Saxophone Lessons
Taming the Saxophone:
Exercises & Patterns:
- Fingering Exercises (1)
- 1|1-1|1-2|1-3|1-4
- Fingering Exercises (2)
- 2-1|2-2|2-3|2-4
- Cycle of 5ths
- 3-1|3-2|3-3|3-4
- IIm7-V7-Is
- 4 |4-1|4-2|4-3|4-4|4-6
- Chromatic
- 5-1|5-2|5-3
- Studies in 4ths
- 6-1|6-2|6-3
- Diminished Patterns
- 7|7-1|7-2|7-3|7-4
- Whole Tone Patterns
- 8-1|8-2|8-3|8-4
All of these in full (and many more) in the book:
ABOUT THE LESSONS
I have designed and developed all the saxophone exercises and lessons in the links on the left over many years both as a professional recording musician and as a saxophone teacher at Southampton University (UK), and have used these as part of a regular practice routine. It’s important to practise (and learn them) in all keys.
Many of the exercises are aimed towards mainstream jazz saxophone playing, but are still very useful for other styles, whether it’s free jazz, smooth jazz, classical, funk, pop, rock & roll and r ’n’ b. The tone and effects section is useful for all styles. I hope you find these lessons and tutorials useful.
NEW! TAMING THE SAXOPHONE
Buy all the fingering exercises & more!
Discounts when you buy sheet music as well!
All the fingering exercises are available in book format. These contain expanded versions of the online exercises (many of them in all keys) and also a section on tone exercise. 144 pages of fun!
Devised and presented
by Pete Thomas
Saxophone Instruction DVD
This DVD is produced by Amity TV for Virgin Vision and presented by Pete Thomas as part of the Jools Holland Music makers series. It has sold over 20,000 worldwide and is described by Phill Straker of saxophones.co.uk as "basically, the best one out there..."
As well as this saxophone lessons section on this site, you will also find plenty of useful jazz & blues licks and phrases on the jazz theory pages on www.petethomas.co.uk
I have also written some articles for Sax On The Web. See The "Rules" of Rock & Roll and Rock & Roll Saxophone: Basic Theory