Patterns - Lesson
Lesson time: (1min 59sec)
James Rae walks through 'Patterns' in A major - ascending the scale in short figures and coming down in arpeggios, keeping every interval clean.
Copyright © 2023 Universal Edition (London) Ltd., All compositions by James Rae except where otherwise indicated.
Course preview
This lesson is part of the course Saxophone: Polish & Style
Watch a preview of the full course below.
Lesson transcript:
Patterns in A Major
This piece is written in A major. As I have said earlier in the book, A major is a very, very common key for alto sax because it is concert C major.
Overview
As its title suggests, this piece focuses on patterns. Here's how we approach it:
- Ascending Patterns: We go up the scale in little patterns.
- Descending Arpeggios: We come down harder, using arpeggios as opposed to stepwise descent.
Important Tips
- Ensure each interval is clean.
- This is a good case for looping to achieve clarity.
Exercise
- One Bar at a Time: Take one bar at a time to practice.
- Play Straight: As an exercise, you can play it straight to ensure that your fingers are not catching any notes in between the main notes.
Now, we go back to swing, and all should be fine.
About the instructor
James Rae was born on Tyneside in 1957. He studied clarinet, bass clarinet, piano and composition at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama from 1975 to 1979, under professors Yona Ettlinger, Stephen Trier, Meriel Jefferson and Patric Standford respectively. Since leaving the Guildhall, he has pursued a highly successful and varied career across three areas: performing, writing and teaching. James Rae has worked in many West End and Royal National Theatre productions, including Sir Peter Hall's award-winning Oresteia with music by Sir Harrison Birtwistle, and has received many freelance engagements with some of the country's leading orchestras and ensembles. He is the leader of the Phoenix Saxophone Quartet, who over the years have given many recitals and BBC broadcasts, and have recorded the complete works of Carey Blyton on two albums, 'The Return of Bulgy Gogo' and 'Sherlock Holmes meets Dr Who'. As a composer, James Rae is one of Europe's most published writers of educational wind music, with over 250 publications to his credit, mainly published by Universal Edition. His music includes instrumental study books, sonatas, tutors, baroque, classical and jazz transcriptions, plus many volumes of duets, many of which feature on all the major wind examination syllabuses worldwide. He has also written four musicals for schools with Mike Cornick, and his larger commissions include The Turn of a Wheel, a major work for concert band that premiered in November 1999 for the North Tyneside Concert Band, of which he was a founder member as a boy, and the overture Moving On in 2012. James Rae has worked extensively as a syllabus consultant and composer for both the Associated Board and Trinity College London, and has been highly involved in developing the woodwind sight-reading requirements for both exam boards. As a teacher, he has held many posts in both the state and independent sectors, and currently works at King's College School Wimbledon, where he directs the Wind Orchestra and Concert Band, and Shrewsbury House School in Surbiton, where he coaches three large bands and a chamber group. That teaching experience runs right through his saxophone series for MusicGurus, which takes you step by step from your very first notes to a confident, stylish player: First Notes, New Keys & Low Notes, Expanding Your Range, Scales & High Notes, Extended Range & Rhythm, and Polish & Style. read more