Nothing says "tenor sax" quite like Plas Jonson's performance on the 1963 Pink Panther Theme by Henry Mancini. It's just so damn sexy! And the good news is, you can learn exactly how to play it with this simple to follow, free sax lesson, right here!
#9 How To Play The Pink Panther Theme On Sax
Mar 10, 2019
The notes for this one don't sit as well on alto sax as they do on tenor - the melody is a bit too low for alto and a bit challenging to get your fingers around, but if it's transposed up the octave it's then too high. That's why this lesson features the tenor notes, however, you can click here to get the free PDF for this video which has the whole melody written out for tenor AND alto sax.
This lesson is part of my Sax Hall Of Fame Series, where I walk you through the world's most famous sax songs, with full fingerings, note names, PDF transcriptions and pro tips on performance.
Here are the topics covered in this lesson, with video time stamps (min:sec). Clicking on the time stamp will take you straight to that portion of the video on youtube (in a separate tab). Full Time stamps for the video and a complete transcript are at the bottom of the blog.
Who wrote the Pink Panther Theme? (0:55)
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the Pink Panther Theme was composed and recorded by Henry Mancini for the opening credits of the 1963 film of the same name
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the theme was subsequently used on other Pink Panther movies and cartoon animations
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the song won 3 Grammys and a nomination for Best Original Score at the 37th Academy Awards
Who played sax on The Pink Panther Theme? (1:00)
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The Pink Panther Theme was played by American saxophonist Plas Johnson
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composer Henry Mancini specifically had Plas Johnson's tone and style in mind when he wrote the song
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Plas Johnson has extensive sessions credits, including Frank Sinatra, The Beach Boys, Marvin Gaye, The Supremes and Ella Fitzgerald
What sax is used on The Pink Panther Theme?
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the Pink Panther Theme is played on tenor sax by Plas Johnson
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the chromatic melody is characterised by the distinctive subtone "woofles", scoops and grit of Johnson's performance (2:08)
What are the notes for The Pink Panther Theme?
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the notes here are for tenor sax. If you play alto, you can go here to get the free PDF transcription with music for tenor AND alto sax. (*=2nd octave)
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So that's it for this week and I've now fulfilled my ambition of playing the Pink Panther. When I was at County Swing Band my old buddy Dru Baker always played it and ever since then I've had a burning desire, now fulfilled, to play The Pink Panther! I hope you enjoy learning it as much as I enjoyed recording it. Jamie :-)
Video Time Stamps
0:00 - intro and titles
0:47 - info on the song, Plas Jonson and Henry Mancini
1:37 - phrase 1 slowly
2:08 - the importance of tone
2:29 - phrase 1 quicker
2:40 - the accents
2:52 - the fall offs
3:07 - phrase 2
3:27 - phrase 3 (as phrase 1)
3:49 - phrase 4
4:08 - pro tip on sliding from C to B
4:51 - the whole thing
5:49 - sign off
Video Transcript
Hi I'm Jamie Anderson you're watching Get Your Sax Together and I am SO excited to say that on this video you are gonna learn how to play the Pink Panther - ohhh!!!!
This free Sax lesson is part of my Sax Hall of Fame series. You'll find the card up there to link to the other videos in the series and do not forget, down there you will find, in the description, a link to a PDF which has got a fabulous transcription of the Pink Panther. Go down there and make sure you get your free pdf to follow along while you learn the lesson.
If you enjoying what you’re seeing please subscribe to the channel - "ring the bell" to be notified of new videos and let's get on with it!! Boosh!
Pink Panther, who doesn't want to play Pink Panther on sax? Man, this is just the ultimate sax tune isn't it? Especially if you're a tenor player.
The Pink Panther was composed by Henry Mancini for the 1963 film and features the legendary sax player Plas Johnson. Man, Plas Johnson has got THE tone of all time! If you want to model your tenor sound on somebody check out Plas Johnson - he is the Don.
Mancini wrote the tune with Plas Johnson in mind which is why his sound works so well for the tune - it was custom built for him! lol Man this is so exciting for me I always wanted to play this tune when I was a little kid in the swing band but my mate Dru Baker always played it cos he played tenor, so now's my big chance, so let's get into it!!
Okay, four phrases - here we go, first phrase - we're in concert E minor so for tenor saxophone that is F sharp minor, and here is the first phrase…
Okay, so quite a long phrase, lots of notes in there. Now, the most important thing about the Pink Panther is the tone and it's not easy to get that real beefy sound. You can check out some of my other videos on embouchure to get a really good tone but yeah, the sound is really important for this one.
Let's play that first phrase a little bit quicker…
So a couple of points to make - you really have to accent the first note a lot more than the second note at the beginning. That's really important for the phrasing and also, the last note, it's got that really sexy fall off on it. I just go down a chromatic scale and kind of fluff off your embouchure a bit so it fades into the slide.
Okay, moving on, second phrase...Again, you've got that long fall-off on the F, so just go down a chromatic scale. Phrase 3 is exactly the same as phrase 1…
And you notice on C he does the slow bend? On the C - that's really important as well.
Okay, and now the final phrase, phrase four…
Now here's my top pro tip for playing phrase four - when you get to that final section when it alternates between the C and the B he smears the C into the B, but it's difficult to smear the C, with that fingering, into the B, with that fingering, because you have to cross fingers. So you get the bobble. So what Ido is I use the side C - this key here, and I just do C to B like that. I think my right hand's out of shot but I'll do it like this, you go "da-na da-na" with a side C. I don't often use side C, but it's useful in this case.
Now, I think we've got enough information to run the whole thing down from top to bottom. Let's do it! Okay, here we go…
Man, I love this so much!! lol I just don't want to stop doing it!
Really hope you enjoyed the video. Don't forget to go down to the description to get your free pdf and subscribe and "ring the bell" and like and love the videos and all that good stuff if you're enjoying what you see, and I'll see you next time on Get Your Sax Together!Second phrase…
[plays bum note] lol Not that!
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