Music books for learning Alto Sax
Kate Johnson, my music teacher, picks a nice variety of pieces for me to practice. It must be a difficult job selecting some that are going to be challenging but not dent my confidence too much. This is a list of the books I've used so far with links to The Music Room where you can buy a copy for yourself. Students of Grrr's World Of Music can often purchase through the music school and receive a small discount.
The books are listed below together with a short paragraph saying what I thought of it. The most recent book I'm playing is at the top. This means that the higher up the list you're looking the more difficult the pieces included (in theory). See the main page of the Saxophone section on this site for more details about what stage I was at when I was using a particular book.
Film Songs
Some easy. Some hard. This book includes classic film tunes such as music from Born Free, Saturday Night Fever and Dirty Dancing. From Roy Orbison's Pretty Woman to Seal's Kiss From A Rose this is sure to keep you occupied for weeks getting the hang of every piece.
Seventies Hits
A great book with some terrific and memorable tunes in it such as Bowie's Life On Mars, Gerry Rafferty's classic Baker Street and, my personal favourite in this book, Chicago's If You Leave Me Know. Guaranteed to keep you returning to its pages long after you've mastered the music.
Take The Lead Latin
Another good mix of latin pieces, these ones are more well known than those featured in Romantic Latin and include toe-tapping numbers like La Bamba, La Isla Bonita and Livin' La Vida Loca. Challenging enough for a learner and enjoyable to return to later on.
Romantic Latin
This book is a great introduction to playing latin music on the Alto Saxophone. Although the pieces included in its pages are not generally well known, they are comprehensive enough to make you return to the book again and again even after you've progressed to a more advanced level. Highly recommended.
Feeling Good
This book has a good mix of tracks, some more difficult than others. They're all a good length (around 3 minutes each on average), good for someone who is looking to move on from short beginner pieces. I found it ideal for me as someone who started learning the sax 6 months before buying it. Everyone's different, of course, but this is ideal for light, enjoyable music with a well produced backing CD.
Kids Play Blues
This is an ideal book for beginners of all ages. (I was 38 when I used it to start learning the sax so you're never too old to be a "kid".) For younger readers there are fun exercises and questions, but whoever you are the pieces start off very easy and gradually increase in difficulty introducing new notes as you work through the pages. A gentle, fun, well produced introduction to playing the coolest instrument on the planet.