Saxophone Mastery in All Twelve Keys

"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--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 enough 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 come 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 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.