For IFR students practicing Exercise 2: Melody, this is a demonstration of the exercise Seven Worlds in the 2nd harmonic environment. Miguel 'Pintxo' Villar explores the harmonic environment on tenor sax.

The key to the exercise is to stay in just one octave on your instrument, using note 2 as both the floor and ceiling of your musical range. This helps your ear to feel note 2 as the tonal center which is what causes you to feel the second harmonic environment as you are improvising.

Practice tips

As you practice the exercise, try not to become obsessed with just the technical part of creating these sounds on your instrument. That's an important skill to have, but it won't do any good if you don't have anything of your own to express with these sounds. So take the time to really explore each harmonic environment of the major scale and to discover the unique beauty of each note of our musical system. More than just learning to create these sounds, Seven Worlds is really about listening to the sounds and discovering what each one means to YOU. These personal discoveries are the foundation for a lifetime of beautiful and inspired playing.