Yes, it’s by experimenting with the different chordal tones that you’ll discover your favorites. sometimes the tonic is perfect for an ending and other times it’s a boring choice depending on the type of song, ending chord etc.
as for copying other people, it’s how I learned to play. everyone does it. even the greatest players when they were starting out copied those they admired so don’t feel weird or like you’re cheating by copying. having said that, when you can throw down some of your own licks then that’s a beautiful thing and what we’re ultimately striving for.
Oh yeah…I watch you/other players all the time. In fact, I found the perfect “inspiration” for my Blues Brothers Instrumental that I’m working on right “under my nose”…..a video demo that Trevor James Saxophones posted on the very model of Saxophone that I bought from them LOL The only difference in the video is the RAW model they show v.s. my Alto which is the Gold lacquered. I “borrowed, stole” a few licks/riffs from this video, from yourself, other Saxophone players, my own licks/riffs, etc.. with the aime of applying what you told me from the Green Onions to “play less=says more” My Instrumental is coming along pretty cool 🙂 It should be done pretty soon. The Improvising starts at about 1:05 on the timer
.
