IntermediateAlto SaxophoneJazzBluesRock 'n' Roll

Improvising Blues Saxophone, by Nick Beston

Name: Improvising Blues Saxophone, by Nick Beston
Brand: MusicGurus
Author: Nick Beston

Nick Beston

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Modules173

Replay songs35

InstrumentAlto Saxophone, Brass, Saxophone

LanguageEnglish

Contents (173 modules, 35 replay)

- 01. Introduction
- 02. Welcome to the blues
- 03. How this book works
- 04. Using the Backing Tracks
- 01. 1: Basic Blues Harmony
- 02. Explaining harmony
- 03. Swing quavers
- 04. How to construct a major chord
- 05. How to construct a 7th chord
- 06. How to construct a minor chord
- 07. How to construct a minor 7th chord
- 08. Basic 12-bar blues progression
- 09. The II-V-I
- 10. Blues structure
- 11. ‘Walking Blues’ (demonstration / backing track)
- 12. Checkpoint
- 13. Assignments and improvisation tips
- 14. Sax advice:
- 15. Reeds
- 16. Cuts and placement
- 17. Care of your reeds
- 01. 2: Improvising - Scales and Chords
- 02. Practising scales and arpeggios
- 03. Using the blues scale
- 04. ‘Market Blues’ (demonstration)
- 05. Checkpoint
- 06. ‘Market Blues’ (tune / backing track)
- 07. The next step
- 08. ‘Railroad Blues’ (demonstration)
- 09. Checkpoint
- 10. ‘Railroad Blues’ (backing track)
- 11. Assignments and improvisation tips
- 12. Sax advice:
- 13. Mouthpieces
- 01. 3: Improvising - Rhythmic Ideas
- 02. ‘Staple Blues’ (demonstration)
- 03. Checkpoint
- 04. ‘Staple Blues’ (tune / backing track)
- 05. Assignments and improvisation tips
- 06. Sax advice:
- 07. Necks / crooks
- 01. 4: Improvising - Riffs
- 02. ‘Blues for Riffy’ (demonstration / backing track)
- 03. Checkpoint
- 04. Sax advice:
- 05. Setup
- 01. 5: Putting It All Together
- 02. Scales to rhythmic ideas
- 03. Riffs to scales
- 04. ‘Mixed Blues’ (demonstration)
- 05. Checkpoint
- 06. ‘Mixed Blues’ (backing track)
- 07. Assignments and improvisation tips
- 01. 6: Effects
- 02. Glissando
- 03. Slurp or Bend
- 04. Fall
- 05. Growling
- 06. ‘Elephant Blues’ (demonstration / backing track)
- 07. Checkpoint
- 08. Assignments and improvisation tips
- 09. Breathing
- 01. 7: Mutes and Harmonics
- 02. Muted notes - alternative fingerings
- 03. Muted notes - embouchure adjustments
- 04. Harmonics
- 05. Assignments and improvisation tips
- 06. ‘Offside Blues’ (demonstration / backing track)
- 07. Checkpoint
- 08. Sax advice:
- 09. Repairs
- 10. Pad fallen out
- 11. Broken spring
- 12. Lower note key-guard broken
- 01. 8: Bebop Blues
- 02. Bebop blues chord sequence
- 03. ‘Park Blues’ (demonstration / backing track)
- 04. Checkpoint
- 05. Assignments and improvisation tips
- 06. Sax advice:
- 07. Using a microphone
- 08. Recording
- 09. Using a microphone for live work
- 01. 9: Phrasing
- 02. Micro pushes
- 03. Pulling the phrase
- 04. Listening
- 05. ‘Pushing it Blues’ (demonstration / backing track)
- 06. Checkpoint
- 07. Sax advice:
- 08. Sax care and servicing
- 09. Oiling
- 10. Regulation
- 11. Cleaning
- 01. 10: Minor Blues
- 02. Minor blues
- 03. Half-diminished chords
- 04. ‘Blues for Ronim’ (demonstration)
- 05. Checkpoint
- 06. ‘Blues for Ronim’ (tune / backing track)
- 07. Assignments and improvisation tips
- 08. Sax advice:
- 09. New vs old
- 10. Are they worth it?
- 01. 11: Style and Class
- 02. Tritones
- 03. Quotations
- 04. Virtuosity
- 05. Trills and shakes
- 06. Vibrato
- 07. Slurps up to flattened 3rds
- 08. Transcribing a solo
- 09. ‘Here We Go’ (demonstration)
- 10. Checkpoint
- 11. ‘Here We Go’ (backing track)
- 01. 12: Conclusion
- 02. Suggested listening
- 01. 13: The Tenor Pages
- 02. ‘Walking Blues’ (demonstration / backing track)
- 03. ‘Market Blues’ (demonstration)
- 04. ‘Market Blues’ (tune / backing track)
- 05. ‘Railroad Blues’ (demonstration)
- 06. ‘Railroad Blues’ (backing track)
- 07. ‘Staple Blues’ (demonstration)
- 08. ‘Staple Blues’ (tune / backing track)
- 09. ‘Blues for Riffy’ (demonstration / backing track)
- 10. ‘Mixed Blues’ (demonstration)
- 11. ‘Mixed Blues’ (backing track)
- 12. ‘Elephant Blues’ (demonstration / backing track)
- 13. ‘Offside Blues’ (demonstration / backing track)
- 14. ‘Park Blues’ (demonstration / backing track)
- 15. ‘Pushing it Blues’ (demonstration / backing track)
- 16. ‘Blues for Ronim’ (demonstration)
- 17. ‘Blues for Ronim’ (tune / backing track)
- 18. ‘Here We Go’ (demonstration)
- 19. ‘Here We Go’ (backing track)
- 01. Index
- 02. Track Listing
- 01. Walking Blues (demonstration / backing track)
- 02. Market Blues (demonstration)
- 03. Market Blues (tune / backing track)
- 04. Railroad Blues (demonstration)
- 05. Railroad Blues (backing track)
- 06. Staple Blues (demonstration)
- 07. Staple Blues (tune / backing track)
- 08. Blues for Riffy (demonstration / backing track)
- 09. Mixed Blues (demonstration)
- 10. Mixed Blues (backing track)
- 11. Elephant Blues (demonstration / backing track)
- 12. Offside Blues (demonstration / backing track]
- 13. Park Blues (demonstration / backing track)
- 14. Pushing it Blues (demonstration / backing track)
- 15. Blues for Ronim (demonstration)
- 16. Blues for Ronim (tune / backing track)
- 17. Here We Go (demonstration)
- 18. Here We Go (backing track)
- 01. Walking Blues (demonstration / backing track) - Tenor
- 02. Market Blues (tune / backing track) - Tenor
- 03. Railroad Blues (demonstration) - Tenor
- 04. Railroad Blues (backing track) - Tenor
- 05. Staple Blues (demonstration) - Tenor
- 06. Staple Blues (tune / backing track) - Tenor
- 07. Blues for Riffy (demonstration / backing track ) - Tenor
- 08. Mixed Blues (demonstration) - Tenor
- 09. Mixed Blues (backing track) - Tenor
- 10. Elephant Blues (demonstration / backing track] - Tenor
- 11. Offside Blues (Demonstration / backing track) - Tenor
- 12. Park Blues (demonstration / backing track) - Tenor
- 13. Pushing it Blues (demonstration / backing track) - Tenor
- 14. Blues for Ronim (demonstration) - Tenor
- 15. Blues for Ronim (tune / backing track) - Tenor
- 16. Here We Go (demonstration) - Tenor
- 17. Here We Go (backing track) - Tenor

About this songbook

Step into real blues improvisation on sax - with the sound, feel, and vocabulary players actually use. Improvising Blues Saxophone by Nick Beston takes you from the 12-bar foundation and chord awareness into riffs, rhythmic ideas, phrasing, bebop-blues harmony, minor blues colors, and classic sax effects - all through original tunes written to teach each concept.

You’ll learn how blues chords are built (and how to hear them), then turn that knowledge into musical lines using:

Blues scale thinking and practical scale choices over chords
Shuffle and swing rhythm language (and why it feels right)
Riffs that develop into full solos
Phrasing tools like micro pushes and pulling the phrase
Bebop-blues upgrades including a dedicated chord sequence approach
Color and character: glissando, slurps/bends, falls, growling, muted-note sounds, and harmonics

Every chapter is supported by a featured piece, example solo material, and a Checkpoint that breaks down what to listen for. Recorded demonstrations and backing tracks let you hear the style clearly, then jump in and replace the sample ideas with your own playing. There’s even a full tenor sax section with the tunes transposed (including smart octave choices where needed).

Start now - press play and learn! When you’re ready, turn off the demo part, lock into the groove, and make the blues your own.

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Meet the Guru

Nick Beston

Nick Beston is a British saxophonist and teacher who graduated from London University in 1994, specialising in jazz saxophone, studio music technology and composition. His book Improvising Blues Saxophone, published by Schott, is a practical guide for intermediate and advanced players, covering blues harmony, riffs, bebop and minor blues, together with the signature saxophone effects of glissando, growling and mutes.

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Published with

Schott Music

Founded by Bernhard Schott in Mainz in 1770, Schott Music is one of Europe's oldest and largest music publishers, with a catalogue of more than 30,000 titles. Over its 250-year history Schott has issued first editions of Mozart, Beethoven and Wagner, championed 20th-century voices from Hindemith and Schoenberg to Ligeti and Henze, and today publishes sheet music, books and educational materials from offices in Mainz, London, New York, Tokyo and beyond.

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