The Saxophone Method Vol. 1

I have already got the predecessor to this book - The JAZZ Method for SAXOPHONE (Alto) - and I was under the impression that this book would follow on from it. But it doesn't, and in fact this book has exactly the same first 17 pages of introduction to playing the saxophone and the basic techniques of playing it and there is further duplication in this book.But there is an essential difference which is that this book doesn't just focus on learning Jazz music, it covers a broad range of musical styles.This latest book is part of a new series of Method books and Repertoire books which may eventually replace the original Jazz Method book with its accompanying book known as Developing JAZZ Technique for Saxophone. So the new series of four books will replace 2 books .... and inevitably be twice the cost!However, I'm not too despondent as there are new tunes in this book and John O'Neill has a very logical and easy to follow style of tuition. I'll probably get the whole of the new set as it will reinforce my learning.This Method 1 volume is designed to get the beginner from setting up their instrument, through to blowing their first notes, and by the end - starting to improvise.There are demonstration tracks and play-along tracks provided to accompany this book and these are accessed by going to the publisher's website. In total, there are 138 MP3 tracks.You can also purchase online teaching sessions which John O'Neill has recorded, which could be useful if you haven't got access to a teacher.This is a great book for the beginner or for a more advanced player who hasn't had formal music theory, or note reading knowledge.John O'Neill is excellent in explaining swing, timing and introducing improvisation at an early stage. What more could you ask for?

This repertoire teaching book consists of a range of studies for alto saxophone and it follows on from the Method 1 book in this series. If you are a beginner level player, then you may find this book helpful without the need to use the Method book, providing that you have another source of learning technique and music theory, but it would be best to obtain the Method 1 book as it provides a great introduction to playing the alto saxophone.Audio support for all the tunes is provided by downloading examples from the publisher's website. These include examples of the tunes together with backing music for you to practise and play-along with. However, there is no guidance provided in this book as this is contained in the Method Book volume 1.One of my favourite aspects of the book is that the tunes are really nice to play and I hadn't come across many of them before, even though I have quite a large collection of music books. The music is general, and not focussed on jazz or any other genre in particular, so you get experience of the different musical styles.