Lesson 14 of 51Alto SaxophoneBeginner

Major Pentatonic workout

0:51

Ollie Weston works through a major pentatonic exercise on the saxophone, building toward fluency in all twelve keys one at a time.

Part of the courseExploring Jazz Saxophone: Part 1 - Getting Started51 lessons (2h 9m)

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What's in the course

51 lessons (2h 9m) · 1 free
    • 01. The Major Scale

      3:10

    • 02. Major Scale Arpeggios

      1:12

    • 03. Practising in all keys

      1:38

    • 04. Embellishing

      1:58

    • 05. Major Pentatonics

      2:07

    • 06. Major Pentatonic workout

      You are here

      0:51

    • 07. Rhythmic Variation

      1:23

    • 08. Adding Blues to a Major Chord

      1:05

    • 09. Major 7th Heaven

      6:16

Lesson transcript

Exploring Musical Keys

1, 2. 1, 2, 3, 4.

So, again, I've just demonstrated it in one key. But you've got 12 to choose from.

As I've said:

  • Take your time.
  • Eventually, you might want to be fluent in all 12 keys.
  • But there's no rush.

Take your time. Digest each key as you go.

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Meet your guru

Ollie Weston

Ollie Weston

Since graduating from the Leeds College of Music (BA Hons) and the Guildhall School of Music (Post Graduate Diploma in Performance), Ollie has built a busy and varied career in music. As a saxophonist he has performed in live and studio settings with artists as diverse as Amy Winehouse, Tim Minchin, Bonobo, Frank Turner, the London Jazz Orchestra, the Hackney Colliery Band, the Ambient Jazz Ensemble and the Nelson Riddle Orchestra. He is also the co-leader of the jazz quartet 'Time Is Of The Essence', and composes and arranges material for this and other ensembles.

Ollie is active in music education, currently as course leader for the jazz department at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama (junior school), where he runs jazz ensembles, big band and theory classes. He has written a series of 'Exploring Jazz' books for Schott Music that are published worldwide and feature on exam syllabuses in the UK. Ollie has also run workshops for Oxford University, Pro Corda Strings and BABSWE, as well as the Guildhall School of Music summer schools.

In his Exploring Jazz Saxophone courses, Ollie takes you from getting started right through to soloing confidently over songs and chord sequences, building the improvising skills that put a real jazz player's vocabulary at your fingertips.

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