My advice after 15+ years of performance

After over 15 years of paid performance, my advice to the young saxophonist is to stay in the game. Keep involved regardless of wht level. When this picture was taken, I was 17 and playing in a funk band. I wasn't sure where the saxophone would take me. I knew I enjoyed it and I tried to practice a few hours every day.
Now the saxophone pays all of my bills. It's my only job: tonight I'll perform jazz at a wedding reception then reggae at a club. Tomorrow I'm performing in the street for a city gallery stroll with a singer and my backing tracks. The next day I'm performing at a Mardi-Gras themed company party with my 7-piece band. Next week I'm performing Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at wedding receptions. This takes care of me and my family (wife and two kids). I had no idea when I was 17 that it could do this.
Lesson for today: stay in the game. Keep involved however minimally, don't let your instrument collect dust. Even if it's just taking it out for 15 minutes, try to play every day, no matter how you feel about it.

Learning to improvise

Improvisation is the art of making up a solo on the spot. The notes you play form melodies and interesting sounds over the chord progression beneath you. Improvisation doesn't just involve the soloist, however. The whole group interacts with the soloist much like a conversation between friends. The soloist with "say" something, the bass player responds, then the pianist, etc.

Soloing seems daunting for the beginning player. What should I play? Which notes are the right ones in this song? Keep in mind that improvisation is a lifelong learning process, something which can always be improved and explored. Here are a few simple thing to try to get yourself started soloing:

1. Learn your scales/keys. Start with the 12 major keys, then learn the minor keys, then dominant, etc. For a good reference on keys look here: (compiled by Paul Elkouss). Start with the "easier" keys, C, G, F, etc.

2. Become familiar with your instrument. Try to imitate songs, play them in different keys. For example, "Mary had a Little Lamb" can be played in the key of C:
E D C D E E E, D D D, E G G
Now try to play the song starting on an A (key of F), then try starting on other notes.

3. Play along with songs you like, figure out how to play them "by ear". By ear means without looking at music or someone telling you which notes to play, you just figure it out on your own, "by ear".

4. Try to balance the difficult activities with the fun activities. Many students quit playing the saxophone because they find it's not as fun as when they first started, it gets "too hard". Discipline yourself by practicing the hard stuff first (scales, excersizes) then the fun stuff (learning your favorite song, playing by ear).

Welcome to my blog

Hello,

My name is Rob Bennion, professional saxophonist and band-leader. I would like to help you to play the saxophone, no matter what level you are, beginner to professional, I think we can always learn from each other. Thanks to technology this is made much easier and I can publish this from the comfort of my own home while my kids are sleeping!

I am a Salt Lake City jazz musician who does this full-time. I've been playing the sax for nearly 20 years, and getting paid for it for 15 of those years. I'd love to share my experiences with you and the tips I've learned over the years on how to perfect your art and get the gig.

Welcome to my blog, come back often!