Lesson 69: A Major

Warne+Marsh+warne

Sometimes working on just one key for a while can be beneficial.  Today I practiced a bit on concert A major –  on tenor sax this is B major, which does not lay well on the horn for me, mainly due to my deficiency using the side A# fingering.  Also, it’s more difficult for me to visualize the 7 modes in this key than compared to concert Bb major.

After singing and playing over an A drone for a while, I came up with a simple melody that moves down through the 7 modes of concert A major by diatonic step (all over an A drone).  For rhythmic interest,  each melody is played first as all dotted quarter notes (a 3 over 4 grouping) and than in 8th notes.   I started by singing the exercise until it was easy to hear and visualize and than put it on the horn.

There’s a PDF with the melody for C, Bb and Eb below.

~Enjoy!

Lesson 69: A Major Melody PDF

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Lesson 69: A Major
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