The Air Sax Ear Training Exercise - with Grace Kelly

[@Spicy_Zach]

WOW, I was just telling someone yesterday , “I can hear so many musical ideas in my head but can’t translate them well over to my sax.”... this hit right on the head

[@jimmyb1133]

You are not alone, Zach ! I can hum or sing a tune or song but then I'm at a loss for playing on my horn .... it happens ....

[@solunastra9497]

I’m an small asian girl who plays alto saxophone. i’m so glad to have found such an inspiring girl. thank you for doing this interview!

[@tmcunlimited]

Really good interview and lesson ! Love you both . My first year of learning Sax I played in car parks in back of my truck at night for 1 year in the dark . By accident I ended up gaining the skill to play by ear meaning I can put down tunes structure of in one session . Now I’m on the uphill task of learning sheet music notation . Learning is so much fun and the journey is always better than the destination ! Would like to have a lesson with You guys !

[@guywithdogs]

If this video gets 10000 likes, Jay will give away Grace Kelly!! Seriously, this was a great interview. Lots of good stuff in a short time.

[@ryanwinter6761]

😂😂😂

[@maxwellmckinley637]

I can't tell if that was meant to be slightly racist, but wither way it makes it funnier.

[@linkinpark3184]

I didn't know south koreans were enslaved?

[@vladpadowicz5946]

Funny!!

[@vladpadowicz5946]

That's so funny I literally laughed out loud!! :'D

[@KeyLeaves]

This is great stuff. Thanks for the interview and slowed down detail. Grace is a stellar musician.

[@bettersax]

yes she is...

[@jamesgutierrez5587]

Hell yeah been waiting for this moment to happen for a long while now. Thank you Better Sax Thank You Grace Kelly. Now we need to pray for Leo P to be next.

[@ebels3]

I was about to say that. As amazing as they are, Leo is a monster on Bari.

[@DEeMONsworld]

yes but I'm not sure Leo can speak anything but saxophone riff.

[@dalemccullough5693]

I recently just heard about Grace while looking for examples of improvising on Comin' Home Baby. She does an amazing job on that and is a terrific sax player.

[@theregoesmiller389]

ugh ! she would be a PERFECT teacher for me ! her philosophy on how she plays is EXACTLY my approach ! sing through the sax ! or let the sax sing for you !

[@Skyhi106]

My wife and me attended Grace's recent concert in Lexington MA (Oct 2022) and it was great. The combination of her singing and playing sax, along with her stage presence and movement, made it truly amazing. Solid backup trio. And her charming anecdotes! A night we'll remember!

[@WJdad]

Ha! Here I was, after thinking about your Leo P interview, and wondering if you’d ever interviewed Grace Kelly - who has a number of recordings with Leo P as they do public performances walking various famous Southern California locales - sure enough here it is! Thank you Jay! I am just learning the sax and pulled up sax solos on KZbin and discovered Leo P. Then found Grace on his channel, then spotted her on an episode of the Bosch TV series. The Bosch character is a jazz fan who plays recordings and mentions various jazz greats regularly. It added a whole new dimension to the show as I am getting an eclectic, unstructured, light form of jazz education. These interviews are amazing.

[@lyecats]

She's the real deal, we each headlined a night in a 3 day "Divas of Jazz" festival in San Antonio, Texas almost a decade ago along with Jessie J, another outstanding hard working talent. She is playful and sweet and plays so well. A real pleasure to see this interview. Love your stuff, Jay!

[@Timelesshero1711]

"Infinity war is the most ambitious crossover in history" Jay: And I.. am... Better Sax

[@Saxpilot]

This is something that people get confused when George Benson scats while he plays. Most people think, "Oh, he's singing along to what he's playing on guitar." But it's the opposite, he's playing along to what he's singing in his head and through his voice. Same concept Grace is advocating here. Great video!!!

[@javierm_uk1588]

Didn't know about her! She's ridiculously talented! I'm speechless. Definitely going to follow her. Thanks for this Jay

[@eworr]

This is definitely one of the most exciting videos you've done. That air-sax exercise just opened up a whole range of exercises that are actually really fun to do, as you're singing what you want to play and then trying to do it. I really enjoyed it and I'm keeping the exercise as a permanent part of my practicing.

[@bettersax]

thanks! Grace is awesome and the singing thing is so helpful!

[@oboeash]

I love this approach. I'll be sharing it with my students. Thanks for featuring one of the best musicians on the planet and giving all of us such a helpful activity!

[@KadrianThomas]

OMG!!!!! I literally just told my wife about this concept of how I play my songs by ear and how I had those little elements and here I come see someone teach the same thing, indeed we are connected. This is such a great video. I’ve never gone so so deep but because I’m not a very fast sight reader I literally record with my mouth what I want to improvise in sections of a song I’m playing by ear, I then record it and play that from my phone. Omg!!!!! I’m gonna go more granular with this technique, this feels like dejaviu. Thanks for sharing this Jay. Great, awesome video.🇯🇲🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🎷🎷🎷👍🤜🏾🤛🏾

[@michaeldean9338]

Grace is simply amazing! Thanks for this.

[@njim9514]

sax community is lucky to have you better sax thank you

[@orlaspring363]

I'm just now seeing this video and wow! Game changer. Thank you for this and as for interviewing Leo P., I second that emotion.

[@JayCee-hw4zc]

Great interview Jay, l just love Grace and her work!

[@fc1lyles]

Love that exercise, learning what each key position would sound like before playing.

[@etienneyitian]

I have to try this with my clarinet. Thank you both for the tip 👍👍👍

[@pixamite1]

Wow I’m new to the saxophone and have developed a serious interest in Jazz. Another great video Jay. Daily I’m learning of new saxophone artist. The list is growing fast and I’m very excited about adding Grace Kelly to the list. Man she’s really special.

[@bettersax]

yes she is.

[@kpoudavoff]

I do always play air sax when I’m walking on the street , unfortunately can’t check if I’m correct haha. Thanks for this video , it’s awesome!

[@runandwrite]

Grace Kelly is one of my favorite sax players around today. I remember thinking she was around 17 and thinking she was amazing for her age. Now the "for her age" is no longer a necessary qualifier. I don't know if there's a saxophonist who has a better singing voice. If Phil Woods had broken her fingers, she could still make it on her voice alone -- but of course I'm glad he didn't!

[@doggnap]

Seriously what i needed to see. I kind of gave up with the sax about 7 years ago as i could not play anything unless it was follow the notes in the book. I just thought i was dumb and the books got boring . I shall try again with this vital lesson.

[@Mansax80]

Thanks for sharing this video Jay! Grace is a wonderful sax player as well as a great person!! Love it!

[@thomasfadden3394]

Thanks for the memories of Phil as well as the great interview with Grace! Lots of memories of PW from the Celebration of the Arts (COTA) Festival in Delaware Water Gap PA playing with the COTA Cats.

[@eladgellert]

Its a great ear training exercise and i love the interviews you do you ask great questions and explain well everything thanks!

[@vladpadowicz5946]

I also started sax in my early teens and did these exercises without realizing it was "ear training" as I was merely trying to learn how to play a song, like Happy Birthday for starters or a cool solo (doesn't have to be a sax solo ;)) I'd listen to the song repeatedly to really know it in my head, then sing/hum/whistle along with it so I could tell if I had it right. Then without the recording, sing it and play it on my horn, which, as a beginner I would often "hunt" for the right note until I had a match, and then the test of playing along with the recording and getting that rush of success and pleasure through effort and a rather high level of concentration ;) Eventually, after a few years of steady playing and seeking out songs and solos to learn, the process becomes second nature and you then play what you think, as easily as speaking. And a word to Jay, you are a phenomenal teacher, everyone following is receiving some of The Best advice and coaching from a Sax Master. I would have progressed so much quicker with you as a teacher. I learned in the highschool Jazz band, we were a Maynard Ferguson cover band, so we were really solid as we played the recorded melodies and could practice at home with the vinyl record and aiming at following perfectly, in other words, being an invisible member of the band. And I did say vinyl record, so imagine having to move the needle back to just a few grooves to work on a specific part, now it's just a-b repeat and you can even slow down a playback speed without affecting the pitch of the recording, unlike changing the speed on a turntable lol. And Grace is truly an exceptionally expressive soul who's playing is gift to the listener!! ❤️🎶🎷

[@mauriciogodoy8928]

Excellent video

[@johnmarkconnolly6414]

This is easily the best video of yours I’ve ever seen. I’ve always had a similar issue. Being trained as a legit player, I could sing/whistle a jazz solo that was at least the right notes and articulations, but could never get it to come out of my horn. Now as an adult amateur, my time to practice is severely constrained. I can see how useful 5 mins of this per session, 5 mins on overtones, and 5-10 mins on scales will really improve my sound, my ability to communicate thru the horn and overall dexterity. While I prefer a darker, perhaps more traditional big band jazz sound, the beauty of music is that we don’t all have to sound the same. It matters more what you are saying than your specific tone quality - bright, dark, sub tone or somewhere in between. Subbed and notified.

[@blackcatwithahat4088]

She has been a role model for me since i started to play the sax four years ago. Specially her embouchure and control is amazing.

[@solomoncaraway7717]

Such a great video! Can’t wait to implement this into my practice sessions!

[@lisaferrara8120]

This is such a wonderful post. Thank you for sharing your interview with this talented artist.

[@glencunningham5400]

This is a great exercise. It is similar to how I approach transcribing solos now. I used to think that transcribing was about writing everything down to analyze it, a very slow and intimidating process that kept me from doing it. But some professional sax players explained that it is more about the ear training aspect of it, and doing it in small pieces, not necessarily learning and memorizing the whole solo. You can listen to a solo in chunks (I use the Anytune app to stop/start/loop, slow down and pitch shift), sing and play it, then move on to the next lick and repeat. If you find a really cool lick you like, you can write it down, or at least stop and really focus on it (e.g.- play in all keys). But you don't have to write anything down, and instead spend a lot more time focusing on the ear training aspect of it, both copying a sequence of notes you hear in your head, and learning from the player's inflections, articulation, etc. too.

[@bettersax]

exactly.

[@stulast]

Wow! This is great stuff. I'll admit my mind's blown by this exercise. I'll be adding it into my practice routine.

[@McGillMusicSaxSchool]

Great tips here Jay! Grace is awesome.

[@bettersax]

yes she is. Thanks Nigel

[@alisaam1]

Thank you (Grace and Jay) for sharing this knowledge with us. Said

[@eladgellert]

That’s a really cool ear training exercise thanks!

[@gsco82]

Jay--That was a great interview. Thanks so much for posting it. Grace has very good ideas for ear training, and she is a great sax player.

[@donmurphy2902]

I wish someone had developed this 60 years ago! I started playing when I was 12. Played in Jazz ensembles and bands through High School and into College. I could always hear what I wanted to come out of the horn, in my head, but could never figure out how to make that transition! This was like a bomb going off in my head! Too late for me but for other up and coming musicians I hope this helps!

[@johnmarkconnolly6414]

Don Murphy - it’s never too late. If you’re now retired and still physically able, take the horn out, get it overhauled and just start slow. Or get an inexpensive used horn - doesn’t have to be a professional horn, but a step up horn if you’re on a budget. In reality, professional horns are amazing, don’t get me wrong. But 90% of the sound you get is decided before you stick the mouthpiece in you mouth. Also a great (for you) mouthpiece, reed and ligature will make an incredible difference on even the worst horn. @JayMetcalf even made a video on “too old too learn saxophone” if I remember. Check it out!

[@zanderpimenidis1139]

Love that woman, also this channel. I'm so glad these two are in the same video.

[@jnaime]

What a great interview and a cool exercice. Thanks to both of you, Grace Kelly is a great saxophone player and seems to be a great person too, she give smile everytime she play ! :) ... "You can get here (head) to here (saxophone)" !!

[@lisawanderess]

She’s awesome! I came to sax from choir and theatre background too so maybe that’s why this is exactly how I learn every song I play. I listen to the song phrase by phrase, sing it, then play it back on the sax trying to make the saxophone “sing”. Very cool interview! Thanks Jay! 😍

[@ZappRoyce]

Interesting lesson, good thanks.

[@marcushume2240]

Interesting concept. Grace Kelly is amazing 100 percent of the time. I always listened to music and done this in my head. But doing these steps l think will help a lot. Thank you for sharing.

[@bobbywhitney6262]

All this time I thought you teach sax techniques but interviewing other saxophone players too... The interview with Grace was A+ and I loved Grace's ear training and it is spot on to what I do as well and this works with beginners to pros like you Jay.

[@spud1300]

wow wow wow.... this is awesome.

[@lucioliranzop.a.realtortru3505]

Amazing video Thank you so much!!!

[@richardcasey7521]

Excellent video. Love Grace Kelly!

[@joeblankenship377]

This is definitely something I need to start practicing more. It would make transcribing solos so much easier.

[@joelrodriguez1232]

I just came across this video. Very interesting!

[@ignacioriosjr603]

GREAT interview, and another GREAT video Jay!! Grace is one of my favorite artists.

[@saxprophetgh3185]

Mr. Jay, you really motivate me every video

[@hecateswolf6007]

Superb lesson thank you!

[@garrymangion3763]

As always, a very functional and stretching exercise.. Tk you. Great musician great teacher. ( not necessary that one followers the other) DISCIPLINE U R THE BEST!!! ❤️🎷🎤

[@benjaminkaggwa5481]

Wooow i enjoyed so much this interview with Grace and I wanted the video to keep going because I have learned so much from this video. Thanks so much for bringing her. I want a plastic Mouthpiece that fits exactly with reeds number 2. The mouthpiece I have seem big so air licks. Hence makes it hard to produce sound from lower keys . Do you sell Reeds??

[@StoneysWorkshop]

I will start this immediately! I have always wanted to play like I can sing!

[@sandrochiara7103]

Great lesson Thanks

[@lippie71]

love it! thanks. I realy like Grace a lot she is my examle

[@everettmusicdojo]

She's incredible!

[@krakenlover318]

Another great lesson thanks so much

[@ericweber5268]

Great video! Well done 🎶🎷

[@konstantinmatyukhin9536]

Thank you for this video

[@paulrbottse]

Thank you!

[@sergej100qca4]

Never have been so early. Great video! I'm kind of on a tour, annoying people to make a video on bebop and learning a language in general. So.... if you don't have a plan for the next video, I would love to see something on bebop (btw I think Sonny Stitt is so underrated, to me he is the real bebop legend).

[@BrunoNeureiter]

I love you a lot! Thanks for simplifying things!!

[@stevewidney627]

Wow, great training exercise! You both rock!

[@rickstokes2239]

This was pure gold for those of trying to improve our improv! Thank you!

[@mchachom8134]

Nice video nice and easy exercise to try out

[@68daking68]

This was eye opening

[@elmelmon]

Nice explanation ! She is good.

[@alejandropedreno9553]

Really good and interesting I think that it can help in your improvisations

[@gabrielhammond5325]

I saw grace Kelly live and she was awesome :)

[@zmirc]

Very very good exercise

[@vincentgaglio5106]

Wow, telling a story Do I even have a story, or what is my story, sing and try to play. Awesome

[@colinsamuels3195]

Really enjoyed this

[@danielcohen9637]

I once tried learning overtones and altissimo in like 1 day and couldn't do it so I gave up. But then started learning it a little each day and have made a lot of progress.

[@LoicBoussouf]

Hi, I used to watch your vids. But this one was definitely inspiring. I will start practice this as soon as tomorrow, thanks !

[@mattfichter3044]

THIS IS SO WHOLESOME!!

[@ronjaemusic7777]

Great interview

[@ebimiefagha]

Wow!!!! This is dope!!! Thanks for this lesson.

[@ClaudaoExtraoficial]

wonderful

[@FunkOsax]

Good video

[@rafaelortsespadero4870]

Muchas Gracias !

[@Lasalas777]

Que buen video!!! Peladito!!! Gracias. Desde Chile con respeto. He visto muchos videos de tu canal, y son geniales. Eres muy simpático

[@TonyAguirreJazz]

Alice said Coltrane would airplay constantly. Great video! That Yamaha she has was a limited run 82Z by the way, very nice

[@1kitts]

Thank you!!!

[@Lasalas777]

Less doubt, a master class!!! Gracias pelado!!!

[@xsmi]

She's AWESOME! Great exercise. I've been doing it the last hour. LOL.

[@AbouTheMagnanimus]

This is such a great video. Thanks for sharing this, Jay.

[@Mrtcoltpilot56]

Thanks for that. Fantastic Still struggling at 63 years old started at 14.

[@DciMaluko]

Really good exercise to play whatever comes to your mind whenever you want

[@prosaxtips5007]

Another phenomenal video! Thanks for sharing this :-) Grace is such a great player and teacher. Thanks for bringing this to the community :-)

[@AlejandrodeSouza]

Very moving

[@alexgoss4268]

This was actually really helpful thank you!

[@nealtubbs9608]

That'll be a great exercise to work on.

[@luxlikes]

Great practice technique. Steve Nash from the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra also uses this technique. Really makes you know your instrument like your own voice. Let’s you literally sing to yourself and be able to rip it out on your instrument.