This article originally appeared in Saxophone Journal, Sept/Oct 1996. Volume 21, No. 2
It is important to feel good about your playing. If playing the saxophone were unpleasant, clearly a magazine like this one wouldn’t exist. For many saxophonists, it becomes very easy to “get comfortable” when a certain level of proficiency and (especially) technique is achieved. It is in these moments of satisfaction that we must be able to continue to look critically at our own playing. This is not be confused with beating yourself up, a practice which I wholeheartedly discourage. What I am suggesting is developing the ability to remain cognizant of what is really coming out of your horn.
In recent years I have enjoyed a modest amount of success and attention. I would be lying if I said that those things don’t matter to me and I am unaffected. This would be clearly lying with the pretense of being modest. Never, ever do that. It is important to have a generous amount of humility in your overall vibe, but when someone pays you a compliment, no matter what you might think, smile and say “thank you.” This is a lesson that I learned from my former teacher and friend Lynn Klock, and he credits the lesson to his mentor, the late Larry Teal. It [would be, often] is very easy for me to feel quite good about myself, in certain contexts. Hanging out in the comfort zone for too long is devastating to progress. This is why it is necessary to find fault with your playing: not to take away from the pleasure of the moments in which high quality and artistry is achieved, but to know what needs to be practiced and worked out.
I’ve included a “Mental Checklist” that I try to use sometimes before I improvise. Clearly it would not be possible to think about all ten things at once or even in the space of one solo. The key is to assimilate these things into the automatic processes one at a time, thus making it possible to make a new list of considerations. I think about most of these ten things, but usually end up focusing on two to four of them. Obviously, choosing a different focus in a particular solo will produce a different musical result. One time, I might be really concentrating on varying my articulation and time feel, but my tone might be relatively straight ahead and unchanging. The next time I might concentrate on leaving space for the solo solo to breathe and varying the tone colors, but I might neglect a different slant musically. This list is also ever changing. As one topic becomes automated, a new topic immediately takes its place in the checklist. There was a time when my checklist included topics like “Am I clearly outlining the harmony,” “Am I not starting on the root of every chord every time,” “and “Am I sitting up straight?” This is an illustration of the reasoning behind my checklist.
Mental Checklist
1. Am I playing with my best possible tone?
2. Am I thinking about variety in the tonal colors?
3. Is my time feel connecting with the musical environment?
4. Are my rhythms varied and interesting?
5. Is my articulation varied and interesting?
6. Am I developing my ideas throughout the solo?
7. Is my body physically relaxed
8. Am I leaving adequate space (rest)?
9. Am I just playing licks when I don’t know what to play?
10. Am I making a spiritual statement about my life through my instrument?
Number one is about my tendency to sometimes get caught up in what the notes are instead of what the notes sound like. Who cares if I just played a tone row and then perfectly inverted it in retrograde if the tone is crummy?
Number two is about my tendency to only think about my tone at the beginning and end of phrases. This relates back to my article on “Not Sculpting.” Number three is important in that it is often overlooked by immature players. Besides simply playing the notes evenly or with a good swing feel, how does my time fit in with the rhythm section’s?
Nothing is more uncomfortable to listen to than a soloist who is unable to coalesce with the drummer and bass player’s time feel. Many players will set up a dynamic of playing with and against the time feel of the band as a source of tension and release. This allows a new dimension in resolution. Number four is rather self explanatory. No one wants to hear a continuous string of unending eight notes without any variation. Number five is a strong point that many of us miss. A strong vocabulary of articulations can lead to an extremely personal sound. I got this feeling from hearing Joe Henderson in concert recently. The variation is way beyond just staccato and legato, but more within the many shades of gray which lie between the extremes. Other masters of articulation include Jerry Bergonzi, David Liebman, and of course Charlie Parker.
Number six is seemingly obvious, but in the heat of the moment, it becomes relatively easy to just keep churning out material that sounds good rather than to deal with the material as a whole. For a real feeling of motivic development, check out the writing of Jim McNeely.
Number seven is vital to good saxophone playing. By forcing the body into unnatural positions while playing, the best thing that can happen is what valuable energy will be lost absorbed by the action of setting up body tension. At worst, physical stress can spell tendonitis and carpal tunnel syndrome down the road. This is bad news and very easily avoidable if a certain respect for the human body as it related to playing the saxophone is maintained. I remind myself to not try to hold the weight of the saxophone in my hands; let the neckstrap do its job! If you need a better neckstrap, just get one. There is no excuse for causing bodily harm to oneself in the process of creating art (as far as I am concerned anyway!).
Number eight is my way to keep from filling up every available space with a flurry of notes. It is important to remember that without silence, there would be no music.
Number nine is extremely important for all improvisers to consider. Remember that playing a lick from the mental library simply because “it fits there” is the antithesis of improvisation. I like to connect this with leaving space. The solution to the problem is this: When in doubt, lay out! Nothing is more obvious than regurgitating patterns in the appropriate places in lieu of making any real artistic motion.
Number ten is for me, the most important factor of them all. Music only moves me when it sounds like it is reflective of a particular experience. Yusef Lateef once told me that improvisation is a reflection of the human experience. If your music is not somehow connected with your overall aesthetic, what purpose does it serve, other than to chill folks out in the elevator or the dentist’s chair!
Never forget that in order to get better, it is necessary to locate the weaknesses and refine them while keeping the strongs strong. Critical thinking about music is vital in order to maintain a healthy balance between feeling good and feeling inspired to move on. Until next time, practice hard. §
#improvisation #checklist #critical #larryteal #lynnklock #yuseflateef
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