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10 essential books

20K views 44 replies 28 participants last post by  Lone Wolf 
#1 ·
I'm a 51-year old trumpet player/school music teacher with a master's degree in music history who has seriously decided to learn, really learn, the tenor sax. I'm not messing around. Next summer when school lets out I could easily devote four hours a day to it for two months. Meanwhile, even with a totally full plate, I'm putting in one a day.

What should my first ten sax books be? I need exercise books of all kinds, how-to type books for altissimo, growling, sub-tone, etc., books of basic technique, books with jazz scales and licks, transcribed solos, standards, and on and on.

Let's get started with the essential library.
 
#2 ·
I would suggest "Patterns for Jazz". Take the minimum metronome markings seriously and try to push it a bit further. I made a number of "Band in a Box" accompaniments for the exercises in various styles and it really made the book a lot of fun. It is written by Jerry Coker and a few others. Perhaps you could combine that with Bouchard's "Intermediate Jazz Improvisation". These two things could easily take up a summer or two. Combine this with a listening program and jam whenever you can.
 
#3 ·
+1 for the Coker book.

Bill, what is your experience with jazz/jazz theory? Do you play jazz on the trumpet?
 
#4 ·
In my serious trumpet playing days (before settling down to teach) I was happy to get third chair in working dance bands (second chair had most of the jazz) and a lot of horn line stuff (tpt, sax, trb.) in bands that didn't call for trumpet solos. So, long story short, along the way I learned to play a passable blues solo in the simple keys, noodle just a bit on standards, and play over the simplest changes in funk type things, but otherwise I regard myself as horrible at jazz. I know chords and theory and scales pretty well, but my mind doesn't transfer this stuff fast enough into good jazz solos. One reason I've picked up the tenor sax is that I intend, after my son goes into the marines next year and the nest is empty, to seriously devote myself to learning how to play jazz.
 
#5 ·
OK, then. Mark Levine Jazz Piano Book. Nothing improves jazz playing more than playing keyboard.

For sax, The Rascher Top Tones book, and Larry Teal 'The Art of Saxophone Playing'.

I'd also get a teacher for awhile--you're going to need another set of ears to give you direction. If you're stuck in SoDak, maybe you could set up some sessions with Tim Price or David Valdez over Skype. They're living books!

Also, Jazz Improvization by David Baker, and Jerry Bergonzi's series of books are incredible.
 
#6 ·
Two basics:

Dave Liebman's Developing A Personal Saxophone Sound would be high on my list (his pricey DVD would also be worthy...).

Larry Teal's Art of Saxophone Playing is nearly canonical in some quarters, especially if your focus is classical saxophone. I'm not a fan of his embouchure approach, which I think does not describe the most common performance practice(s) among jazz players -- but there's still good stuff in there, on working with reeds, on vibrato, and other stuff.

Liebman's book also covers these topics, so grabbing them both would give you two very differing perspectives -- along with some common ground -- on saxophone basics.
 
#7 ·
Hakukani, what is the difference between Levine's Jazz theory book and the jazz piano book?
 
#8 ·
I just have the piano book. Since I already have the Baker book (as well having a class with him), I didn't get the theory book.
 
#9 ·
Ferling: 48 Famous Studies for Oboe
Klose: 25 Daily Exercises for Saxophone
Liebman: Developing a Personal Sound
Rascher: Top Tones
Shelly Berg: Jazz Improvisation:The Goal Note Method
Andy McGhee: Improvisation for Saxophone and Flute: The Scale/Mode Approach
Andy McGhee: Modal Strategies for Saxophone
The Charlie Parker Omnibook
Transcriptions of your choice from saxsolos.com
 
#11 ·
Any of Steve Neffs ( a pro on this forum ) books in conjunction with Jamey Aebersolds playalongs. i could recommend the ' Master the Dominant7 Bebop Scale' as a starter.

Enjoy
 
#12 ·
My top 10 in no planned order:
DeVille - Universal Method for Saxophone
Rascher - Top Tones for the Saxophone
Viola - Creative Reading Studies
Viola - Chord Studies
Viola - Scale Studies
Klose - 25 Daily Exercises
Teal - The Art of Saxophone Playing (same caveat as Kelly)
Crook - How To Improvise
Slominski - Thesaurus of Scales and Melodic Patterns
The Charlie Parker Omnibook

I don't use all of those every day, obviously. I've spent countless hours with most, wish I had with some, and am looking forward to with others. The Slominski alone could keep you busy for your entire life.
 
#13 ·
My top 10 in no planned order:
DeVille - Universal Method for Saxophone
Rascher - Top Tones for the Saxophone
Viola - Creative Reading Studies
Viola - Chord Studies
Viola - Scale Studies
Klose - 25 Daily Exercises
Teal - The Art of Saxophone Playing (same caveat as Kelly)
Crook - How To Improvise
Slominski - Thesaurus of Scales and Melodic Patterns
The Charlie Parker Omnibook
A riff on Dan"s suggestions -

This is a good list. In some ways it's very similar to mine. It also lets me contrast a couple of my and his selections so readers see the differences.

Viola - Chord Studies
Viola - Scale Studies
These are great books. Standards. I used them when I was starting out and sometimes I use them now, mainly the combined exercises at the end of each section. On my list are the McGhee books which I use as an alternative to the Viola books. For me they cover pretty much the same technical ground but are written in a more melodic, hence improvisationally-practical, manner. Without the McGhee books, I would have listed the Viola in their place.

Crook - How To Improvise
Another excellent book, this time improvisation-specific. Many folks have gotten a great deal out of them. My alternative was the Shelly Berg book. This was originally organised as a progressive set of exercises and techniques to be used in a two-year improvisation course at the collegiate level, so it's organisation is excellent. The play-along is also excellent. My only criticism is that I think there is a jump in difficulty at some point with the tempos and chord changes of the accompanying CD.

DeVille - Universal Method for Saxophone
This is a book I've learned to be cautious about recommending because of its organisation. You either need to really know what you want to accomplish and have a well-balanced plan, or you need a teacher, because this book is organised by category, and not progressively, and there are a lot of categories and sub-categories. Normally for self-instruction I would recommend the series of Rubank books, which provide balanced exercises, with progressively difficulty. It's linear whereas the DeVille is a whole bunch of stand-along sections. OTOH, being a trumpet player, Bill - you should be able to negotiate it pretty well because it is organised in the same manner as the trumpeter's bible, the Arbans book.
 
#24 ·
It can't get much better than that, Bill.
I was in a small group Claude used for feedback on his "Systematic Approach to Daily Practice for Trumpet", which, as you know, used not only his exercises but outside sources.

Old school. Solid. He is from a generation of trumpet players that I am never less than in full awe of. Like Manny Klein, whom I hung with for a while. Ernest Williams, Herbert L. Clarke inspired big band players. Are there any of them left?

Thanks for the walk down memory lane. :)
 
#32 ·
Me, too. He's 81, and can still hit all the notes...as long as it's not Too often in a set, plus he runs the band, and takes care of his house. He's slower, but he keeps it going. He also has a wonderful perspective, and of course great stories...

I'm honored that he trusts me with the lead spot.
 
#35 ·
Don't think you need ten books. You can pick up a used Devilles Universal Method from Amazon for less than $10 and this website has enough exercises to keep you busy for a cupola years - click on workbooks:
http://www.patamusic.de/

(I like the hard copy of DeVille)
 
#36 ·
I also recommend the Universal Method. If you are first starting on saxophone there are certain kinks that you need to work out of your fingers, problem areas. There is a section called Excercises of Mechanism that is excellent for dealing with that. Also, Detached Notes exercises in same book highly recommended.
 
#37 ·
My teacher has me working out of the Lennie Niehaus books now. I only started learning 3 months ago, but we just started vol 1 of Basic Jazz Conception a couple weeks ago, and I am really enjoying it.
 
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