Question about Chord Extensions and Modes in Saxophone playing

[john]

as a sax player yes of course we deal with all that. But there are different ways of looking at it and dealing with it and doing it is what you want to do…
a 9th is the same as a 2nd: C to D is a 2nd, C to D an octave up is a 9th. So for us it’s still the same note, just an octave away (but you can play it in any octave).
A minor 5th is a diminished 5th and yes, I play them all the time. Diminished just means minor. A diminished chord means that both the 3rd and the 5th are flattened, whereas a minor chord means just the 3rd is flattened.

Songs aren’t based on modes, they’re based on keys. we use modes as a way of doing other stuff like improvising… this is part of my upcoming major scale improve course so stay tuned.

[Michael]

Sounds terrific Johnny–REALLY glad you’re taking on a great course like this to “clear up” these kinds of questions….it’s tough for any student player when all I get on a local basis is “conflicting” answers. Mr.Baker who I was taking classes from every week is no longer with the Public School systems here as he moved to Florida to help family (I know exactly what that’s like) and he willing answered anything I asked him. My family and I are going to miss him.
From locals here where I live, I have been told that the “bread and butter” of Sax Improvising is the standard Major, Minor, Pentatonic and Blues Scales. I understand the concept of 9th, 11th, etc., but didn’t know if the got used very often in Saxophone playing v.s. piano and guitar players that use it all the time. According to what they told me, they described it as being “rare” and not to get caught up in it……..I’m just having LOTS of fun and I want to know as much as I can about the Instrument I wanted to learn to play for over 17 years; is there anything wrong with that? The answers I get locally are like “those types of things don’t pertain to you, so don’t worry yourself about them.” But when I listen to Jazz Saxophone players…I almost positive I can HEAR a lot of the things I’m asking about in their own playing….but maybe I’m wrong?

[john]

This is a classic case of learning to walk before you can run. that stuff is not rare at all, it’s used a lot by just about every musician. but you’re just starting a blues improv course. this deals with major and minor pentatonic blues scales. let all that become clear and part of your vocabulary before worrying about those extensions, which are not hard or complicated anyway. Jazz players don’t start there either, they must get the basics which are blues and major etc…what you’re doing. If down the road you hear those things in your head then you go there, but like I said, you gotta walk before you run.

[Michael]

Sounds great, thanks! 🙂

[Anonymous]

i started a music theory course 4 months ago & i’m only 1/3 of the way through.
Like Johnny explains, you can’t fully understand one topic until youv’e understood
the previous topic. Everything builds on everything else.
In that time i’ve only covered – Notes, major/minor intervals, rhythm types, major/minor scales,
circle of 5 ths – learning in that order. Currently working on key scales but just started working
on chords as the two are closely connected, should last a couple more months,
then i move on to harmony later on. Then after that its on to improvisation.
So yes i am interested to see what improvisation i can learn from Johnny in the mean time.

Over the years i’ve collected 3 music theory books which covers all this stuff, but they
are very condensed and are more like reference books to look things up, and i find them
difficult to learn from.

On the outside looking in, i used to think the only thing i needed to know was what note
to play and at what speed. Now when i look at music sheets its like reading little story
books. The composer has written down how he wants me to play it and express it.
Its now made it more fun when i pick up a new music sheet , every song i played in the
past i now need to go back over them as i’m now seeing them in a completely different
light. It is well worth the effort in doing and i can assure you it does make playing
more fun!

[Author]

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