There are lots of different ways to play certain notes on the saxophone using alternative fingerings, but imagine if there was one simple fingering that could convert simple shapes and entire scales into more complex ones.
This ultimate technique hack for saxophone is what we’re going to look at today.We’re going to look at how to use a certain key that’s not talked about a lot. So let’s get into it.
Why we need technique hacks
So it’s important as a sax player to know the options we’ve got technically on the instrument, for different notes. Not only can they get us out of some sticky technical situations, but they can also give us different nuances in tone and sound. Some give us a smooth sound to notes. Some give us an efficient way of moving around the horn. But they’re all worth knowing for different reasons.
Other Fingering Techniques
Some examples you might already be familiar with are things like front F. But did you know there are 5 or 6 ways of playing top F on the saxophone?
There are also buttons like side C. It’s really useful if you want a smoother sound between a B and a C on the saxophone because it can sound a little bit robotic moving between those two keys, particularly if you’ve got to do it repetitively.
The Bis B flat (Bb)
And probably one of the most common ones you’ve come across is Bis B flat (Bb), or button B flat. This is a really useful key because it allows you to put your finger in a slightly different position. Then you can basically ignore the key signature!
So imagine you’ve got a key signature that has B flats in it, like F major, or Bb major, or Eb major. By putting your finger in the normal B position, but just covering this little button, you can forget all about that accidental. You can just carry on with your playing.
As an example, listen as I turn a G major triad into a G minor triad.
And that’s what’s meant by a Bis key. It’s just a key that creates a permanent accidental in your technique.
Technique Tuesdays in Sax School
By the way, if you’re interested in improving your technique, I do a course every second Tuesday of the month in Sax School called Technique Tuesdays.
We go through everything from embouchure to finger positions, stance, and lots of great stuff like we’re talking about today. So if you’re interested, there’s still a 14-day free trial. Just click below.
So a Bis key is just a fingering that creates a permanent accidental in your technique and allows you to forget about that to some degree while you’re playing.
However, there’s a second Bis Key, and that’s what we’re going to talk about today.
The C Blues Scale
So we’re going to start with something really simple – a blues scale.
Now, if you’re into improvisation, one of the first things most people learn is the blues scale. They might learn a D a G or a C blues scale.
We’re going to start with a C-blues scale. And we’re just going to play it, first of all, in the bottom octave of the saxophone.
And then we’re going to change it into a completely different scale. To do this we’re going to use a very special key that isn’t talked about half as much as it should be. That’s why it’s the ultimate technique hack for saxophone.
First of all, let’s just make sure we’re familiar with the notes of a C-blues scale. So I’d like to slowly work through the notes of that scale with you now.
So to start with we’ve got the first three notes. We’ve got low C, Eb and F. So let’s play those together.
We finished on the F. So next we’re going to go from the F, up to the F# and up to the G. So let’s try that.
Great, now let’s put the whole thing together. So we’re going to have low C, Eb, F, F#, G.
And this is the 1, flat 3 (b3), 4, (the classic flat 5 from the blues scale), up to the natural 5.
Watch what happens in the right hand when we’re playing this scale.
And by the way, this is a good way of looking at technique on the saxophone. What does your right hand do and what does your left hand do? I’ve got an entire methodology built around this way of approaching the saxophone. And I talk about this a lot in the lessons in Sax School.
Finger Placements
Continuing with the C blues scale, let’s have a look at what the left hand does.
So we’ll start with that G again. And we’re going to get G, then Bb. Now you can play this in two different ways. You could play it with a Bb Bis key, which is the way I’d recommend doing it. Or if you’re more comfortable with it, you can play it with the side Bb.
However, I feel the side Bb fingering is more of an A# fingering, and it’s to get a clean movement from Bb to B or vice versa. And if you’re not needing to do that, I’d suggest using the Bis key. But we’re all different in the way that we approach that key, and that’s fine.
We’re going to play the G, the Bb Bis key, (or your side A#). And then we’re going to jump up to the C. Let’s have a go at that. So now we’ve got all the notes of a C-blues scale.
Adding an extra note
Next we’re just going to add one extra note into it – we’re going to add an open C# right above that C in the octave.
And strange as this may seem, you’ll see the point in a minute. So let’s try that whole thing, just adding an extra C# at the top.
So I’d recommend repeating that up and down a few times. Just get comfortable with it. You could even try it over a couple of octaves. And make sure your fingers are nice and locked to those notes. So remember, you can think about it as locking in that shape in your right hand, and then that shape in your left hand.
And if you don’t adhere to that shape, then you’re not playing the right notes of that blues scale.
Another Bis Key: Low C#
Okay, so now we get to that magic key. This key is going to convert this C-blues scale (albeit with this extra C# in it,) into something completely different. And this key is another Bis key. It’s the low C# key.
Now you may say, ‘Joel, It’s just a low C# key! It’s what I use for low C#s!’
But it’s an underrated and underused key in a lot of other contexts. And that makes it a great technique hack for saxophone players to know.
So basically, I want you to push down that low C# key. That is the outer bell key just below the G#.
And I want you to keep it held down for the entirety, when you now play that blue scale with the extra C#. Just see what you get. So let’s try that together. Just one octave up and down.
The C# key technique hack
Now, it may have felt a little bit strange holding down that key for the entirety of that blues scale. But I’m sure your ears told you that you ended up with a very familiar type of scale and not a blues scale.
What you’ve just played is a C# major scale, most generally considered a difficult scale on the instrument. It’s a scale that people avoid all the time. But it’s only one key away from being a C blues scale.
So, I love this little tip. And it just shows you the power of understanding the mechanics and the technique of the saxophone in a realistic, applicable way. Just putting down that one C# key turns a C blues scale into a C# major scale. Who’d have thought it?
Why it works
So let’s try it now over a couple of octaves and see what that feels like.
Now why does this work?
Well, it works because when you press down the low C# key, it does two things.
Not only does it give you the obvious – a low C# – but it also gives you permanent G#s all the time.
And you’ll find a lot of big players, especially people with bigger hands, often use the C# key as a replacement G#.
In fact, you don’t need the G# key at all. You could always use the C# key if you wanted to.
Now the interesting thing about all these bell keys and the G# key is their first usage is a G#. So you could play a low B fingering and a G fingering and you get a G#. Or a low Bb, you get a G# or the G# key.
It doesn’t matter which key you use. So their primary function is G# keys, and then they have a secondary function which is low C#, low B, low Bb. But you could use any of them. And you’ll notice that if you press down any of those buttons, the G# key goes down automatically with it.
Older Saxophones
Now, there are some older horns where this action isn’t available. But it can be added to those saxophones if you want it. And it’s a useful thing to have, because it can convert a C blues scale into a C# major scale, and that’s useful.
Using This Key: The ultimate technique hack for sax players
So, using this key for anything that has constant G#s or C#s – A major, E major, B major, F# major, or C# major – is really useful to do. It’s particularly useful if you’re playing quite fast passages because it’s efficient. You’re not taking your finger on and off that key all the time, or trying to switch up to a G# and back down to a C#.
You can just keep your finger on, and it becomes a ‘low C#; G# Bis key’. It permanently changes the key signature, or the accidental of those notes, on the instrument.
Practice this hack
Now it feels a little bit weird in the left hand, holding that key down. But you can get used to it very quickly with a bit of practice.
But obviously, it doesn’t matter if you let go of that key. It’s just that you keep resting over it while you play, so you can get back to it quickly. And you’re not alternating constantly between G#s and C#s.
You can see that this could be useful if you wanted to play low C# to a G# – moving directly between the two. Because otherwise it’s impossible to do.
You’ll notice on the saxophone there is no roller between those two keys. This means it feels very clunky and your finger can get stuck – which none of us want. And it won’t sound very good. But it’s because you don’t need to do it. You just keep that C# held down.
Another way to use this sax technique hack
So, here’s another example
I could take a C major 7 shape.
Now, if I add the low C# G# Bis key to it, then it becomes a C# minor 7 shape.
So once again, it converts one of the first chord tone types that you might have learned, into one that maybe you’ve been avoiding for a while.
So it’s a useful key. And it’s one to constantly bear in mind when you’re in key signatures that require these accidentals.
Pro Tips from Joel
Do you already use this key in this way? I would be interested to know!
And if not, it’s a new technique hack to get into your sax playing. It helps with some of those more awkward key signatures and arpeggios.
If you want to grab a copy of the backing track I’ve been using throughout this, you can get it inside Sax School. If you are already a member, you’ll find this in the Members’ Area.
If you’re not a member yet, just follow the link below to get access with a 14 day free trial
I’ve specifically designed the backing to help you practice this exact technique.
So the first chord is C minor 7 and you can play the C blues scale over that.
And the second chord is G# 7 sus. And basically, you’re playing C# major or G# Mixolydian over that. So it gives you some context to practice this technique.
Also, there’s a little resources handout on the stuff that I’ve talked about today in this lesson.
Next Steps
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