These pages contain exercises 29 through 33 of the “Fifty Exercises from low Bb to F Above the Staff”. Paul de Ville continues his studies of the four Bb fingerings and their appropriate applications. As with all of these studies, he focuses on one small technical problem at a time. They begin in half notes and gradually speed up through eight notes, and sixteenths. Some of these studies include triplets and sextuplets and exercise 32 and 33 uses thirty-second notes as well.
Exercise 30 is designed to be workout for some of the alternate fingerings available only on an Evette and Schaeffer System saxophone. The Evette Schaeffer saxophone could play Eb by way of a right handed bis key, so that the saxophonist could play fingerings going to and from Eb without having to slide the right hand pinky between the low C and Eb keys. While these exercises are clumsy on a conventional saxophone, they are worth doing as the professional saxophonist will see many of the fingering patterns again.
Exercise 31 is more of the Bb workout. De Ville could have suggested more alternate fingerings as in line three, where the Bb side key can be left down for all of the sixteenth notes. At the top of page 77, fourth measure, the side key C can be used in the triplets and sextuplets.
Finally in exercise 32 we cross the break. The first portion of 33 is really a C to D trill exercise, but De Ville neglects to indicate the trill fingering.
The same is true in exercise 33, which is a C# to D trill study but with no mention of the trill fingering.
As always, your observations and comments are welcome.
Thanks,
Neal Ramsay 
