List of Recommended
Saxophone Etudes and Texts

 

Recommended saxophone Etude/History/Information books

Required Texts for my Saxophone Students-

These are excellent books of the basics for any serious saxophonist.


Daily Studies for All Saxophones:
Scales, Arpeggios & Tuning Etudes

By Trent Kynaston
published by Warner Brothers

48 Famous Studies for Oboe or Saxophone-(book 1)
By Wilhelm Ferling, ed. Andraud or Mule,
published by Southern or Leduc
(Andraud is laid out better, Mule has extra etudes)

The Orchestral Saxophonist, Vol. 1
By Bruce Ronkin and Robert Frascotti
Published by Roncorp, Inc.

 

Also highy recommended for advanced students and for composers are these books that aim to expamd the possibilities of the saxophone family:

 

Hello! Mr. Sax
(parameters of the saxophone)
by Jean-Marie Londeix
AL 27.489
Editions Musicales Alphonse Leduc

This "saxophone bible" has examples of notation, and extensive fingering charts for possible microtones, multiphonics, altissimo, etc.

available in the USA from

http://www.dornpub.com/ken/etudes.html

 

 

L'Art Du Saxophone
by Daniel Kientzy
Nova Musica CD NMCD5101

This book has over 100 different extended technique sheet music examples/with CD
(I highly recommend this for every composer and performer).

And Daniel Kientzy's incredible doctoral dissertation, "Saxologie," demonstrating the tonal and extended possibilities of the saxophone family, is now available. More information is avaiable at

Both can be purchased through Vandoren sheet music

 

 

Paul Hindemith, who learned to play every orchestral instrument, said the saxophone has "...an unhindered technique, expressive range, and directness of speech that has its equal only in the modern flute." However, that doesn't mean it's easy! Here is a collection of additional etude and scale books that are excellent for development of technical prowess and expressive playing.

 

Recommended etude/scale/method books for further practice:

Composer/editor

Title

Grade/comments

Publisher

Joseph Allard

Three Octave Scales and Chords

4-5

Chas. Colin

Anderson/Leger

24 Etudes Instructives,
Op. 30

 

Billaudot

Anderson/Leger

24 Petites Etudes,
Op. 33

 

Billaudot

Eugene Bozza

Douze Etudes-Caprices

5- good after finishing Ferling

Leduc

Ronald Caravan

Preliminary Exercises & Etudes in Contemporary Techniques

3-5

Dorn

Ken Dorn

Multiphonics

 

Dorn

Arthur Hegvik

Modern Course-
Scales and Arpeggios

Good basic scale book

Henri Elkan

Michael Hester

Saxophone Master Classes

 

Smooth Stone Productions

Sigfrid Karg-Elert

25 Capricen und Sonate (2 Books)

4-5- good after finishing Ferling

Zimmerman

Daniel Kientzy

L’art du Saxophone

CD and book with 100 different extended techniques-great!

Nova Musica

Guy Lacour

50 Etudes Faciles, Books 1 and 2

3

Billaudot

Guy Lacour

 28 Etudes sur les Modes d'Messaien

5

Leduc

Jean-Marie Londeix

Hello! Mr. Sax

The sax bible.
Truly essential!

Leduc/Roncorp

Jean-Marie Londeix

Nouvelle Etudes Variees

5- a good post-Ferling book

Lemoine

Jean-Marie Londeix

Le Detache (Staccato)

4

Lemoine

Massis

Six Etudes-Caprices

 

Leduc

Marcel Mule

53 Etudes (3 volumes)

3-5

Leduc

Oliver Nelson

Patterns for Improvisation- 

Great for technique!

Aebersold

Sigurd Raschèr

Scales for the Saxophone

 

McGinnis & Marx

Sigurd Raschèr

Top Tones For Saxophone

The original altissimo method- use these excercises with the Londeix fingerings

Carl Fischer

Eugene Rousseau

Saxophone High Tones

 4-5 altissimo method

MMB

William Schmidt

10 Contemporary Etudes

3-4

W.I.M.

Joseph Sellner

Progressive Studies in Articulation

 

Billaudot

Donald Sinta

Voicing

4-5- altissimo method

Sintafest

Larry Teal

Daily Studies for Saxophone Technique

 

Encora

Larry Teal

Saxophonist’s Workbook

Good for working on fundamentals

University




Recommended saxophone history/information/books for additional study:

Author/Editor

Title

Grade/comments

Publisher

Anthony Baines

Woodwind Instruments and Their History

The classic

Dover

Ernest Ferron, trans. by Jacqueline Rose. The Saxophone Is My Voice Sax repair and acoustics info with personality. International Music Diffusion

David J. Gibson

Saxophone Journal Magazine

Fun, informative, and worthwhile

Dorn

Paul Harvey

The Saxophonist’s Bedside Book

nice anecdotes and insights- cute.

Fentone (U.K.)

Fred L. Hemke The Early History of the Saxophone Doctoral dissertaion, great historical resource Doctoral Dissertation, U. Wisconsin - Madison, 1975.

Wally Horwood

Adolphe Sax 1814-1894

Best biography yet

Egon Ltd.

Richard Ingham

The Cambridge Companion to the Saxophone

Excellent collection of interesting stuff

Cambridge University Press

Leon Kochnitzsky

Sax and His Saxophone

Nice little bio of Sax the genius

NASA

Paul Lindermeyer

Celebrating the Saxophone

Beautiful and informative.

Hearst Books

Jean-Marie Londeix

150 Years of Saxophone Music

Exhaustive index of sax rep. From 1844-1994!

Roncorp

North American Saxophone Alliance

The Saxophone Symposium

Official scholarly publication of NASA

NASA

C. J. Nederveen

Acoustical Aspects of Woodwind Instruments

technical, detailed, but readable and very informative

Northern Illinois University

Brian Priestly, et al

The Sax & Brass Book

Lots of nice photos and ser. # lists

Miller Freeman

Robert Scarff

Woodwind Mouthpiece Selection

Good description of the basics

author

Charles Stier

Clarinet Reeds

applies to sax, too

Halcyon

Larry Teal

The Art of Saxophone Playing

Musicality 101 for the saxophonist

Warner Brothers

 


More Musical Wisdom From Professor Easton:

"Don't play in the rests."


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All material © Jay Easton 2001-2006 unless otherwise noted