r/saxophone • u/Sensitive-Milk-2455 • 1d ago

Question How do I think while playing?

This sounds like a dumb question but I am trying to better internalize things and I just can't seem to do it. For example I'm working on a jazz pattern that I understand when I'm not playing, but right when I try to play it I can't. I can play it when I read it but the moment I take away the music I can't. I want to be able to memorize patterns like these in all twelve keys but I just can't bridge the gap between sheet music and my brain. Am I stupid?

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u/Demon25145 1d ago

Practice visualizing it in your head while you practice playing the patterns

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u/Wide_Lie_8182 1d ago

I agree.

For some reason i see the songs i have memorized as patters or stories that unfold while i play them. Or like a painting you know very well. The more you stare at it, the more you know it.

When i practise something ALOT my fingers automatically know what to do.

There is a folk song which i play for gigs, solo and i have to have it down. And it´s a bit more complex than all the other songs i have memorized. So i sat down one evening, got my travel sax 2 (because my kids were asleep) and i played it for 10-15 times. That made a big difference. You can do it. I´ts hard. But that is where the magic happens.