enjoy your videos. If you want a sugestion for a topic: I (beginner) have great problems with playing low notes like low C and B and Bb in a soft and smooth way. They aleays come out loud, especially when I start the scale on the low notes. Maybe there is a good way to practice this… Greetings from Belgium an have a wonderful day!
Marcus thank you so much for your feedback and support and greetings from the Uk, I reach out my hand to shake yours 🤝🤝🤝 🇧🇪 🇬🇧🇧🇪🇬🇧🇧🇪 I will think about the low notes question but the bottom line will always be spending time hitting them, getting familiar with them and practicing making them sound as nice as you can 🤝🤝🤝
Sorry Lynden - I'm loving your videos, but have to disagree with your sentiment here. I've been playing 30 years and my biggest regret is not learning to read earlier. I can read now, but will never be as good as some of the mates I've met along the way, who learned as kids. I still find it needs practice just to maintain (never mind improve!) at my age! As sax players we are likely (hopefully) to play in lots of settings over the years - I've played in quartets, duos, a big-band, several pop/rock bands, play-along books and numerous jam sessions - and in at least some of these scenarios you will need to read (or at least you will massively benefit from being able to read). Aside from sight reading for performance purposes, being able to read music makes the learning easier. The theory can be better explained and you will understand composition & harmony better. It is a great skill to have and personally, I think sax/brass players need it. Perhaps less so for guitar/bass - mostly they learn scales & chords (shapes) and don't sight-read music well (in my experience), but for melody instruments...definitely. That's not so say 'don't develop your ear or improvise'...definitely, go for that too!!! But I think you should absolutely concentrate on reading music. it is such a joy to be able to do it, and it is not that hard on a single-line instrument like sax, which is in treble clef and has relatively few ledger lines or 'complications'. Go for it!!!
Hiya! Thank you so much and I do agree with everything that you’ve said. I wish I’d learned to read earlier and I’m still aiming to improve myself. I totally agree to read and develop your ear too is the way to go and thank you for watching my videos, it’s great to know that someone with your experience still finds them of use 🤝🤝😎😎🎷🎷
Thanks
Thank you so much 🤝🤝😎😎🎷🎷
Good video, Lynden. It's a balance. I learned to read from the start, but it took years to get comfortable playing by ear.
Bix Beiderbecke, possibly one of the greatest melodic improvisers of our time, could barely read a note, and he held down a chair with Paul Whiteman and Jean Goldkette. His friends covered for him.
Thank you Avon for this. It’s such a contentious question, I posted a link to this video on some Facebook sax groups and some people seemed to get very upset even that the question was being asked! Some people hold the view that their way is the only right way and unless you comply with that view you are mad, bad or sad. Personally I aim to keep a more open and inclusive view and take into consideration that everyone is different and that’s ok 👌 🤝🤝🎷🎷😎😎
@@lyndenblades I must nick that 'mad, bad or sad', and somehow use it in conversation. Ta! 😀
@@avon57 😎😎🤝🤝🎷🎷👌
It totatally depends what you want to do with the saxophone. It absolutely won't make you less creative or whatever the argument is.
Absolutely 🤝🤝😎😎🎷🎷
Good video. You’re spot on. Reading is not essential but it does open up a huge library of ideas that we can choose from to add to our playing ideas. I personally decided when I started my musical journey at 26 to learn everything because I did not want any limitations on my musical journey. So, I read very well but when I perform I only use leadsheets or nothing because my ears take over and I listen and respond intuitively. It’s a wonderful experience because I am both the performer and the audience. As I play something I am hearing it for the first time and the last time. Love your videos! Thanks for putting them on TH-cam.
Hi Henry and thank you for your comment and for sharing this with me, I think you’re absolutely right 👍🤝🤝🎷🎷
So happy that you’re enjoying my videos too and I’m always open to hear about things that you think I could make videos about. Thanks again 🤝🤝🎷🎷😎😎
You are absolutely correct when you say that you must read music to play with a big band or an orchestra. I cannot see any way around that as your are part of a section as well as a group that is all playing against one piece of music. I would say, the larger the group, the more essential written music is to the overall success or lack of chaos. That being said, those of us that learned by reading music and then playing, we can suffer from not being able to play freely. Playing by ear takes practice, but it is essential if you want to be a well rounded musician. Even in big band charts, there are times where your part is just an improvisation over chord progressions. If you cannot play by ear (with the chord structure) then you will not be sitting in that chair very long. I think it's great to have both skills. It is great to be able to just pick up a sheet of music and play it without having heard the music ever before. It's also equally nice to be able to either replicate something you have heard or just create something.
Absolutely agree with everything that you said 🤝🤝😎😎🎷🎷
You are right. If you are not going to play with a big band or an orchestra it is not necessary master reading music. I have done the same learning process like you. I also have your age and I learned with books, videos and now internet. I though that I have an efficient ear to learn music by ear but also I learned the basic skills to read music even though I am not a good music reader. Great channel
It’s so interesting! Thank you for sharing this with me and thank you for watching my channel 🤝🤝😎😎🎷🎷
I use the score, as guide, but it’s always wise to study well ahead of a performance. I play by ear too, and I find you play with more emotion, using your interpretation, as you’re feeling the notes and not visually tracking the notes. But again it depends on how long you’ve been reading music, and how fluent you are at sight reading. The main aim, is to enjoy it, what ever way you learn.
Absolutely 👍 🤝🤝😎😎🎷🎷
If you want to play in an orchestra or brass band, Concert band, reading music is essential.
Absolutely right 👍👍🎷🎷😎😎
I agree 100% I followed the same route as you did. That's why I like your explanations about how to improvise using chord systems and not just by heart as I did
Hi Rob, thank you so much for your feedback and I’m so happy that my videos resonate with you 🤝🤝🎷🎷😎😎
I think it depends on your first approach. If you started learning by reading music that is your first approach. And if it was by Ear that's your first journey.
In my case I started learning everything about music, a little bit by Ear now, which I am still learning but not perfectly good but I am enjoying it. And I am learning songs by memory as well. In future I might learn reading too but I think my first approach is by Ear and it's working for me. I love your videos.
Bally thank you so much and I think you’re absolutely right, it’s such an individual journey 🤝🤝🎷🎷😎😎
Thank you too, after listening and watching your video on how to improvise over autumn leaves, how you analyzed the chords and So on. Understanding of improvisation becomes so much clearer to me because you explain the technics on what to do. I already learn many things about music. I am an adult beginner I started in my mid 50s, I'm going to be 63 this coming April. So I already had the tools is just to start putting them to use and that video made me get my confidence how to improvise already. I now Know what to do, how to solo everything combine so I'm gonna be using all that. I am going to take up you lessons soon because I had been doing it all by myself but is also good to have a feed back. By the way I had lived among British people in the past, they are lovely people. Thank you for honoring my opinion. I am watching from Nigeria, precisely Lagos. Thank you
@@ballyola9620 Wow thank you. It’s so cool to think that my videos are being watched in Nigeria and I reach out my hand to shake yours 🤝🤝 🇳🇬 🇬🇧🇳🇬🇬🇧🇳🇬🤝🤝
"Mad, bad or sad" I was catapulted back into Lyndens' music room! 😂
Tina, how lovely to see you here 🤝🤝🎷🎷😃😃
Learning to read music is not a particularly difficult skill but it does require consistent but not necessarily a lot of practice time to become proficient and you can practice without the instrument which is a great. Ten minutes a day or a couple of bars of new music a day will yield huge results in progress and reading opens so many doors to participate in different projects that would otherwise not be available.
Love the little and often approach that you talk about here, you’re absolutely right and thank you so much for your feedback and comments 🤝🤝😎😎🎷🎷
Lyndon you definitely do not have to be able to read music. I’m classical trained and I’m now struggling to break my reliance on reading sheet music. I like your son learnt to play the piano then went on to flute and piccolo. Also sang I quite few choirs of mixed abilities. Now I’m learning the alto sax and trying to learn jazz specifically. Boy is it hard not to turn to sheet music I am persevering though.
Well done with you videos
Thank you so much for your feedback, it’s amazing to hear and stick with it, I know you’ll get there 🤝🤝🎷🎷😎😎
Great video Lynden , that’s made me feel better about myself .. I am in the middle , reading to a point and playing by ear in equal measures .. I have always felt that I should be better at reading ..
maybe it’s not ultimately the most important thing .
Thanks .
You’re so welcome Trefor, thank you for your feedback 🤝🤝🎷🎷😎😎
Hi lynden, your method of teaching helped me not rely on looking at the keyboard but feeling it with my hands ( because with a sax you can't turn it round to see where your fingers are) when reading the music so it broke down the need to have more than one thinking process at a time. Still early days for me but the journey continues. 👍🤘
Hello there and thank you so much for your feedback. I’m so happy to hear that my videos are helping you and thank you for saying so 🤝🤝🎷🎷😎😎
Reading might not be essential but knowing music theory is right up there otherwise you might be all, over the place when working with other musicians.
Absolutely 🤝🤝🎷🎷😎
Another good video, thanks 🙏
Thank you so much 🤝🤝🤝😎🎷🎷
Thank you so much for your vidéo. I read music, but very often I do not play exactly what is written… haha. I hope one day you will made a vidéo showing how to learn or exercice playing by ear. For me playing by ear is very very dificult, and by the way I do not know how to learn it … Thank s again for your vidéos
Thank you so much for your support! I did make this video about learning by ear, have you seen it?
How to memorise tunes on the saxophone.
th-cam.com/video/r3Z5dPpQRQM/w-d-xo.html
@@lyndenblades oh ok i will look at it Thanks
@@hubdecassis you’re welcome 😎😎🤝🤝🎷
Another great informative video…
Michael thank you 🤝🤝😎😎🎷🎷
Thank you Linden, I realy enjoy your videos.
If you want a sugestion for a topic: I (beginner) have great problems with playing low notes like low C and B and Bb in a soft and smooth way. They aleays come out loud, especially when I start the scale on the low notes. Maybe there is a good way to practice this…
Greetings from Belgium an have a wonderful day!
Marcus thank you so much for your feedback and support and greetings from the Uk, I reach out my hand to shake yours 🤝🤝🤝 🇧🇪 🇬🇧🇧🇪🇬🇧🇧🇪
I will think about the low notes question but the bottom line will always be spending time hitting them, getting familiar with them and practicing making them sound as nice as you can 🤝🤝🤝
Sorry Lynden - I'm loving your videos, but have to disagree with your sentiment here. I've been playing 30 years and my biggest regret is not learning to read earlier. I can read now, but will never be as good as some of the mates I've met along the way, who learned as kids. I still find it needs practice just to maintain (never mind improve!) at my age! As sax players we are likely (hopefully) to play in lots of settings over the years - I've played in quartets, duos, a big-band, several pop/rock bands, play-along books and numerous jam sessions - and in at least some of these scenarios you will need to read (or at least you will massively benefit from being able to read).
Aside from sight reading for performance purposes, being able to read music makes the learning easier. The theory can be better explained and you will understand composition & harmony better. It is a great skill to have and personally, I think sax/brass players need it. Perhaps less so for guitar/bass - mostly they learn scales & chords (shapes) and don't sight-read music well (in my experience), but for melody instruments...definitely.
That's not so say 'don't develop your ear or improvise'...definitely, go for that too!!! But I think you should absolutely concentrate on reading music. it is such a joy to be able to do it, and it is not that hard on a single-line instrument like sax, which is in treble clef and has relatively few ledger lines or 'complications'. Go for it!!!
Hiya! Thank you so much and I do agree with everything that you’ve said. I wish I’d learned to read earlier and I’m still aiming to improve myself. I totally agree to read and develop your ear too is the way to go and thank you for watching my videos, it’s great to know that someone with your experience still finds them of use 🤝🤝😎😎🎷🎷
@@lyndenblades Thanks - keep the videos coming, very useful. You explain things really well, many thanks 🤩
@@entysax thank you so much 🤝🤝🎷🎷😎😎