keyboard visualization

[Anonymous]

Something interesting i did today on the sax (well to me anyway)

When i was practicing the 15 major scales from memory, i visually
imagined where i was on a keyboard – tried to picture which white/black
key i would be playing. Was quite hard to do at metronome speed 55 using the the half beats to play each key.

Anyway at the end of the practice about an hour or so. i turned it on its
head.

I know how to play “blue danube” from memory on the keyboard, so using the keyboard visualization – i managed to play it all back on the sax!
Wish i thought of that before.

[john]

I started learning music on the keyboard so I also use this type of visualization. But whether someone playing sax or trumpet or whatever, I think keyboard visualization can be helpful because other instruments just don’t have that capability as the keyboard. I;’m glad you have discovered how helpful it can be!

[Z]

Yeah it’s really helpful for learning scales, figuring out chords and transposing stuff.

[Z]

Johnny have you ever done other solos besides sax in your music? I’d love to hear/see a piano solo or something else in some of your covers; it’d be sweet!

[john]

Well, in my covers I usually play the accompanying instruments that make up the backing tracks which are focused for accompanying the lead sax, so no I haven’t done really that, although I have played the melody break on a keyboard when necessary.
In my new upcoming Major Scale Improv Course I use the piano in most of the lessons to demonstrate the theory part of it and show some basic soloing examples on the keyboard so you can see it played out.

[Anonymous]

Yeah – it’s really cool that visualization of the keyboard keys.
I don’t know names of the piano keys when i play “Blue Danube” from memory,
i can only play it on the piano from remembering the positions of the
keys, similar to playing chords on the guitar, i only remember the shapes
of the finger positions for each chord and not what notes they are made of.

So to play back “blue danube” on the sax from remembering the piano key position
shapes and not the piano notes was a real eye opener from me. I honestly didn’t
think i would be able to do it.

[Author]

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