This article appeared in The Saxophone Journal in the July/August 2011 edition.

I am back in Paris after spending a month in the US for my doctoral auditions. Now that it’s March, and I only have a few months left in France, I finally am going to get some information posted while it is fresh in my mind. During my last year studying with Vincent David, I got some interesting ideas about practicing scales that cut to the heart of the French view on saxophone playing.

Why practice scales?

Typically we think of scale practice as a physical workout that gives us the technical tools to play whatever music comes in front of us. As you practice your scales and intervals, you are building a base of mastered note patterns that you can then call into action at any moment. The logical conclusion then is to systematically practice in all tonalities major and minor scales, intervals, et al., while progressively increasing the tempo. Then if you include switching between multiple saxophones, this can become a several-hour affair: sound familiar?

This practice system can be effective, and it works well for some people. However, another thing that should sound familiar to you is the person who logs the hours shedding, but doesn’t seem to improve the way you would expect. Also familiar are the many saxophonists who have fantastic technique, but can’t convert their skill into an artistic performance. The issues of sound control, intonation, and musicality are not addressed directly by this method, they are usually left behind in the pursuit of raw finger speed. However, if we prioritize sound over speed, it sheds a whole new light on the idea of scale practice.

Intervals

From a performer’s point of view, an interval is the connection of one note to another. While this definition may sound obvious, the performance implications are not so easy to master. For example, take your saxophone and play a trill between a G4 and A4, followed by a tremolo between G4 and B4, eventually expanding out to an octave between G4 and G5. The quality of the tremolo between the major second interval and the octave will be completely different. If this still seems obvious, ask a pianist friend to do the same exercise and compare the results. The saxophone is simply not constructed in a way to allow easy shifts across wide intervals like a piano or marimba.

Years ago, I was at home on break from school, practicing this way, struggling with some octaves. My brother (a violinist) said to me, “um, so I heard you practicing and… yeah, saxophone isn’t really a good instrument to play tremolos on.” At that moment I was annoyed, but what he said is true, anyone who is successful at mastering the technique of saxophone will necessarily have to overcome this inherent problem of connecting notes.

While studying with Vincent David, this idea developed further in my mind: The central technical difficulty with the saxophone is not only to connect notes cleanly with accurate intonation, but also to maintain a homogeneous sound and eventually a compelling phrasing.

How to Practice

If we expand our definition of “technique” to include sound control, intonation and phrasing, our practice strategy should reflect these priorities. The first step is to slow way down and practice at a speed that allows you to hear each individual interval. While practicing very slowly, be extremely critical of yourself: do not allow any cracked notes and insist on perfect intonation. Play slow enough that you can anticipate intonation problems, and repeat each interval until you consistently nail each one. If you are not sure if a certain note is exactly right or not, you can use a piano or a tuner to check and adjust, and with enough repetition you will begin to hear the interval unaided.

The next step is to play the scale in double and tripled intervals. This means that you play each interval twice or three times before moving on to the following one. Therefore, a doubled C minor scale in fourths would start with C – F – C – F – D – G – D – G rather than the usual C – F – D – G. This exposes your tendencies to crack certain intervals and forces you to play in tune by lingering longer on each interval.

The next step is to put it all together and play the entire scale, going for perfection. The eventual goal is to play the scale twice, and then each interval from thirds up to octaves. All of this work should be done at a forte dynamic and slurred, without adding any further complications of dynamics or articulations.

Once you are able to play a given scale without cracking any notes and nailing the intonation, you can focus your attention on homogeneity of sound and phrasing. The saxophone is obviously an imperfect instrument, and there will always be notes that just do not sound the same. Additionally there is a natural difference in tone quality between registers that cannot be avoided. The goal should be to seamlessly blend from one register to another and create a musical line. I think of the sound like a stretching rubber band, progressively expanding and retracting, without ever being “snapped.”

Finally, this should all be done in the most artistic, musical way possible. The final goal is not only accuracy, but also control and flexibility, as per the famous remark by a polish student during a lesson with Vincent David: “Why does professor change tempo?” Scale practice is not about robotic execution, but rather musical expression: eventually you have to turn off your metronome and put all that hard, repetitive work to a purpose. Experiment with subtle rubato and dynamics and hold the final note with vibrato.

If you are vigilant about practicing this way, you will find that it takes a long time to truly “master” a given scale. Therefore it is better to stick to a single tonality until you can play the scale and intervals with nearly 100% consistency before moving on to another tonality. This could literally take months, as it did the first time I worked on scales in my lessons with Vincent. Notice that there has still been no mention of jacking up the speed. Once you have worked through several tonalities and built your technique in a fundamental way, you will find that increasing the speed is more or less trivial.

Finger technique

In addition to the attention to sound and intonation, it is important to address the physical finger movement, as well. Usually finger technique refers to the ability to play fast, but a better way to describe it is “finger control.” Most of the time saxophonists are willing to give up control for speed, by slamming the keys and lifting their fingers off the instrument. While this problem is acknowledged across the board, the solution is not so clear. Teachers will always tell their students to keep the fingers close to the instrument, but we all know that this is easier said than done.

I suggest practicing very slowly, and standing directly in front of a mirror. While you are playing your individual intervals (as described above), focus on each finger, one at a time until you have the movement perfectly controlled. Then move on to the following interval and continue the process throughout the scale. The more that you can keep the fingers in contact with the instrument, the stronger the tactile connection you feel with your instrument.

A close, intimate connection with the saxophone is necessary for good control, while low tension is necessary for good flexibility. Tension in the hands and fingers will lead to a harder, more aggressive sound, not to mention possible injury down the road. Shake out your hands periodically to relax them, while you are practicing in the mirror, gauge the level of tension in your hands. While tension is elusive and famously difficult to eliminate, slow, deliberate practice will reduce tension, whereas forced, fast practice will increase tension. The best recipe for tense playing is to put the metronome on at your fastest possible tempo and slam out your scales on the brink of losing control (i.e. how I used to practice scales).

Some finger problems come from the fact that the fourth and fifth fingers share a tendon, which makes it physically more difficult to control them separately. To improve the independence of the two fingers, try the following exercise: start with a trill between G4 and A4 and notice your pinkie position. Now do a trill between G♯4 and A4, while continuing to hold down the G♯  key. You will probably find that your fourth finger is uncomfortable, and your trill is not very even. You can extend this exercise to holding down the G# key for other left hand intervals, such as G♯4 – B4, G♯ – C4, G♯ – C♯4, A4 – B4, B♭4(bis) – C4, et al. This physical weakness is a major cause of tension, particularly in the left hand.

Articulation

Although this system is based on playing slurred, you need to be able to articulate, as well. Once you are very comfortable slurring in a given tonality, switch to all tongued. Practice the various grades of difference between legato and staccato. If you want to work on tongue speed, then double, triple or quadruple each note of the scale using both single and double-tonguing. When you are very comfortable playing all-slurred and all-tongued, you will have the flexibility to play with any articulation you want, without having to systematically practice every scale with every articulation variant.

Posture

Sometimes practice your scales with your back against a wall for an exaggeratedly straight posture. It is very easy to lapse into hunched body position when you are practicing for a long time. Also think about when to sit and when to stand. I prefer to stand when I am doing large-scale work or running through a series of scales, but to sit down and pull up my chair to a mirror when doing more detailed work.

Altissimo

You should try to include altissimo in the process as early as possible. Start with only one note only in the scale (for example, play up to a G6 in a C Major scale). Then eventually work it in to the thirds, fourths, fifths, etc. Slowly expand the range until you are playing up to around C7/D7. This will be easier than you might expect, if you are practicing patiently at a slow tempo.

Multiple Instruments

You should practice this way on all of the saxophones that you plan to play in concert (soprano, alto, tenor, baritone, etc). While the basic fingering is the shared between the members of the saxophone family, there are significant differences in embouchure, intonation tendencies, throat position, air control, etc. Therefore it is a mistake to practice scales exclusively on alto and expect them to carry over to the other instruments.

Also use your scale practice as an opportunity to practice switching between instruments on the fly. Play through a scale on one instrument and then do a quick switch to a second and play the same scale again. This takes a lot of flexibility to pull off smoothly.

Further practice ideas

Stay Oriented

Another reason to practice slowly is to be able to keep track of where you are in the scale. During lessons with Vincent, while I play my scales, he is able to stay oriented in the scale and correct me on the fly. For example, in the middle of the scale I might play a wrong note and he will shout out “Sol!” If you are relying on physical muscle memory and not keeping track of where you are, then you are probably not playing clean, in tune intervals.

Air only

Try to play through a scale, but without the mouthpiece in your mouth. In other words, blow air through your lips, making a hissing sound, and finger the notes of the scale. Try to maintain a consistent, fast airstream while minimizing the noise of the keys.

Record yourself

Listen for your evenness of sound and musical gesture. Also try occasionally placing the microphone right next to your hands to exaggerate the key noise.

Stage presence

Watch yourself in the mirror and observe how you look and move while you play. Watch your facial expression and try to eliminate anything distracting (blinking, moving eyebrows, etc.) Imagine yourself on stage playing for an audience.

Extended techniques

Your time practicing scales each day is also the best time to improve on some extended techniques, before you have music in front of you. You can work on circular breathing by continuing directly from one scale to another without stopping. Double tonguing takes a lot of repetition to master, so work on it by doubling each note of your scales. You can also play with flutter tongue, or slap tongue and eventually quarter tone scales.