LEARN AS YOU PLAY

ALTO SAXOPHONE
BY PETER WASTALL

CORRECTIONS

A number of errors were left uncorrected before the first impression of LEARN AS YOU PLAY SAXOPHONE
(2012 repackaged edition) went to print.

This document contains replacement PDFs for pages containing musical errors or omissions. (Pages 31, 33, 37,
41, 45, 48, 50 and 63). Corrected errors or omissions are highlighted in grey.

A second impression of the publication (under the amended title LEARN AS YOU PLAY ALTO
SAXOPHONE) was printed in 2015 with musical corrections and typographical amendments.
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27

Musicianship
Crescendos and diminuendos play an
important part in creating expression but
need careful use since they also have an
effect on tuning.
Basically, a crescendo is produced must remain stable; just a slight firming of
by increasing the air pressure, and a the muscles to correct a note that sounds
diminuendo by reducing the air pressure. flat, and slight relaxation to correct a note
To keep the tuning stable, the embouchure that sounds sharp.

28

29
Tone development
A well-established method of checking
embouchure development is to play octaves
(octave As are particularly good for this). In
the next set of exercises, concentrate on the
following points.
0
1. Strive to produce the octave changes
with just a movement of the octave key.
Try to keep the embouchure still, and the
air pressure as even as possible.
2. Listen carefully and tune the octaves.
Unit 12 sets out the technique required.

. Check that the tone is full without being
raucous.
4. Repeat exercise (a) using the notes
shown in exercises (b), (c) and (d).

Finger technique
1. Players who use side BC as the regular
fingering often use the fingering
shown in this unit when BC is folllowed
or preceded by F, E or D. Exercise
(a) illustrates a typical finger pattern.
Further examples can be found in ‘A
little piece’ by Cornelius Gurlitt.

4
2. In a chromatic passage — see exercise
(b) — several finger patterns are
possible. In elementary work, the two
most useful are:
i) Side BC and middle-finger C
ii) Side BC
and side C
It is left to the discretion of the teacher
which to teach first.
7
. The side fingering for F is used when F
occurs in a chromatic passage. Exercise
(c) illustrates this. A passage requiring
this fingering occurs in bar 9 of ‘Waltz’ by
Schubert.
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58
 45

39

Aids to music reading

With blocks of four semiquavers, read each (such as the two exercises shown opposite)
group as you would a four-syllable word. and make a conscious effort to read each
Start with passages that are easy to finger block of four semiquavers as a single unit.

40
48

UNIT 20

The semiquaver rest is a rest for a quarter of
a crotchet beat. Notice that it is similar to the
semiquaver note, being printed with two tails.
Examples of the semiquaver rest can be found
in the duet.
By combining semiquavers with quavers,
several new rhythmic patterns can be
formed. The examples should be studied
carefully before playing the exercises.
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UNIT 21

C D A
8va key  8va key   The time signature of three-eight indicates that
D key there are three quaver beats in each bar. As
   before, the various notes retain the same value in
   relation to each other; it is the value of the notes
in relation to the beat that is changed.

  
  
  
* Add octave key for upper register.
 63

F G G A BC
{

{
8va key  8va key  8va key  8va key  8va key  8va key  8va key  8va key  8va key 
BC button
        
        
G key
      BC key
  
 F key
       
        

B C C D EC E
{

8va key 






8va key 






8va key 




C key 


8va key 






8va key 






D key
8va key 






EC key
D key

{
8va key 




E key 

EC key
D key
F plate
8va key 






       

F
{

EC key F plate
8va key  8va key 
D key
 
F key
 

E key  
 
 