Saxophone Improvisation - the blues scale
As a kid of seventeen, back in the mid sixties, I started playing saxophone with soul bands and rhythm and blues groups. I was often the only horn player in the group.
A typical line up would be electric guitar, electric bass, drums, Hammond organ - I shudder to think how many times I struggled down the stairs of a dingy club basement with that thing - and sometimes another saxophone or trumpet.
These outfits would play the covers of the day, Motown stuff, Ray Charles, Otis Redding, Wilson Picket, Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames and so on. Everything was played without written music. We’d listen to the record a few times, jot down the chords and that was it. I’d learn the horn lines and the Hammond organ would double them up for a nice fat sound.
What I’m getting at is this. Almost all of this music was in guitar keys. E, A, and B. I was playing tenor at the time. Where did that leave me? In F sharp, B and C sharp. Pretty horrendous keys for saxophone, alto or tenor. Thing is, I didn’t give it a second thought. Not using any dots meant using my ears and so I learned how to play in these keys fast.
There were lots of sax solos. I started by copying the solos on the record and pretty soon started making up my own. Again, I didn’t give it too much thought. I got on with it. It was only later, after studying music, and with a great deal of experience behind me, that I realized I had been using the Blues Scale in all those rock and soul solos and horn lines. I’d learned them without thinking about it.
So, when I’m teaching, if people ask me how to improvise in a rock and blues style I usually advise them to learn the blues scale, first in an easy key (’A’ blues scale) and then, one-by-one, in the harder keys.
I then get them to play the studies in my Blues Kit for Saxophone, which utilize just the notes of the blues scale. It’s amazing just how many melodic ideas can be produced with just these few notes. Afterwards, I encourage them to invent their own motifs, and eventually, their own melodic inventions.
Of course, they’re not the ‘be all and end all’ of improvisation, but if you want to get started with improvisation, learn some blues scales. Get them into your subconscious. One of my favorite players, Johnny Hodges, used them extensively in his solos, although I’m sure he wasn’t consciously thinking about them.
Any questions? Do you have something to say on the subject of blues scales and improvisation? Leave a comment. We’d love to hear from you.
