Vibe & Thrive
Saxophone
Saxophone Diary
01/04/2025 – Today I began to learn Maneater by ear. I approached this rehearsal session with the specific goal of identifying the key signature of the song and starting to familiarize myself with the saxophone solo section. This meant listening carefully to the original track multiple times, focusing closely on the tonality and melodic phrasing of the saxophone parts.
Rather than relying on sheet music or transcriptions, I chose to develop my ear training by figuring out the notes and structure myself. This not only helps improve my listening skills but also allows me to gain a deeper understanding of how the solo was constructed musically. By the end of the rehearsal, I was able to determine the key signature and began working through the opening phrases of the saxophone solo. Although I still have a long way to go, this first session laid a solid foundation for learning the rest of the song.
03/04/2025 – During today’s rehearsal, I took an important step forward with Maneater by attempting to play through the entire song from start to finish. This allowed me to assess how well I had internalized each individual section such as the intro, verse, chorus, and solo and identify any areas that still needed improvement in terms of timing and consistency. Playing the full song in one go was a useful exercise in building confidence and musical flow, helping me better understand how the different parts connect together. I also began exploring a new piece: Sing, Sing, Sing. This piece presents a significantly higher level of difficulty, primarily because of its rich and complex arrangement. There are numerous sections written for various woodwind instruments, each with unique melodic and rhythmic elements. Unlike a simplified solo part, this piece features layered instrumentation that changes frequently throughout the song. What makes this particularly challenging is that I am learning all of these parts entirely by ear, without written sheet music. This requires intense focus and repeated listening to accurately pick out individual parts from a dense and energetic arrangement. Although it’s a demanding process, I’m finding it to be a valuable exercise in ear training and musicianship. Despite the difficulty, I’m excited about the opportunity to push my listening and playing skills to a higher level.
14/04/2025 – Today’s rehearsal was primarily dedicated to focusing on Sing, Sing, Sing, with special attention given to the main sections of the song. I concentrated on mastering the core parts that form the foundation of the piece, which was important because the song’s structure becomes more complex later on, particularly during the bridge where the key signature changes. This modulation adds a layer of difficulty, I decided to set that section aside for now and focus on the parts I could confidently work on. The primary goal of today’s practice was to learn the introduction section thoroughly. I spent a significant amount of time listening closely to the original recording and playing along, breaking down the intro into manageable phrases. By isolating these smaller segments, I was able to practice them slowly and accurately before gradually increasing the tempo to match the original speed. This methodical approach helped me to build a solid foundation for the rest of the song.
Overall, I felt productive in gaining a clearer understanding of the song’s opening and main motifs. Although Sing, Sing, Sing remains a challenging piece due to its dynamic arrangement and shifting key signatures, I’m confident that focusing on one section at a time will ultimately lead to steady progress.
23/04/2025 – Although I didn’t have a lot of time to dedicate to practice today, I made sure to spend my limited time to playing through the entire song Maneater from start to finish. This full run-through helped me maintain a sense of continuity and flow with the piece, which is essential for building both confidence and endurance. After playing it through, I began the process of cleaning up certain sections that felt a bit rough or uneven. By identifying specific parts that needed more attention, whether that was tightening up the timing, refining the articulation, or correcting small mistakes, I was able to make incremental improvements even within the short practice window. These adjustments, while subtle, contribute greatly to making the song sound more polished and fluent. Although today’s session was brief, I feel that this focused effort will help me continue progressing steadily with Maneater over the coming days.
06/05/2025 – Today’s rehearsal began with a warm-up session where I played through several scales, specifically C Major, D Major. These exercises helped me prepare technically for the practice ahead, improving finger dexterity and tone control.
After warming up, I turned my attention back to Maneater, focusing on cleaning up the overall performance. Next, I practiced Careless Whisper, concentrating primarily on the bridge and the verses. These sections continue to require more work, as the verses contain subtle variations that need precise articulation, and the bridge demands emotional expression and control. I’m aware that these parts are key to capturing the essence of the song, so I’m dedicating extra time to refine them.
I also spent time on Get Lucky, although I found this piece quite challenging to play in its entirety at this point. The song features a lot of tonguing techniques, especially prominent during the chorus, which I’m learning. The fast and complex tonguing patterns make it difficult to maintain clarity and accuracy, so this is an area I plan to focus on improving in future rehearsals.
Looking ahead, my goal for the next practice session is to begin learning What Is Love, continue working towards finishing Careless Whisper, and start exploring Born to Run. Setting these clear targets will help me maintain steady progress across multiple pieces.
08/05/2025 – Today’s rehearsal started similarly to yesterday’s with a warm-up consisting of playing the same scales: C chromatic scale followed by a D Major scale. After warming up, I played Maneater to continue getting my fingers and embouchure ready for the session. However, during this practice, I decided to experiment with different reeds—specifically comparing a synthetic reed (size 2.5) to the traditional wooden reed. While playing with the synthetic reed, I noticed that the pitch of the saxophone was off right before I began the solo. This made me realize an important aspect of saxophone tuning: since the saxophone body itself is made of brass and cannot be physically adjusted for pitch, the tuning largely depends on the reed, which is responsible for generating the sound vibrations.
I suspect that the synthetic reed’s plastic material causes it to behave differently once it becomes wet from playing. It seems that as the reed does not absorb moisture, it starts to slide slightly against the mouthpiece, which in turn affects the pitch stability of the instrument. This sliding effect could explain why the pitch was inconsistent when I used the synthetic reed. For my next experiment, I plan to compare a size 2.5 wooden reed against a size 3 wooden reed to observe how the difference in reed strength and material impacts tuning and overall sound quality. I was able to complete learning the solo from Born to Run, which felt like a significant achievement given its technical difficulty. My goal for the next session is to finish learning the entire song. I also reviewed Careless Whisper and Get Lucky to maintain progress on those pieces. Additionally, I spoke with my tutor about the number of songs I realistically expect to perform at a high level and record. After considering the workload and the upcoming live event, I decided to focus on recording only four songs: Maneater, Careless Whisper, Get Lucky, but change Born To Run to It Don't Mean a Thing . This decision was made to ensure that I have enough time to learn and perfect these pieces thoroughly without becoming overwhelmed by trying to tackle all six songs. Prioritizing quality over quantity will help me deliver the best possible performances both in recordings and live.
14/05/2025 – Today, I only had about an hour to rehearse, but I made the most of the time by focusing on a few key areas. I began with a quick warm-up that involved briefly playing through Maneater to get my fingers moving and ready for the session. After warming up, I immediately shifted my focus to Careless Whisper, dedicating time to working on the iconic solo section. Specifically, I concentrated on perfecting the bends, especially on the high C# note, which is quite challenging to execute smoothly and accurately. I also practiced a short run at the start of the solo to help improve my control and precision. Additionally, I worked on the transition just before the solo begins. I found that by doing an extra run-through of this section right before finishing, it helped me create a smoother and more seamless transition into the solo when playing it again. This repetition is proving useful in building muscle memory and confidence. I also dedicated some time today to working on It Don’t Mean a Thing. Although this song is not particularly complex to learn due to its repetitive structure, it still provides an excellent opportunity for me to focus on improving specific playing techniques. In particular, I am concentrating on refining my bending and tonguing skills, which are essential for capturing the song’s style and feel. These technical exercises within the context of this piece will help me build greater control and expressiveness in my playing. My goal for the next rehearsal is to be able to confidently play through the entire song from start to finish. Simultaneously, I plan to continue integrating all the techniques I have been practicing into my rendition of Careless Whisper, aiming to elevate that performance to a more polished and expressive level.
02/04/2025 – In today’s rehearsal, I continued working on the saxophone solo from Maneater, building on the progress I made yesterday. I focused on refining the sections I had already started to learn by ear, paying close attention to the phrasing, articulation, and timing to ensure it matched as closely as possible to the original recording.
In addition to developing the solo, I also began learning the verse and chorus sections of the song. This involved carefully listening to the harmonic structure and melodic content of each section, and then experimenting on my instrument to replicate the parts accurately. I found that breaking the song down into smaller sections made it easier to internalize the rhythm and chord progression, especially as the verse and chorus have distinct moods and dynamics.
My goal for the end of today’s rehearsal was to have a solid understanding of the overall structure of the song including the intro, verse, chorus, and solo and I feel that I made strong progress toward that objective. While I haven’t perfected each section yet, I now have a clear understanding of the song’s layout, which will help guide my future practice sessions.
09/04/2025 – In today’s rehearsal, I continued practicing Maneater, focusing on playing the entire piece from beginning to end without stopping. This ongoing full-performance practice is helping me to solidify my understanding of the song’s structure, improve my endurance, and ensure smoother transitions between each section. At the same time, I’m still actively working on learning Sing, Sing, Sing by ear. I’ve started to make more sense of how the different instrumental lines fit together and have begun to isolate and learn individual phrases more effectively. It requires a lot of careful, repeated listening to distinguish each part clearly and then replicate it accurately on my instrument. While Maneater is becoming more performance-ready, Sing, Sing, Sing is helping to stretch my listening and arrangement interpretation skills in a more orchestral context. I feel that working on both pieces in parallel is helping me grow as a more versatile musician.
22/04/2025 – In today’s rehearsal, I started working on a new piece, Get Lucky, while continuing to focus on the ending section of Sing, Sing, Sing. My main objective for this session was to: first, to begin deciphering the overall structure of Get Lucky by listening closely and identifying its various sections, chord progressions, and rhythmic patterns; and second, to work towards confidently playing the ending of Sing, Sing, Sing, which has proven to be quite challenging due to its intricate phrasing and dynamic intensity. Starting with Get Lucky, I approached the song by breaking it down into smaller segments to understand how the verses, chorus, and instrumental sections fit together. I aimed to get a clear picture of the song’s flow and key changes, which will provide a solid foundation for further practice and eventual full performance. At the same time, revisiting the ending of Sing, Sing, Sing required careful attention to detail, as this section involves complex rhythms and expressive playing that demand precise control. By balancing these two tasks in the same rehearsal, I challenged myself to develop both my analytical listening skills and technical playing ability. Overall, I feel that I made meaningful progress on both pieces today, setting myself up well for deeper exploration in upcoming practice sessions.
01/05/2025 – Today’s rehearsal began with a warm-up where I played through some scales, specifically focusing on C Major and D Major. This helped me loosen up my fingers and warm up my mouth muscles. After warming up, I spent some time playing through Maneater in its entirety. While playing, I paid close attention to sections where I kept making mistakes or felt less confident, and I dedicated time to correcting those small but important details to improve the overall accuracy and smoothness of my performance.
Following that, I shifted my focus to Get Lucky. During this part of the practice, I experimented with different playing techniques to determine which style or approach suited the song best. Trying out these variations helped me better understand how to express the nuances of the piece and added a creative element to my practice. Lastly, I devoted a significant portion of the rehearsal to begin learning Careless Whisper. I concentrated mainly on the verse sections, as the choruses and saxophone solo tend to remain consistent throughout the song, but the verses include subtle changes that require special attention. By isolating and practicing these variations, I aimed to capture the unique feel and phrasing of the verses to make my rendition more authentic. Overall, today’s session was a productive mix of technical warm-up, focused correction, experimentation, and detailed study of song variations.
07/05/2025 – Today’s rehearsal began with a warm-up that included playing a chromatic scale in C as well as a D Major scale. These exercises helped prepare my fingers and embouchure for the more challenging material ahead. After warming up, I started by playing through Maneater, then moved on to Careless Whisper, where I am still struggling with the saxophone solo and the transition into the bridge. Additionally, I found the chorus challenging, particularly with the articulation; I’m not consistently playing the notes with the correct tonguing and emphasis. To address this issue, I’ve decided to incorporate a new warm-up technique into my routine: using a metronome while tonguing along to the beat. By gradually increasing the tempo, I aim to strengthen and warm up the muscles in my mouth, improving my control and precision when articulating notes during fast sections. Next, I began learning the solo from Born to Run, which I’ve found to be one of the more difficult solos in my current repertoire. The challenge comes in part from the key signature—while the original concert pitch key is E major, on the alto saxophone the solo is transposed to F# (or Gb) major. This key signature contains all sharps, which makes it particularly tricky to play. Many of the sharps require pressing additional keys or “extra buttons” on the saxophone, which demands a high level of finger coordination and dexterity. Navigating these sharps smoothly while maintaining musicality is definitely pushing my technical skills. My goal for the next rehearsal is to be able to play the Born to Run solo at full speed with accuracy, and then continue working on learning the entire song. I’m aware this will take dedicated practice, but I’m excited to tackle this challenging piece and add it to my repertoire.
13/05/2025 – Today’s rehearsal began with my usual scale warm-up. Practicing these scales helps me familiarize myself with the fingerings I’ll need to master the song. After warming up, I spent time playing through Maneater again. I want to make sure I consistently revisit this piece so that I maintain the standard of performance I’m aiming for. One of the challenges I’m currently facing with Maneater is integrating all the different techniques I have been learning and practicing over time. Sometimes, it’s difficult to coordinate everything smoothly, especially when moving between fast passages and expressive parts, so this is an area I need to keep working on. I also practiced Get Lucky during today’s session. A recurring problem I’m encountering with this piece is fatigue about halfway through the song, I start to feel really exhausted. This exhaustion affects my ability to maintain precise articulation, particularly during the chorus sections where tonguing and phrasing are demanding. It’s clear that building stamina and endurance will be crucial for mastering this piece. For my next rehearsal, my goal is to dedicate the majority of my practice time to It Don't Mean a thing and Get Lucky. I want to focus on addressing the specific challenges I’m facing, especially with articulation and endurance, so that I can overcome these obstacles and continue progressing steadily.
Rehearsal Videos
- Born To Run
- Maneater Solo
Careless Whisper
This was the very first song that I recorded for the project, and interestingly, it ended up taking me the longest amount of time to complete. The main reason for this extended timeframe was that, during the full takes of the recording process, I kept encountering minor mistakes—small errors that, while not major, were enough to require retakes. These mistakes would often happen toward the end of a take, meaning I had to start over again from the beginning, which became quite frustrating and time-consuming. To address this issue and streamline the process, I made the decision to break the song down into smaller, more manageable sections. By recording each section individually, I was able to isolate any errors more easily and simply re-record the part that needed fixing rather than starting over with the entire song. This approach significantly improved both my efficiency and the overall quality of the final recording. In addition to recording, I made use of a tool called a stem splitter. This tool is particularly helpful in audio production because it allows you to separate a mixed audio file into its individual components—typically vocals, drums, bass, and other instruments. By isolating the various elements, I was able to better understand the structure and layering of the original track and make more informed decisions when building my own version.
Once I had successfully recorded all of the main parts of the song, I went back over the entire track to enhance it further. In particular, I added a saxophone harmony during the final chorus to give it a richer, more dynamic feel. Additionally, I layered the part where George Michael originally sings “Now that you’re gone.” I played this melody line in the original pitch and then duplicated it in a lower pitch to create a fuller, more textured sound. I then copied both versions into a new tracks, which gave the impression of more instruments playing simultaneously—similar to the effect found in the original recording.
After the structural and melodic components were finalized, I moved on to the effects stage of the process. I began by adding reverb to all of my saxophone tracks to create a sense of space and depth. Initially, I used the Space Designer plugin to apply the reverb effect. However, after experimenting with it and listening closely to how it altered the saxophone sound (in the version labelled “Careless Whisper 1”), I realized that I wasn’t entirely satisfied with the result—it didn’t quite capture the tone I was aiming for. As a result, I decided to explore other reverb options and eventually settled on using ChromaVerb instead. I found that ChromaVerb produced a warmer, more natural-sounding reverb that better complemented the tone of the saxophone. I adjusted the wet/dry balance to achieve the desired effect and was ultimately much happier with how this version of the track sounded. This finalized version was saved as “Careless Whisper 2,” and it represents the completed mix that I was most satisfied with. The last audio clip is the whole recording but with no effects on.
Maneater
This was the second song that I recorded as part of my project, and I found that the experience I had gained while working on my previous recording - Careless Whisper - proved to be incredibly valuable. One important lesson I took from that earlier session was the importance of recording each individual section of the song separately rather than attempting to perform and capture the entire piece in a single continuous take. Adopting this segmented approach not only helped streamline the recording process but also saved a significant amount of time.
The actual process of recording this particular song went quite smoothly overall. There were a few moments where I had to re-record certain sections because the initial takes didn't quite meet my expectations in terms of timing or tone. However, these issues were relatively minor and didn’t significantly hinder the overall workflow. In fact, the need to do multiple takes for some parts turned out to be the most challenging aspect of the recording session in practical terms.
The biggest creative and technical challenge I encountered during this project was trying to replicate the unique saxophone sound heard in the original version of the song. In the original track, the saxophone solo consists of a main melodic line that is accompanied by a second saxophone part playing the same melody with a slight delay. This creates a layered, echo-like effect that adds depth and richness to the sound.
To emulate this as closely as possible, I started by recording myself playing the primary saxophone solo. Once I was satisfied with that take, I created a duplicate track within my DAW (digital audio workstation) and copied the original solo into this new track. I then shifted the timing of the second track slightly forward to mimic the delayed effect heard in the original recording. It took several attempts to get the timing just right, but with some trial and error, I eventually achieved a result that closely resembled the desired sound. When played together, the two tracks created a harmonized and spacious effect similar to what can be heard in the original production.
Once the timing and layering were finalized, I moved on to the mixing stage, where I focused on enhancing the saxophone parts to match the atmospheric quality of the original track. I decided to apply reverb to all the saxophone tracks. Unlike when I worked on Careless Whisper, where I used a more basic reverb plugin, this time I opted to use Space Designer, which is a convolution reverb plugin. I chose this tool because it allowed me to more accurately recreate the lush, ambient quality of the saxophone in the original song, which featured a prominent amount of reverb.
Get Lucky
This is the third recording I’ve completed for this project, and so far, it has been the quickest and most efficient one to record. The primary reason for this is that the structure of the song is quite repetitive and remains largely unchanged throughout, which made the recording process more straightforward and less time-consuming. Similar to how I approached my previous recordings, I recorded each individual section of the song separately. This allowed me to focus on accuracy and consistency in each part before assembling the entire piece.
Once I had finished recording all the main parts of the song, I decided to add my own solo section toward the end. In the original version of the track, this part is purely instrumental, featuring either a guitar or a synthesizer playing a few simple notes. To create my solo, I stayed within the key signature of the original piece and drew inspiration from the recurring motifs and melodic ideas used earlier in the song. This helped my solo feel like a natural extension of the track while also adding a personal creative touch.
After completing the recording and solo, I applied a Chromaverb effect during the mixing stage. This reverb effect was used to enhance the overall sound, making the track feel more rich, spacious, and full. It helped to blend the different elements of the song more smoothly and gave the final mix a more polished and professional quality.
It Don't Mean A Thing
This particular recording represents the final version of my project, and I would say it was the easiest and most enjoyable recording session I have completed so far. Throughout this journey, I have gradually developed a much deeper understanding of the entire recording process, which has enabled me to streamline my workflow considerably. As a result, the overall experience became much smoother, more efficient, and less stressful. Similar to my approach with previous recordings, I began by carefully recording each individual part separately, focusing on precision and clarity in each take. Once I had laid down all the foundational tracks, I revisited the entire piece and took time to add additional subtle layers and embellishments. These extra elements were designed to enrich and thicken the overall sound, as I found that when the track features only a backing track accompanied by a single saxophone, the final mix can sometimes feel somewhat sparse or lacking in depth and fullness. By introducing these complementary layers, I was able to enhance the quality and create a more polished, well-rounded sound that better captures the listener’s attention. In the chorus sections of the song, I chose to experiment with holding and sustaining certain notes longer than usual in order to add more expression and texture to the performance. For example, I initially held a long note to create a sense of tension and release. Then, on the second repetition of the chorus, I played a high B note before transitioning into holding an E. As the melody gently descended, I repeated the same melodic phrase again, but this time I arranged it as a harmony rather than a unison line, before returning once again to holding the sustained E. This technique helped me to build a richer harmonic environment within the chorus and kept the section interesting and engaging, avoiding the potential monotony that can come from repetitive phrasing.
During the verses, I incorporated short solo phrases strategically placed during brief instrumental breaks. Each time I played these little solos, I deliberately varied them slightly to maintain a sense of dynamism and freshness throughout the piece. Rather than playing the exact same melodic lines repeatedly, I made subtle changes in phrasing, rhythm, and articulation with each iteration. This approach added a layer of spontaneity and prevented the performance from sounding mechanical or repetitive. For the very last verse, I decided to deviate from my previous pattern by playing the exact same melody line as before, but transposed it an octave lower. This choice created a distinctive contrast and added a new dimension to the ending, giving the song a sense of resolution and variation that felt satisfying. Additionally, during the mixing stage, I applied reverb using the Space Designer plugin. This effect allowed me to make the recording sound fuller, more atmospheric, and more dramatic. The reverb helped to create a sense of space and depth in the track, further enhancing the overall listening experience.
Overall, I am very pleased with how this piece ultimately turned out. I was fortunate to record it soon after learning the song, which meant I was still able to capture the fresh energy, enthusiasm, and understanding I had gained during the learning process. This final recording stands as a reflection of both my musical growth and my increasing confidence and comfort with the recording process itself.