Keep playing until it gets really hard, then play some more. (Dip In: 100 Graded Alto Sax Solos)

Member Name: paulhanton

Product:	Dip In: 100 Graded Alto Sax Solos
Date:	19/07/08 (219 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Bargain book, huge range of tunes.

Disadvantages: Some are really difficult to play.

100 Graded Alto Saxophone Solos. Wise Publications.

This is my favourite sheet music book for a number of reasons:

Firstly, it has each song (roughly) graded for difficulty, from one to three stars. An example of this might be like this:

1*
This might be a song in simple 4/4 time, not too fast, in a relatively easy key signature such as C Major, or G Major (though it does extend to A major on a few songs), very few accidentals (notes outside of the key signature) and maybe a simple triplet here and there. 'Can't help falling in Love (with you)' is a good example. In terms of 'Grades' there are no pieces, in my opinion above grade 5, in fact most are grade 4 or under.

What the book says: ......'simple rhythms, straight forward phrasings and a few difficult intervals'.

2**
This would clearly be a little more difficult, with a more complex timing, 2/4 or 12/8, maybe a bit faster, or certainly more 'busy' with runs of quavers or semi quavers and key jumps. It might be in a more difficult key signature. Graded players at grade 4 would be challenged by some of these pieces, Grade 5-6 would find them playable, with concentration. Some examples are 'What a Wonderful World' (12/8) and 'Born Free' (E Major).

What the book says: ......'more challenging passages, perhaps containing more rhythmic complexity, more advanced key signatures and possibly long-held notes requiring an increased strength of embouchure' (that is how you use your mouth and lips).

3***
These are really quite challenging to anyone below grade 6, and will certainly 'stretch' accomplished players. They are either very fast 140 beats per minute or faster, be quite complex in structure or have very complex finger work needed, 'Cry me a River' in B flat Major with long runs of semi quavers is an example of this. Or they may just be quite difficult to 'feel'.

What the book says: ......'may include chromaticism, challenging articulation and more advanced fingerings'.

What else?
One of the other things I really like about this book is that whilst it has some of the songs one gets in many other sheet music books for alto sax, there are a lot of songs that one does not see elsewhere; Israelites, Big Spender, The Model, many of which do not feature anywhere as sax' tunes.

The absolute best thing about this book, and what makes it my favourite is that as you progress in your learning and revisit this book (as I often do) you realise that songs that were an ordeal to even try, become clearer and more playable and that gives a great sense of satisfaction.

£14.95 means a measly 15p per song, that is an absolute steal when some pieces of sheet music can cost a fiver alone. Great investment and I have been using it at least once a week for the last 18 months and can see myself using it for a good few years yet, especially as I cannot play them all yet, but I will!

I have included a list of all 100 songs below for your interest.

(Everything I Do) I Do It For You [Adams, Bryan]
(Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay [Redding, Otis]
...Baby One More Time [Spears, Britney]
Angels [Williams, Robbie] [Chambers, Guy]
Angie [Rolling Stones, The]
Beautiful [Aguilera, Christina]
Beautiful Stranger [Madonna]
Big Spender [Bassey, Shirley]
Born Free [Monro, Matt]
Born To Try [Goodrem, Delta]
Bridge Over Troubled Water [Simon, Paul]
Brown Eyed Girl [Morrison, Van]
Can You Feel The Love Tonight [John, Elton]
Can't Get You Out Of My Head [Minogue, Kylie]
Can't Help Falling In Love [Presley, Elvis]
Clocks [Coldplay]
Crazy [Gnarls Barkley]
Cry Me A River [Timberlake, Justin]
Dancing Queen [Abba]
Don't Cry For Me Argentina [Madonna]
Don't Get Around Much Anymore [Stewart, Rod]
Don't Know Why [Jones, Norah]
Don't Look Back In Anger [Oasis]
Fairytale Of New York [Pogues, The] [Maccoll, Kirsty]
Feeling Good [Simone, Nina]
Fever [Lee, Peggy]
Fields Of Gold [Sting]
Fly Me To The Moon (In Other Words) [Sinatra, Frank]
Girl, You'll Be A Woman Soon [Diamond, Neil]
Gold [Prince]
Golden Touch [Razorlight]
Goldfinger [Bassey, Shirley]
Gravity [Embrace]
Hallelujah [Buckley, Jeff]
Heaven [Dj Sammy]
Hero [Iglesias, Enrique]
Hey Jude [Beatles, The]
I Get The Sweetest Feeling [Wilson, Jackie]
I Got You (I Feel Good) [Brown, James]
I Will Always Love You [Houston, Whitney]
Imagine [Lennon, John]
Ironic [Morissette, Alanis]
Is It Any Wonder? [Keane]
Israelites [Dekker, Desmond And The Aces]
It's Not Unusual [Jones, Tom]
Just The Way I'm Feeling [Feeder]
Knockin' On Heaven's Door [Dylan, Bob]
Leave Right Now [Young, Will]
Let It Be [Beatles, The]
Like A Virgin [Madonna]
Livin' On A Prayer [Bon Jovi]
Love Theme (The Godfather) [Rota, Nino]
Lover Man (Oh Where Can You Be) [Smith, Bessie]
Lovin' You [Ripperton, Minnie]
Mad World [Andrews, Michael] [Jules, Gary]
Memory [Page, Elaine]
Missing [Everything But The Girl]
Mission: Impossible [Schifrin, Lalo]
Moon River [Williams, Andy]
Mrs Robinson [Simon And Garfunkel]
Nothing In My Way [Keane]
Oh Yeah [Roxy Music]
One [U2]
Orange Coloured Sky [Lee, Peggy]
Other Side Of The World [Tunstall, Kt]
Penny Lane [Beatles, The]
Perfect [Fairground Attraction]
Put Your Records On [Rae, Corinne Bailey]
Run [Snow Patrol]
Sail Away [Gray, David]
She Moves In Her Own Way [Kooks, The]
She's Not There [Santana]
She's The One [Williams, Robbie]
Somebody Told Me [Killers, The]
Son Of A Preacher Man [Springfield, Dusty]
Stand By Me [King, Ben E]
Strangers In The Night [Sinatra, Frank]
Sweet Caroline [Diamond, Neil]
Tain't What You Do (It's The Way That Cha Do It) [Fitzgerald, Ella]
Tainted Love [Soft Cell]
Take Me To The River [Green, Al]
Tears In Heaven [Clapton, Eric]
The Best [Turner, Tina]
The Entertainer [Joplin, Scott]
The Lady In Red [De Burgh, Chris]
The Model [Kraftwerk]
The Power Of Love [Frankie Goes To Hollywood]
The Song From Moulin Rouge (Where Is Your Heart) [Percy Faith Orchestra, The]
The Way You Look Tonight [Stewart, Rod]
True Faith [New Order]
Unchained Melody [Righteous Brothers, The]
Video Killed The Radio Star [Buggles]
Waterloo [Abba]
What A Wonderful World [Armstrong, Louis]
Wonderwall [Oasis]
Yellow [Coldplay]
Yesterday [Beatles, The]
Your Song [John, Elton]
You're Beautiful [Blunt, James]
You're The One That I Want [Travolta, John] [Newton John, Olivia]

Summary: Graded Alto Sax' tunes.