Beginner’s Guide To Learning to Improvise (7 Steps)

#bettersax #saxophone #improvisation Jay Metcalf teaches how to improvise for beginners.

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[sidneiramalho]

Hey Jay, one thing I'd like to add, I was always under the impression I had to play several notes when improvising, that alone hold me back for awhile, I was struggling one time with a pentatonic scale and my teacher told me "you're not obligated to play all 5 notes in there" LOL Another thing, pauses are also part of the improvisation, we forget that. Great video!

[damonhinson]

I've never even touched a saxophone. Your advice is really solid for musicians of any flavor. Thank you

[johndeer]

after 5 years of guitar on youtube i finally grab a sax and in 20 days I have improved enough to do a sad version of baker stt and sounds pretty good so I want to take a minute to thank you for your tutorials the sax did become my main instrument and my sound has dramatically improved with lots of practice and your profesional advice so Thank you for your videos 🙏

[arrbeesax]

100% agree on listening availability. I grew up with tapes and a walkman. Then the iPod came out and changed the game forever. THEN streaming music services matured and it's ALL THERE. I pick one artist a month and I don't think I hear everything they play before it's time to move on to the next one.

[adamdeem]

Great stuff, thanks, Jay! I’ve always been a good reader of music and can hear stuff well, but got bogged down and discouraged with all the technical theory in music school thinking that the basis of jazz improv was knowing the technical theory of chord construction, etc. from paper. Learning the theory and chord progressions by ear is so much better for internalizing it and being able to play it than trying to read and memorize. I really like how you’ve laid out your courses to maximize ear training and playing the horn over reading endless patterns and etudes.

[jacquelamontharenberg]

Jay. Well put together tutorial. From my experience (I slowly learn this the hard way), you are absolutely on key with this bro.

[smoothvelvetsinger]

Jay is the consummate master of teaching. We should all be very thankful for all the top notch lessons he shares with us. I wish his channel was available back in the day when I got started playing🎶🎷 I'm sure to tune in every time he uploads a new video🤗

[marshwetland]

Love your frequent analogy to language and communication. As a former language instructor, I have been using this analogy to encourage myself - I'd like to be as good with music as I am with language, at least.

[petegalindez]

Great stuff Jay! I am a prime example of it’s not too late to start learning…I’m self taught on sax and spent the last 30 years playing mostly by ear at first, then from pulling down tracks and playing along with musicians…I had absolutely no music theory whatsoever…In the last year, I’ve enrolled in some BetterSax courses, gone to my local jazz clubs much more (I’m in DC now), and in the beginning, like you said, it all sounded like a foreign language, i.e., “I didn’t get it.” I’m now starting to recognize patterns and can understand what’s going on a little better than before…the journey continues…

[johndeer]

because of you I own 3 sax my first tenor then an alto and just got a vintage c melody I won’t go anywhere with out at least one
and every time I play when I open my eyes some body is there with cash even tho is less than a month but is the little things you say that become big on my practice sessions thanks again for all your videos

[joegaudette]

Another AMAZING video Jay! I certainly wish this was the way I had gotten to learn back in the day : ). All great stuff but for me, the listening was major and I could do it anywhere - I used to prerecord albums on cassette and have them with me all the time, even when I didn’t have a horn around. Thanks again for doing all this great stuff you do! Cheers!

[anuyt]

I really love your videos. They've made me better already in my 2 weeks of watching your videos.

[dizgil]

Just clicked on the vid and about to watch. Man ive been "getting into improv" for years, theres always so much info on the internet but wheres the curriculum haha.
Wish there was some kind of milestone list like theres in other fields like engineering...something like changes I, arppeggios I, phrasing I. How to go about structuring a few years worth of self study, and most importantly how to "grade" or measure one's progress has always been my biggest struggle

[Megamember]

When you’re not a beginner, but this video is more useful for you, then begginners!

[lejazz]

Great comparison with learning a language!! I would like to add: learn to construct 2 measure sentences (lines) I wish I had been aware of this when I started!

[frinaanting]

Just love that you're showing off the album that got me inspired to pick up and play the sax – Hank Mobley's Soul Station.

[robm]

Hi Jay. The listening part for me, and for anyone, should be obvious. We shouldn't need to listen to a sax, just any music that goes off the prescribed melody, but not too far off and not for too long. The stumbling block for me is what you say about rhythm and speed. To do improv, I should pick familiar melodies, strong beats, and bpm between 60 and 80. I foolishly tried faster tempos for a while and just recently realized I was spinning my wheels. A slower tempo readily accepts some 1/8 and 1/4 note ad lib. Four years in to playing the sax, this makes a lot of sense.
But...for an aspiring artist, learning faster tempo "solo" segments (as an improv would be) is still good with reading and practicing written music, to get the hang of how more advanced folks would play an improv...as Miles Davis said, :"First you imitate, then you innovate."
Thanks for helping people figure this out early.

[ChipTheMusicMan]

I think a goal this year will be to start transcribing more. Thanks for the reminder, Jay!

[andrewcasillas]

I love your videos my brotha! HOwever, on your microphone your "s" sounds are really sharp just letting you know ! :D I love the videos been a fan a long time!

[willyb]

Good one, enjoyed that. I've been at it for a long time but new to the YouTube aspect. I'm 27 years in but we're all learning.