Peter Lehel

Funk-A-Lot

Saxophone Quartet (S/AATB)

'Funk-A-Lot' is based on an old Hungarian traditional. The performance of the melodic part should be rhythmically accurate - and, mostly, very short. Many of the notes contained herein require a clean tongue attack.

The solo part is mainly determined by the use of material borrowed from the blues and pentatonic scales, as is usually the case in funk and pop music.

The harmony employed in the bigger part of the piece revolves around D7 (#9) for the Bb instruments and around A7 (#9) for the Eb instruments.
Therefore, the scale material to be applied is that of the minor blues scale with the root note D (D F G Ab A C) for the Bb instruments and that with the root note A (A C D Eb E G) for the Eb instruments.

In order 'to get ready to groove', it is quite possible to add an introduction before the first voice sets in with the melody, with alto 2, tenor and baritone playing the first two bars in a loop. Alto 1, or soprano, might improvise along using the material described above.