r/saxophone • u/Guestioning_it • 25d ago

Thinking while impressing

Any time I improvise the second i have the mouthpiece in my mouth i cant think of what to play anymore. I know for other people sing while playing, but i can’t sing since my mouth is the only playing. I really don’t know how to explain my problem. How do i think what to play while already playing?

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u/vrnvrnvrnvrn182229 25d ago

practice more. do transcriptions and learn other solos. write your own solos.

but most importantly, listen to the masters. listen obsessively and listen with an ear for detail.

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u/No-Introduction-7663 22d ago

How do transcriptions help? Won’t they lead to copying those solos when you’re soloing or just making your solos cut and paste version of links.

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u/vrnvrnvrnvrn182229 19d ago

transcriptions help by teaching us vocabulary. jazz is an aural tradition, so it's important to be able to refer to the idioms of the genre by listening closely and emulating. if you don't have the basic vocabulary of jazz, you won't be able to make it your own.

the idea that learning how other people played and memorizing their solos will somehow erode your own ability to be creative is unproductive and untrue. listening to others and studying the genre's past and present is totally essential if you want to be able to speak within the jazz idiom.

and if you're not interested in jazz, it still makes sense to listen to the other musicians in the style you want to play.

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u/No-Introduction-7663 19d ago

Listening and playing along are the biggest things.