This project has really shaped my approaches to composition as well as improvisation. I am a jazz saxophonist and enjoy bepop as well as free jazz and jazz fusion. When approaching writing my composition I knew that I wanted to experiment with using a synthesizer as I enjoy the rich and atmospheric sound it brings.  Synths are often used in ambient music as well as, modern jazz and the process of experimenting with different electronic tools have influenced my playing and concept of improvisation. I wanted to modulate my sound of my saxophone and for this composition after trying a few different things I chose the helix LT to do so. I focus on trying to develop improvisation and manipulate sound in the theme of on jazz fusion and free jazz.

One of the main influences for my composition is the album ‘The sound of Afrotronica’ by Blue lab beats, Kaidi and NK-OK-. This album balances electronics and uses a drum machine on most of the tracks achieving a lot of forward momentum which is balanced with the fast melodic lines on the tenor saxophone from Kaidi. This album is very busy, and each track is filled with lots of information. One song on the album “Time Capsule” sounds like the busyness of inner-city London, the chaos and multiple stories all happening at once.’’(Anthony, 2020) This busy effect can be created using layering platforms such as logic pro. This is something I experimented on whilst creating my composition. For my project I recorded myself on logic pro, originally, I wanted to have a live looping system playing multiple instruments at the same time. But through practise I realised to achieve my goal it would be more attainable by multi tracking on logic and over dubbing the saxophone over the synth. Multitrack recording is a way of mixing and overdubbing each instrument independently and was first developed in 1950s allowing audio sources to be separate which is crucial for modern writing. Over dubbing is a way of layering harmony and doubling instruments, it also allows musicians to edit and change parts they don’t like as well as enhancing what’s already there. Over dubbing began in the late 1920s however became an enhanced approach in between the 1940s and 1950s. Les Paul, who was a guitarist, pioneered overdubbing experimenting with vinyl discs recording on new discs to layer whilst playing the other disc back. Les Paul said, “I’ve never stopped trying to figure out what makes things work or how to make things work better.” (Hartsell, 2019) This illustrates how creative he was and the practise and understanding he had, to be able to create new sounds with electronics. ‘‘At 13, he embedded the needle from his mom’s record player into his acoustic guitar and wired it to the speaker creating his first amplified guitar.’ (Hartsell, 2019) Les Pauls discovery achieved space for developing improvisation on top of a track, he also made the process of recording easier all together.

The album ‘The sound of Afrotronica’ uses a balance of funk, afrobeat, and hip-hop influences and each track has its own individuality changing genres frequently. Use of the drum machine and synthesizer, add electronic texture and variety. Both instruments can also change the sound and tone entirely in seconds by scrolling on the synth and changing the programmed sound. I really enjoyed playing around with this feature on the synth as it’s something which on a saxophone you are limited from. The sound of Afrotronica can be heavily compared to the band, ‘The comet is coming’ , and they’re album, ‘Trust in the lifeforce of the deep mystery.’ Both bands blend horns with electronics with each tune on their albums reflecting completely different ideas and feels. They’re album ‘Trust in the life of the deep mystery’ was released in 2019 and has a blend of jazz fusion, electronic and rock influences. This band really inspired me with they’re sequences played on the synthesizer. They made use of the arpeggiator which I really enjoyed using when using the Korg synthesizer. My composition is like the tune ‘because the end is really the beginning’ by the comet is coming. (Comet is Coming, 2019) They allow a lot of space during this tune with harsh harmony, followed by a saxophone playing in the gaps providing harmony on top of the synth.  My aim for my piece was to have a free and minimalist introduction with synth playing chords loosely in free time. I then wanted saxophone playing on top of that. I knew I wanted to build but wanted to ease into the build. The comet is coming really helped to demonstrate building with horns and electronics and shaping a composition. My composition is jazz fusion themed with complex harmony and improvisation which is demonstrated through my saxophone. I begin with playing chords on a synthesizer playing slowly through a chord progression before I started to create a pulse that a drum machine could be layered over through sampling, and I have layered saxophone on top of this. It would have been amazing to incorporate the use of a synthesizer within a band setting to contrast between the sound that can be produced with live instruments with the variety from a synthesizer. I really enjoy the ability to shift the pitch as well as bending notes, which is something which can be done on an alto saxophone but the range in pitch is limited. The comet is coming also use a variety of instruments such as a bass clarinet which is more commonly played in classical settings and has a vintage, woody sound. They contrast this raspy tone with electronic waves created through a synthesizer and drum machine which give they’re tunes a modern electronic sound.

 A synthesizer is an electronic instrument that generates signals creating different sounds. It can mimic the sound of other instruments and can also create its own electronic sounds. Some other effects are; reverb, delay, octave jumps and many more. Some of the techniques it uses are subtractive, FMs synthesis, and additive. I knew that I wanted to incorporate this in my composition and overall composition writing. I really enjoyed experimenting with the arpeggiator which has a sequence effect I also liked the effect of me playing saxophone on top of broken arpeggiated chords instead of triads. I used a Korg synthesizer for my assignment and enjoyed practising using reverb and delay. Initially when creating ideas, I was too ambiguous and created over complex sequences which was harder to add saxophone to. It also made it harder to build ideas and come to any climax as I was starting too big and left nowhere else to go with my ideas. Instead for my composition I tried to be more spacious and free playing with free time for the first minute, but my main goal was to use the synth as a backing sequence for the saxophone to improvise over. Doing so allowed me to be much more experimental drawing influences from free jazz into my composition. I did write a chord progression however I didn’t stick to it for the whole composition as I wanted to take my composition out of my comfort zone allowing for more creative experimentation.

The saxophone can manipulate sound by playing false fingerings as well as changing embouchure however with use of vocalisers or a helix you can create more complex varieties of sounds. I knew that I wanted to involve saxophone in my composition and originally, I was going to use a vocaliser. A vocaliser or vocal processor can harmonize adding distortions to your playing. I experimented with a vocaliser as well as a delay pedal which added dimension to my playing especially when practising It over slower modal tunes. When looking at how other musicians have used pedals and processors I came across Sam Gendel a saxophonist. ‘I spent hours in a practice room, just trying to understand my own sound-Part of that sound turned out to be a distinctive use of electronics.’ (Ross, 2021) Gendel uses harmonization and often plays with customized pedals now identifying himself with an electronic sound fused with saxophone. His process is to “modify and customize pedals to do what I want,” “I use some harmonizing, but I also end up doing a lot of things with reverb. -treating reverb like an instrument that shifts with whatever’s happening in the music. Since I often improvise and need immediate access to everything, I tend to prefer knobs and simplicity.”  “I’ll avoid grids or metronomes if I can. I use all these things intuitively.” (Ross, 2021) I tried to incorporate some of his choices into my practise when using pedals. When creating my composition, I also avoided using a metronome, I did incorporate it eventually when getting a tempo to sync with the drum machine however, I played in free time aiming to firstly rely on my inner time but also allow my playing on the synth to be as authentic and free as possible. Some of my chords placed on the synth land on off beats and liked the variety. After starting to start trying these new tools to manipulate the sound on my saxophone I tried a Helix LT and decided to use this in my composition. To do so I connected the helix LT to my NUX B-6 wireless microphone system, my clip-on mic sat on the bell of my saxophone and the receiver went into the Helix with a female XLR to a jack cable. In terms of sound, I used a preset on the helix which, goes directly into logic. When practising using the helix initially, I used a jack cable and went through an amp which was great for rehearsal and performative purposes, but for writing I found that using logic pro worked best. On this specific pre-set there’s a compressor at the start of the signal chain that cleans up the signal from the saxophone into the effects. In terms of effects I enjoyed using spring reverb, chorus effected pedals such as retro reel adding saturation. As well as auto swirl delay which makes the articulations come after the notes are played with delays. Using the helix allowed me to manipulate sound when soloing and I enjoyed playing with it on top of my pre-recorded synth as I was able to mimic electronic sounds on my horn. Gendel describes being able to ‘‘sound like a synthesizer”. (Ross, 2021) After using the helix, I understand what he meant as you can embody that electric sound as you breathe air down the horn and the sound comes out. When practising with it in a practise room I first used a distorted effect which made me sound like a guitar. It felt amazing to be able to play a woodwind instrument and generate such a different electric sound from it. I also really enjoyed using the pitch shift which plays octaves above the note you play, this gave me the ability to over dub myself whilst playing one idea. I found switching the pedals challenging as it’s a new skill to me and had to practise working out which effect worked best for each section. For example, I found using the swirl was great when playing long tones but for more longer phrases it didn’t work and they became lost in the mix. An envelope filter is a touch- sensitive pedal which, adds a filter and modulation to your playing. Using an envelope filter and reverb really developed my sound.

The drum machine in an electronic instrument able to make drum grooves and beats as well as patterns and percussion. You can program your own rhythm selecting what beat each individual bit of a drum kit hits in the bar. Allowing you to incorporate drums without having a drummer live and means you can continue a loop for as long as you want. The first electric drum machine was invented in 1931 called the rhythmicon and was created in New York by Leon Theremin. ‘‘The earliest electronic rhythm machine – produces various drumbeats or rhythms using a unique mechanism of light sources and rotating perforated-wheels’’ (Schillinger, 2025) The drum machine shaped electronic music and is in integral instrument in today’s modern music. Only three models were ever made, of the original rhythmicon even though it was ‘‘regarded by some as a major stepping-stone in the development of sequenced, digitized beatsmithery.’’ (Holslin , 2015) Margert Schedel describes the rhythmicon as ‘‘ a conceptual leap- distances the musical action from the action of the performer.’’(Holslin , 2015) The rhythmicon needed photoelectric technology to work and Schedel drew attention to the action a musician makes when playing. For example, when playing my saxophone, I hold it and breathe air down it as well as moving my fingers accordingly to the notes, but this new technology allows you to create a sequence with just pressing a button. For my composition I used a sample of a preprogramme drum machine. I chose to do this as it was a better groove that I could create myself on a drum machine. In the future I hope to be familiar enough to create my own drum sequence on a drum machine, but for this project I chose to focus on the synth and helix LT and incorporated a sample. A sample is when you take a selected part of a song like a phrase or groove and add it to a different recording. This is often used in hip-hop and electronic music adding a nostalgic feeling. Familiarity and repetition are successful in music especially popular music. I was going to include a sample from a grime tune when deciding which genre to pick for this composition. I originally looked at grime being my focus and was going to use the drum machine to create a grime drum beat which normally consists of placing ‘‘the hi hat on every eighth note and the kick on beat one, with a hard clap on beat 3. And then duplicate into two bars, adding ghost notes and kicks.’’ (STRANJAH, 2025) I was going to then add a grime styled motif played on my sax and modulate my saxophone through the helix to add texture and build the tune up. However, I decided I wanted to head in the direction of jazz fusion instead.

Another band that heavily influenced me to incorporate electronics within my playing was weather report. I am hugely influenced by jazz saxophonist Wayne Shorter and its interesting listening to the difference between his sound in weather report compared to some of his original jazz standards like,  ‘speak no evil.’ Weather report is very groove based with bebop melodies played on various brass and woodwind instruments. Joe Zawinul is the keyboard player in weather report, he also plays the Korg synthesizer for a lot of their tunes. ‘‘Herandu.’’ (Johnson, 1976) caught my attention. Released in 1976, Herandu is in 11/2 and has a fresh modern feel. I was immediately drawn to the animated sequence at the start of the tune. I love the blend between electronic game music with straight ahead jazz and wish I had decided to go more in that direction for this composition. The layers of sax and heavy bass with synth is so powerful. The synth solo adds tension to the masterpiece. Alphonso Johnson, was weather reports bassist  ‘‘had the final say with Herdanu’’ (Connolly, 2020) which was the last tune of the album Black Market.  In an interview he explains, ‘‘Herandnu – means “Here and Now” and was the name of a shop in Copenhagen.’’ (Piretti, 2026) In the future I would like to incorporate a similar recognisable sample in a composition to create a similar effect.

Overall, my project consists of saxophone put through a helix and a synthesizer in the style of free jazz fusion. I tried to take influence from bands such as The Comet is coming, blue lab beats and weather report. In the future I would like to be more familiar with using a drum machine and experiment with using a synthesizer in live music settings with other musicians. Writing this composition has taught me to be objective and be free to try new things and has made me see how electric devices can transform a set of music.

Reference list:

Anthony (2020). KAIDI & NK-OK – Time Capsule – Soul Surge | Bringing Soul To The Soul. [online] Soul Surge | Bringing Soul To The Soul. Available at: https://soulsurge.co/kaidi-nk-ok-time-capsule/ [Accessed 10 May 2026].

Boothby, J. (2021). Blue Lab Beats, Kaidi & NK-OK — The Sounds of Afrotronica — Album Review. [online] Medium. Available at: https://joeboothby.medium.com/blue-lab-beats-kaidi-nk-ok-the-sounds-of-afrotronica-album-review-b4fc571995a9 [Accessed 10 May 2026].

Connolly, D. (2020). [Review] Weather Report: Black Market (1976) – Progrography. [online] Progrography. Available at: https://progrography.com/weather-report/review-weather-report-black-market-1976/ [Accessed 10 May 2026].

Hartsell, M. (2019). Les Paul: Inventing Modern Sound | Timeless. [online] The Library of Congress. Available at: https://blogs.loc.gov/loc/2019/12/les-paul-inventing-modern-sound/ [Accessed 10 May 2026].

Holslin , P. (2015). The Legend of the Rhythmicon, the World’s First Drum Machine. [online] daily.redbullmusicacademy.com. Available at: https://daily.redbullmusicacademy.com/2015/06/rhythmicon-feature [Accessed 10 May 2026].

Johnson, A. (1976). Herandnu – Black Market. [Vinyl] Los Angeles: Columbia Records. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kY8ZNVEXXe4 [Accessed 10 May 2026].

Piretti, M. (2026). www.zawinulfans.org – Interview with Alphonso Johnson. [online] Zawinulfans.org. Available at: https://www.zawinulfans.org/english/johnson.htm [Accessed 10 May 2026].

Ross, M. (2021). Chops: Sam Gendel Creates a Distinctive Sax Sound. [online] JazzTimes. Available at: https://www.jazztimes.com/features/columns/sam-gendel-saxophone-sound/?v=7885444af42e [Accessed 10 May 2026].

STRANJAH (2025). Basic Grime Drum Pattern Tutorial. [online] www.youtube.com. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/rvOskmcCNmU [Accessed 10 May 2026].

The Comet Is Coming – Topic (2019). Because The End Is Really The Beginning. [online] YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Haus40q06o&list=OLAK5uy_nWJW4-jmYwclPTL-WQ7i7dAGUvV5DYCI4&index=1 [Accessed 10 May 2026].