Do you like it smooth and sensual? Sax that is! (50 songs with sax appeal)

Member Name: paulhanton

Product:	50 songs with sax appeal
Date:	25/08/08 (449 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Some really nice arrangements.

Disadvantages: Some timing issues.

50 songs with sax appeal

'Smooth, sensual solos suitable for both Eb and Bb saxophones'.

Eb & Bb, for those that are unaware mean E flat instruments, such as Alto and Baritone Saxophones, and B flat applies to Soprano Saxophones and Tenor saxophones (and clarients by the way).

As some of you that read my reviews will already know....I buy a lot of sheet music and have recently started to review some of the publications (and there are many more yet to be reviewed, lol).

~~Some plus points~~
This publication from Wise publications is produced on chlorine free paper used from sustainable forests, there is the first plus.

The second plus is that it is designed specifically to 'minimise awkward page turns', this is a real bonus as when playing sax' you really do need both hands and some sheet music books have the music over three pages which is a pain in the backside.

The third plus is that each piece of music, whilst aimed at sax players also has chord symbols so that I can take the book in to my music lessons and my tutor can accompany me on piano.

The fourth plus (all plusses so far) is the price; £12.99 from a music store, though it can be bought for as little as £9.99, so around 20p per song.

Fifth plus has to be the difficulty level of songs;
Musicroom.co.uk have a good chart that they use, (see below), that puts this book at intermediate, or grade 4-6. Though in actual fact I would put this at the lower end of the scale, for, apart from only one or two songs, which feature a large range of accidentals* (In a Sentimental Mood), it aint that hard.

*'Accidentals' applies to notes that are 'different' from the key signature.....so for instance if you were playing in C Major, you would expect no 'sharp' notes, if they appear in the music, they are specifically 'signed' with a small sharp character before the note that is to be changed, and this will apply to any subsequent same note in that bar.

This book is Intermediate
Chart from Musicroom.co.uk.

1 Beginner (Complete beginner, no previous musical knowledge)
2 Easy (Simplified arrangements; Grade 1-3)
3 Intermediate (Slightly simplified arrangements; Grade 4-6)
4 Intermediate / Advanced (Accurate transcriptions of most rock/pop titles; Grade 6-8)
5 Advanced (Accurate transcriptions of more complex pieces; Grade 8+)

~~Some slight negatives~~
The instructions to each piece do not all have a definitive or best timing (some do) in terms of beats per minute (BPM), rather, they use musical approximations such as; moderato, slowly, Bossa Nova.

This means on the plus side that you can interpret the piece more, on the negative side you will need to know about beats like Bossa Nova, not generally taught at lower grades.

Also, whilst the book is aimed at both E flat (Eb) and Bb instruments it is slightly confusing for lower grade Bb players to work out (I play an Eb).

~~~The types of song~~~
There are very few 'fast' pieces as you would expect in a book subtitled 'smooth and sensuous' and the range of material is quite broad as you will see from the song list at the end of the review.

There are a few 'strange' arrangements such as 'I still haven't found what I'm looking for' which ends rather weirdly in my opinion and does not really 'suit' the saxophone.

This is balanced by some lovely pieces such as 'Mona Lisa' (A Major) which is a pleasure to play and hear.

One of the only three page pieces is 'Unchained Melody', which is conveniently set out so that the page turn comes at the end of a 'six beat', and on a middle (treble clef) A, which means you only need two fingers on the left hand on the sax' (so you have time to take one hand off and turn if no one else can do it for you), though the 'return' after the repeat (which means you have to turn back a page) is on a middle D, bit more tricky. A crotchet rest gives you just about enough time as you start again on a middle D.

The reason I give this level of detail is because this is a particularly nice piece to play as I have seen it written in much more complicated ways in other books than this.

As well as pieces from other publications, I am performing one piece from this book at a concert on the 29th, 'Killing me softly with his song', let's hope I don't.

I would recommend this book though it is not the best there is, it is a good addition to a sheet music collection. I'll finish with the song list.

~~Song list~~
(Everything I Do) I Do It For You
A Man And A Woman
A Time For Us
A Whiter Shade Of Pale
All I Have To Do Is Dream
All The Things You Are
Another Day In Paradise
Another Suitcase In The Hall
Careless Whisper
Chelsea Bridge
Don't Cry For Me Argentina
Don't Dream Of Anybody But Me (L'il Darlin')
Georgia On My Mind
Here's That Rainy Day
How Deep Is Your Love
How Insensitive
I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself
I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
If I Fell
I'll Remember April
In A Sentimental Mood
Killing Me Softly With His Song
Make It Easy On Yourself
Meditation
Michelle
Midnight Sun
Mona Lisa
Moon River
Moonglow
No More 'I Love You's'
Quiet Nights Of Quiet Stars
Recado Bossa Nova (The Gift)
Slightly Out Of Tune
Somewhere In Time
Speak Softly Love
Stars Fell On Alabama
Take Five
Take My Breath Away
The Lady Sings The Blues
The Very Thought Of You
This Guy's In Love With You
Unchained Melody
Until It's Time For You To Go
Walk On By
Wave
Where Do I Begin
Why?
Words
Yesterday
You Are Not Alone

Summary: More saxophone sheet music.