Do I have to learn all twelve keys on my saxophone?”
Good question, young ‘un. Here’s a good answer: yes.
True, most jazz is played in a relative handful of keys. But modulations can take you all over the musical map, and there are plenty of tunes written in keys that just might not put a smile on your face. If you plan on playing in any kind of a situation involving guitars as the lead instrument–and, trust me, you will, whether it’s a blues band or a church worship team–then you’d better be on friendly terms with the concert keys of E, A, and D.
But while mastering all twelve keys can admittedly be a pain in the keister at first, once you build up familiarity with the different keys to the point where your learning curve starts to snowball, you’ll find that you actually enjoy the challenge.
By “mastering,” I don”t mean just acquiring enough technical proficiency to play intervals and arpeggios up and down a given scale (although that’s a part of it). I mean being able to play real music as an improviser in any key, and to connect different key centers to each other creatively and convincingly.
That’s a tall order, and it doesn’t com overnight. After forty years of playing, I”m still not where I”d like to be in my command of every key. However, I have learned some approaches that can make learning effective and fun. Here are a few tips:
1. Practice dominant patterns around the circle of fifths. Getting a few V7s under your fingertips will not only foster your ability to smoothly connect one key to the next, but it will also open your ears to hear the movement of chord tones, such as the seventh of one dominant resolving downward to the third of the next.
2. Mix it up. Work a pattern or two through all twelve keys, but then pick one key and saturate yourself in it. Run a few licks through it till they lay easily under your fingers. Transpose part or all of a favorite solo into that key, and get it down cold. Woodshed the blues in your key of focus, paying particular attention to accidentals and borrowed chords.
3. Or pick a tone center, such as F#, and run your major scale, Dorian mode, mixolydian mode, melodic minor scale, diminished scales, and altered scales off of it.
4. Learn tunes that are written in less common keys. “Wave” by Carlos Jobim, normally played in concert D, is a good example. Or transpose a few tunes to different keys. Start with a simple melody such as “Cherokee.” After a while, you may want to try more complex numbers. I once spent a few months taking “Donna Lee” through all twelve keys. I couldn’t do that now, but there was a time when I owned that tune in every key.
The point is to combine both the shotgun approach–doing exercises that take you rapidly through all twelve keys so you become comfortable with voice leading and rapid key shifts–with the saturation approach, so you increase your ability to connect your inner ear with the technical demands and “finger feel” of a given key.
So…you”ve learned the first thirty-two bars of “Anthropology” in the standard concert key of Bb. Very cool. Now why not try transferring it to concert A? Go ahead, give it a shot–just the first eight bars to start with. You’ll be surprised at what a difference it makes in unlocking your chops. And what’s really interesting, not to mention rewarding, is the way in which hammering out a key you’re not familiar with bleeds over into other keys. Your playing can’t help but improve.
Stop thinking of some keys as easy and others as hard. The “hard” keys aren”t hard–they’re just less familiar to you. And you can change that. Use your creativity. Tinker. Experiment. Listen analytically. Practice the demanding stuff–but don’t forget to just lighten up and jam.
Do you really need to practice all twelve keys? If you’re serious about excelling at jazz, absolutely. But there are ways to enhance your learning and have fun in the bargain. So quit dodging the inevitable and get down to it today. The sooner you start, the sooner you’ll start reaping results you’re going to love.
