The struggles of learning music theory later in life
Let's be honest, the saxophone isn't the best instrument to learn music theory on. We can only play one note at a time, and you can't even look at your fingers without throwing your neck out. Sure, it's simple enough to learn how to play and fairly quickly start to learn a few tunes, but due to the nature of the instrument, it can be hard to know where to begin with music theory. For so long, I just couldn't find the answers to so many questions like:
Why are scales important?
What are modes, and do I even need to learn them?
What exactly are chords and where do they come from?
How do I figure out what key a band is playing in?
How can I develop my improv skills enough to not sound like a total beginner?
Full Disclosure: Improvisation can be taught, and music theory is the way.
So many people argue against the necessity of learning music theory, calling people gatekeepers and jazz police on music forums who even mention it. My advice is: ignore them.
Music theory is important for so many reasons for us as wind players:
✅ It allows you to read music more easily and to understand the relationship of the notes on the page.
✅ It gives you a clear understanding of what to practice next and what goals to set for yourself.
✅ You can actually understand what the rhythm section is saying when they start talking about keys and chord progressions.
✅ It takes the guesswork out of what the “right notes are to play.
✅ It helps you better communicate with other musicians
Your timeline doesn’t matter!
From a Small Town to Berklee College of Music Masters Program
When I first arrived at Fort Lewis College during my first year of undergraduate studies, I quickly realized how far behind I was compared to all other students. Big surprise, but my small-town grade school had not prepared me at all for a college music program.
Instead of letting the fact that all of the other students had been playing jazz music since they were in middle school scare me out of the program, I got to work and sought to “catch up” with everyone else. 8 years after graduating from my undergraduate degree and touring the western united states with various bands, I decided to go back to school. To my amazement, I got into a Contemporary Performance master’s program at Berklee School of Music.
I never stop learning, and I never stop growing as a musician. The best compliment I’ve ever received was from a professor I had in my undergraduate degree who saw me perform about five years after I had graduated. She approached me and, in total shock, asked me, “Sam, how did you get so good?” I don’t think she meant it to come out as a backhanded compliment, but I took it as a sign that all the hard work I had continued to put in was paying off!
This passion for learning and constantly growing drives me to want to help fellow saxophonists, which is why I’ve dedicated much of my professional career to teaching.
You don’t have to stay in the dark about music theory…
Music theory isn’t that complicated, and once you start learning it, you will be amazed at how useful it will be for you.
So many saxophonists spend years of their lives just making do with the theory they learned back in high school or the couple of classes they took for fun during college. After so many years of playing the instrument, the time they have spent playing just doesn’t seem to equate to any progress. Discouraged, they turn to buying new mouthpieces, trying out new reeds, and ultimately buying new saxophones to help them sound and look more professional even though they don’t know how to get the most out of any of this gear. They basically turn into gear hoarders when all they actually want to do is play and be taken seriously as a musician!
This is usually due to a few things getting in the way:
❌ Huge gaps in their foundational knowledge of music theory
❌ Can’t play basic scales in all 12 keys.
❌ Undefined goals and inefficient practice routines
Are you ready to take the next step to become the saxophonist you’ve always wanted to be?
Download the '“Improv Now Survival Guide.” In this guide, you will learn:
✅ What the modes of the major scale are.
✅ The chord/scale relationship between the chord found in the major scale and the major modes.
✅ The pentatonic scale cheat code and how you can start confidently improvising over basic chord progressions TODAY!
