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Monkey see, monkey do.

© Chris Mindel

At my final saxophone lesson, with my first (and highly cherished) instructor, he had me try an experiment. He proposed the following: he would blow a note at random, and I (without looking at his fingers) would play the same note. Something that can only be called “hand-ear coordination.” Having had nothing even remotely like ear training yet, I was terrified. But, since it was our last lesson and I was in a melancholy mood, I didn’t balk at the challenge.

And how did I do? I remember only missing one or two out of many. Apparently, seven years of lessons had imparted to me knowledge of what my horn should sound like. We were both proud, and then sad as we parted.

Since then, I’ve had a few years of ear training. I know how chords sound in many inversions. I (almost) know by heart (or ear!) Concert A. Yet only a few weeks ago did it finally click what an important lesson that final one was - and what an important exercise could be developed from it.

Consider this: when you improvise a solo, or compose a piece of music, the most difficult aspect is to transfer what you hear in your mind to what you play through your sax. Ad least, it is for many; it is for me.

So, here is what you do. Grab another saxophone player. Stand back to back, and begin matching pitches. First, you play one and your friend matches you. Then switch. Think hard of each note as you play it, making sure it rings in your head. When this starts getting easy, move on to two notes. Then three, then four, then whole concertos!

Then, when you are getting the hang of matching long strings of notes, push your friend out the door and find another friend who plays a different instrument. Begin again - but no fair playing notes out of the range of the outer instrument.

What this exercise will force you to do is know instinctively the sound of every finger combination on your sax. You’ll be more at ease figuring out songs people hum to you and desire you to play. You’ll be able to figure out songs desiring to come out of your own head. You’ll impress your friends (and you might have made more practicing this exercise!)

But most importantly, it will strengthen the creative conduit between your mind and your saxophone. And that is the key to unlocking the composer/improviser in you.