Light Switch by Charlie Puth is such a great tune – and I made a sax solo over it!
In this free lesson I want to show you my Light Switch sax solo, and I’m also going to show you the process of how I worked out the solo. Because if you can understand the theory behind it, then you’ll be able to create your solo too.
Free Solo transcription inside Locker
The Chords
There are only four chords that happen all the way through this tune.
So on the alto saxophone, the chords are C minor, E flat, B flat, and A flat. Listen to how they sound as I play them on the video.
On the tenor Sax that’ll give us an F minor, A flat, E flat, and D flat. Listen as I play these for you.
Free Solo transcription inside Locker
So you’ll notice, we’re in the key of C minor for the alto sax, or F minor for the tenor sax. And those four chords are nice diatonic chords. They all fit straight into that key.
Notes for the Light Switch sax solo
And that means when we are making up our solo, if we chose to, an easy solution is just to use a single pentatonic scale.
So for the alto saxophone, that would be the C minor pentatonic.
And for the tenor sax, it would be the F minor pentatonic.
Free Solo transcription inside Locker
Now I’ve used a pentatonic scale, and I’ve also used the anchor notes from the chords. And I’ve also used some of the notes from the scales from those chords as well, throughout my solo.
If you want the full PDF for my Light Switch sax solo, I’ve transcribed both the alto and the tenor versions, and it’s available from our Sax School LOCKER. That’s where we keep all of our free stuff. Click the yellow buttons to go grab it. Then you can have it on your music stand and learn it at your own pace.
The First Phrase
So let me show you how the solo works on the alto sax. Don’t forget if you’re a tenor player, just grab that PDF and then you can work through it in your key.
So here’s the first phrase, and you’ll notice that it goes right up into the stratosphere! That’s because we’ve got this octave section, where I go up to altissimo G. But if you aren’t comfy playing altissimo, then you can just play this down the octave, as it’s written here.
If you are playing altissimo G, then I use this fingering. So I’m using my octave key, one and three with my left hand, and three with my right hand, and then the bottom side key with my right index finger.
Let me play you through that phrase nice and slowly so you can hear how it sounds, and I’ll play it as if I’m playing up the octave.
The Second Phrase
There are two little tricky things I want to point out in the second phrase.
First of all, there’s this nice band up to the high D. And secondly, we’ve got these little grace notes here from the G down to the E flat.
Free Solo transcription inside Locker
So with the bend, I’m dropping my jaw, and then bringing it back up to pitch to get a nice, big scoop up to that D.
And then for the grace notes, it’s kind of like a little chromatic run. So we’re going from the G, down to the E flat, from I’m putting in an F and an E natural, down to the E flat. Just to make a little run going down. The most important thing here though, is that E flat has to land right on beat two.
Listen to what that phrase sounds like, nice and slow.
Third Phrase
There are only eight bars in this whole solo, and the next phrase takes us into the second half of the solo. There’s no real surprises here, – just a little grace note, as we go from the E flat up to the G. So I’m just using my E flat, F sharp, G. Let me show you what that phrase sounds like.
Fourth Phrase
I had some fun with the next phrase. Watch out for the fall-offs on the E Flat and on the D. And also check out the syncopated rhythm in bar 11.
Last Phrase
This last phrase has also got some syncopations and also some high notes.
So the last phrase starts in bar 12. Be careful of these offbeats in bar 13. It’s a cool rhythm.
When we get to bar 14, we’ve got that little grace note where we’re going from the G, down to the F sharp, and then down to the F natural.
If you’ve got one of these alternate F sharp keys, you might want to use it here.It’s just a bit quicker.
But the really interesting part is right at the very end of the phrase. We’re going all the way up into altissimo C, right up into the stratosphere.
Now, if you’re not comfortable playing that, then you could just play it down the octave, as written in the music. But if you do want to play it up the octave, then watch as I demonstrate the the fingerings that I’m using (6:00 on the video).
For the high C, some people like to use the octave key and the D and the E flat key, and overblow that. But on the alto saxophone, I find the forked fingering works better.
I hit that high C, and then as the vocals come back in, I just relax my jaw and do a bit of a fall-off as my air runs out.
Listen to what the last phrase sounds like. And then I’ll play the whole thing in context for you with the backing track.
The Light Switch Sax Solo: Pro Tips
Free Solo transcription inside Locker
I think what makes this solo work well is that I’m using really simple melody ideas, and simple rhythms, and I’m playing with loads of intensity as well. I’m putting loads of energy into it when I’m playing.
So when you grab the PDF, and start learning this yourself, make sure you are thinking about that. Keep everything simple, and very rhythmical, and use loads of energy. You’ve got to have some fun with it! Do you like the solo?
Let me know what you think about it. And if you’d like to do more of this kind of thing, then check out this lesson next, where I’m doing the Bam Bam solo. If you haven’t done that one yet, that’s another great one. That’s relatively simple to get started with but sounds cool.
Learn more about creating your own sax solos, and get access to over a thousand video lessons and masterclasses – plus our pro tutor team – Start today with Sax School