In this in-depth tutorial, we take you through every essential element of Watermelon Man on the tenor sax. Starting with the melody, we break down each phrase so you can confidently play it with style and accuracy.

‘Watermelon Man’ Course for Tenor Sax

An online video course in the Tune Tutorial Series by Lynden Blades at Sax Made Simple providing a deep-dive into a well-known song

Unlock the magic of Herbie Hancock’s Watermelon Man in this comprehensive and in-depth tutorial! We’ll start with a deep dive into the iconic melody, helping you get comfortable with the head while understanding its groove and structure. Plus, you’ll get a downloadable backing track to play along with and a PDF with the melody and chords, which has been annotated just in case your reading skills are still developing.

When it comes to soloing, we’ll explore several exciting approaches:

• Three creative ways to use the blues scale for a straightforward yet superb solo.
• A breakdown of the full chord progression to truly understand how it works.
• An exercise in playing the chord tones, which not only builds skill but sounds amazing on its own.

Finally, we’ll combine it all to build a stunning solo using just the chord tones of each chord.

This video will take your playing and improvisation to the next level. Ready to groove? Let’s dive in!

The form of the backing track is: 2 x head, 2 x solo, 2 x head and finish.