Chops Maintenance

I have always found it challenging as a multi-instrumentalist to stay in shape on saxophone which is my main instrument. Teaching, arranging, listening and developing my guitar and voice technique compete for my attention, making it really easy to let my saxophone playing fall to the wayside.

During the summer of 1995, while I was on break from attending the Humber College Music Programme, I decided to learn my chords and scales using  Patterns For Jazz. I managed to get through about 75% of the book before I hit a wall with the chromatic intervals and never finished it.

A few months ago, I returned to the book fresh and started over, not with the ambition of finishing it, but with the intent to use it as a tool to simply stay in shape and to keep my mind fresh. I did have a lapse for two months but I got back on the horse again a couple of weeks ago. I am finding the iPad app Music Journal quite useful in helping me stay focused and achieving my tempo goals. I limit my time on the saxophone to about 30 minutes a day unless I have an approaching gig.

I am now on the diatonic 4th exercises which is giving me my first real challenge. I have been forced to reduce my tempo to 80 bpm so I can play them cleanly think ahead. However, it's a good exercise for the mind to learn new things, or in my case, solidify what I tried to learn 17 years ago. Gradually, my tempo on the diatonic 4th exerecises will increase so the time it will take me to finish it will reduce. I will then be able to add new exercises and delete older ones. That has been my approach to the book and it seems to be working for me.

As a result of doing these maintenance exercises, I have found that my fingers have been more fluid at my weekly rehearsal with the Big City Big Band. My embouchure also benefits because I am able to get through long, tiring infrequent rock gigs.