Looking for title of "Berklee" etude book....

[mr00420]

I'm currently living in Japan. I just went down to my neighborhood woodwind shop to check out what kind of sax literature they had available. They actually had quite afew things, but they were all double the listed retail price (which was in dollars.) There was one book that I'd like to get that I recall using on occasion w/ my instructor in college. I believe it's called "Saxophone Technique" and is a 125 or so page book of many scales and modes w/ various etudes and excercises for building fluidity. It's published by, and I believe part of the curriculum for, the Berklee School of Music. Does anyone know the exact title of this book? I'd like to get my friends or family to send it to me.

[MacSax]

Sounds like the Joseph Viola books. There are three volumes - scales, chords, and the third I can't recall right now.

[mr00420]

That's right, it is Viola. What's the difference between the scale and the chord books? It's the scale book I'm interested in, but it has arpeggio (chord) patterns too. Is the chord book excerises in plaing through different changes or something? Do you know what the title is for the scale book?

[Tsax]

The scale book is sort of a volume one:
"Technique of the Saxophone: Scale Studies"
by Joseph Viola
Paperback: 176 pages ; Dimensions (in inches): 0.49 x 12.06 x 9.08
Publisher: Berklee Press Publications; (October 1993)
ISBN: 0793554098
The second volume is "Technique o/t Sax: Chord studies" and the third is "Technique o/t Sax: Rhytmic Studies".

[mr00420]

Thanks Tsax!
Did you do the measurements yourself? :lol:
Have you checked these out? What do you think of them... or the scale book in specific? Looks like a nice book of etudes.

Do any you know of a book of scales by Sloeminski (sp?) I heard this was a book that a lot of hard boppers were studying in the day. Supposedly Coltrane developed his Giant Steps tunes frommany ideas taken from studying this book? Does anyone know about this text?

[Tsax]

No, I didn't take the measurements myself :P

(thank Amazon for that!).

I once took the scale and chord studies from my library and the books are good as I remember. In fact, one of these days I am gonna buy them myself (all three!). But the Scale book would be a good start (and enough work for the time being).

The Slonimsky book you are referring to is a standard book (also popular with modern classical composers). It is the "Thesaurus of Scales and Melodic Patterns" (by Nicolas Slonimsky). But this book is definitely not for beginners.

[mr00420]

Well the patterns in the Viola book are not for beginners either. I suppose the Slonimsky book is quite large and expensive if it's a "Thesaurus."

[Tsax]

I am not suggesting that the Viola books are for beginners, or that the Slonimsky book is too difficult, it is just a very thorough book (256 pages) and not as easy to use as the Viola books.
It is not very expensive, as a paperback it should be around $ 30 new.

[mr00420]

Thanks again Tsax... unfortunately, if it's normally $30, I'd probably have to pay at least $60 here in Japan. Maybe I can go home during my work's summer vacation.

[Paul S]

The viola vol 1 is a good major scale workout, but its the Vol2 that covers chords and exercises on all types of chords. Vol 3 is Rhythm studies and includes exercise (quite a few as duets) to work through all rhythmic and time signature variations.

Vol 2 is my favourite. Vol 1 is a little basic if you already have you're major scales down.

There's another book that used to be part of the Berklee material (published by them) - Andy Mcghee's Modal Approach to the saxophone (something like that) - specifically addresses modes and exercises over those - nice book.

At the moment I'm using Patterns for Jazz by Jerry Coker - if you are getting just one book and need to cover basics through to advanced - this is the best one IMHO

best of luck 8)

[tenorman canada]

The best thing about the Viola Scale Book is that it teaches you how to practice scales. Once you've gone through the book you WILL be proficient in major scales. Then just apply the same patterns to the minor scales you're interested in. I've been coming back to this book since 1977 and used it with several successful students of mine.

[mr00420]

Canada, have you used V.2 Chord studies? I'm about to order some books from my old boss @ Sheet Music Service of Portland, and leaning towards Viola's V.2, McGhee's Modal studies, and the Jazz Patterns by Coker (that's in Treble clef I assume, since there doesn't seem to be an Eb version.)

[tenorman canada]

Mr. oo420; Yes I have Vol 2 and Vol 3. They're the kind of books you can use forever. I learned alot from the exercises in vol 2 and found that it expanded my understanding of chords.