• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Website of Steve Neff

  • BLOG
  • SHOP
  • MEMBER’S AREA
    • JOIN
    • FAQ
    • MEMBER LOGIN
    • Member Monthly Lessons
    • Member VIP Area
    • Member-Practicing with Neff
    • Member-Brecker Alternate Fingering Lessons
    • Member-Killin’ Altissimo Lick Lessons
    • Member-Monster Lick of the Day
  • RAVES
  • CONTACT
  • SUPPORT
You are here: Home / Transcriptions / Herb Hardesty I’m Walking Tenor Sax Solo Transcription

Herb Hardesty I’m Walking Tenor Sax Solo Transcription

March 26, 2021 by Steve 4 Comments

Today, I am sharing a unique tenor saxophone solo transcription that is in a totally different genre of music than I usually listen to or transcribe.  This is Herb Hardesty’s great tenor saxophone solo on the 1957 rock n’roll song “I’m Walking” by Fats Domino.

I have to be honest and admit that I haven’t listened to much of this kind of music as I grew up.  A subscriber of my site who downloads lessons every months asked me if I could do a lesson on this tenor sax solo on “I’m Walking” which prompted me to create this transcription and make a video lesson for it here:  50’s Rock n’ Roll Tenor Sax-I’m Walking-Lesson. (If you would like more insight on this great solo, you can check out this 9.99 video lesson I taught on it as well)

Herb Hardesty

When I first started gigging in the New England area many years ago, my first experience with playing this kind of music was in a band called the “Marsels”.  We used to do a lot of the “oldies” concerts around the New England area and it was pretty cool to be playing at venues with tens of thousands of people digging the oldies tunes we were playing. I remember listening and practicing to these types of tunes as I worked on copying the style of these great solos (lots of 16th note articulations, growling, bends and scoops on the tenor saxophone).

To my shame, I hadn’t heard of Herb Hardesty before transcribing this solo, even though I have heard this tune and solo countless times over the course of my life.  Unfortunately, Herb Hardesty died in 2016 at the age of 91.  His obituary (Herb Hardesty Obituary) has an extensive list of some highlights from his life and playing career.

Herb Hardesty I’m Walking Tenor Sax Solo (Starts at :40)

You can check out the Herb Hardesty “I’m Walking” tenor sax solo below.  In my mind, the most important element in playing a solo like this is the ability to feel the sixteenth note subdivisions.  Many students that have trouble with these types of rhythms and articulations haven’t practiced their sixteenth note rhythms.  It’s not enough to just feel the beat of the song but you have to work on feeling each sixteenth note and the variety of rhythms that different combinations of these sixteenth notes can create.  With sixteenth note rhythms, you are either locked in and in the pocket of the groove or you are not.

I hope you enjoy this tenor sax solo.  Thanks to Herb Hardesty and the many contributions he has made to the saxophone and music during his 91 years with us. If you have any thoughts on Herb Hardesty, I’m Walking, Fats Domino, or life in general,  I would love to hear from you in the comments below.   Thanks,  Steve

Herb Hardesty I’m Walking Tenor Sax Solo-Bb PDF

50’s Rock n’ Roll Tenor Sax-I’m Walking-Lesson 9.99

In this lesson, I take you through a 50’s Rock n’ Roll classic tenor saxophone solo by Herb Hardesty on “I’m Walking” by Fats Domino.  This is a great lesson to study if you are interested in this style of tenor sax playing.  I was unable to find this transcription anywhere on the internet so decided to do it myself.

By studying and practicing the elements involved in this solo, you will be solidifying your knowledge of 16th note rhythms and  gaining more dexterity with your articulations.  I take you through each beat of this solo and teach you how to think about the rhythms and how to practice them for the best results.

This is a classic tenor sax solo in this genre of music and is a must to study if you want to be a well rounded saxophone player. I demonstrate the rhythms and lines in this transcription on the tenor saxophone. (PDF Bb Transcription of Herb Hardesty on I’m Walking Tenor Sax Solo, 54 Minute Video Lesson)

Filed Under: Transcriptions Tagged With: 50's Rock N'Roll, Fats Domino, Herb Hardesty, I'm Walking, tenor sax, tenor saxophone, transcription

Steve

About Steve

Steve Neff has been playing and teaching saxophone and jazz improvisation around the New England area for over 30 years. He is the author of many best selling jazz improvisation methods as well as founding the popular jazz video lesson site Neffmusic.com.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. AvatarNoah Osnos says

    March 26, 2021 at 4:56 pm

    This is a deceptively hard solo to play. Like Clarence Clemmons (who certainly had Herb as an influence, along with Junior Walker), there is so much tone and time sliding, while still staying in the groove. From this to Turrentine to Brecker….

    Reply
  2. AvatarPete parkinson says

    March 27, 2021 at 9:20 am

    Hi Steve congrats for the great advice and help over the years could you please send your Michael brecker licks. Thanks Pete parkinson

    Reply
    • SteveSteve says

      March 27, 2021 at 10:14 am

      Pete, You get the Brecker Licks by signing up for my newsletter. Right after you sign up you get emailed a welcome email and at the bottom is a link to download the Brecker licks. If you signed up for the newsletter and didn’t see the email make sure you check your spam or junk folders as sometimes the email might get redirected to those folders. Let me know if you can’t find that email and I can send them again to you. Steve

      Reply
  3. AvatarGary Hartle says

    March 29, 2021 at 3:36 pm

    Maybe it was Hardesty – sure sounds a lot like Lee Allen, but they were together with Fats for a long time. It is hard to play because its so different – no other solo like it. Interesting that I’m working on it right now for a ’50s show I work with. They do it in ‘G’ rather than the record ‘Ab’ but I’m used to that, having played in ‘guitar bands’ most of my life. You have to learn both solos, the first and the closing one because they’re different. I’ll usually learn something like this in 4-bar pieces then work on the finer points of making it sound right. Then you have to come up with an ending and its not exactly easy to get out of that with any kind of finale. Anyway, I don’t sound like Hardesty or Lee Allen but I get into that mode by relaxing and trying to let it flow.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Cart

Subscribe to the Neffmusic Newsletter for the latest reviews and best deals delivered straight to your inbox every month. Join now and you will also receive my 40 Ultimate Michael Brecker Licks free!

Select list(s) to subscribe to


Thanks for joining!


NEFFMUSIC PRINTED BOOKS

Testimonials

Hey Steve, My name is Jason Freese and I play keyboards and sax in the band Green Day.  I grew up taking sax lessons from Eric Marienthal when I was a kid and got out of it for a long time. I ran into you on youtube while searching for sax stuff. I bought a whole bunch of your lessons and have been loving it! Thanks! Here is my wikipedia so you can see the albums I’ve played on….Thanks again. It’s sparked my interest in practicing again.   Jason
Jason Freese (sax player for Green Day)
I bought Steve’s dominant bebop book and took a couple of online lesson from him. I really appreciated Steve’s careful listening of what I wanted to get done in a lesson and his clear, concise ideas on next steps to improve my playing and musical interpretation.  His mastering  the Dominant Bebop Scale has lots of exercises to use a scale that addresses the largest percentage of chords I come across in pop/blues music. The dominant V7.  Needless say it has improved my playing.  I teach and a… Read more
Keith
Hi Steve, I can’t express just how much I appreciate your teaching. My playing has improved so much over the past year since I have been studying and practicing with your lessons. It is possible to teach an old dog new tricks, these lessons are proof! Thanks, Michael Byington
Michael Byington
I would like to say that in the last year my sax playing has progressed loads from your lessons. I have had a sax for about 20 years and dabbled with lessons from a few teachers and have learnt very little from them. As you have said in your lessons many teachers tell you to use the blues scale and leave it there, not even showing you the resolution points!!. I am now believing I can in time become a good improviser.
Thanks again,
Shane
Shane
Your major diatonic patterns book is great. I”m studying the first twenty patterns (first twenty pages) each day with different articulation each day and slowly increasing the tempo each week or so.  There is a noticeable improvement in finger coordination across all keys and its amazing how much more secure I feel on the difficult keys when attempting to play pieces with 5+ flats/sharps. I’m able to sort out the fingerings for these pieces now much more quickly than before, often in one or two … Read more
Geoff

I want to thank you again, because, not only are you an inspiration to listen to, you are a fine teacher!

I have been teaching sax and other winds for over 20 years, and you give me that “push” to give my students more!

Mark Peotter

Mark Peotter
Hi Steve, I live in a gorgeous but rural area of Oregon-no music store within 80 miles. Your lessons are my lifeline!  Truly the best there are anywhere online. Love your playing. Love your teaching.  Thanks again. Ed
Ed Woodmansee
I’m an experienced player in the pop/soul/funk areas of music and, previously, classical.  Over the decades I’ve been playing, I’ve always felt that I could do what I needed in those styles of music.  However, recently I began to feel limited by my use of the same old licks. When I discovered Steve Neff’s website, and heard the audio examples based on the exercises in his books, I realized they were what I needed.  I purchased all of them and have been working on them since.  It’s very hard work… Read more
Paul
Thank you so much for the great job you are doing to help further our jazz studies. Though I make my living as a repairer of musical instruments I am a student of jazz and have been fortunate enough to be involved with a big band and a combo for the last several years. As my children began to leave “the nest” I had decided to dedicate the next half of my life to a more serious study of the sax but I didn’t know exactly how I would go about doing this until a friend of mine turned me onto your si… Read more
Jon
Thanks so much for putting all this great learning material out there. I don’t often have the time to take a lesson with a teacher, so the ability to download lessons is really invaluable. My playing has improved enormously (I think :)) – and the lessons are so varied there’s always something to be inspired by. Incredible value too!
Roger

Featured Video Lessons

  • The Secret to Modern Outside Jazz Lines Lesson-Minor $9.99
  • Creating Modern II-V-I Lines with Simple Pentatonics Lesson
    Rated 5.00 out of 5
    $9.99
  • The Best Embouchure for Tone, Intonation and Endurance Lesson
    Rated 4.90 out of 5
    $9.99
  • The Secret to Altissimo (no one has ever told you about before) Lesson
    Rated 4.75 out of 5
    $9.99

Now over 600 video and audio lessons to choose from!
BECOME A MEMBER TODAY AND SAVE BIG ON EACH LESSON!

Devastating Minor Lines for Jazz & Funk
Devastating Minor Lines for Jazz & Funk-Thirty 5 Star Reviews!!!

Free Lessons

  • Free Lesson on The New Ultimate II-V-I Primer-Major Keys
  • Free Video Lesson on Mastering Altered Pentatonics
  • Free Video Lesson on Mastering the Blues Scale Volume 1 & 2
  • Free Video Lesson on Mastering the Dominant Bebop Scale and Language Book 1 & 2
  • Free Video Lesson on Approach Note Velocity Book

Recent reviews

  • Mastering Altered Pentatonics (Digital PDF Book)
    Rated 5 out of 5
    by Dino Govoni
  • Mastering the Bebop Scale Review-Blues in All Keys Lesson 1
    Rated 5 out of 5
    by Steve Nye
  • Devastating Minor Lines for Jazz and Funk Soloing (Digital PDF Book)
    Rated 5 out of 5
    by Mark White
  • Devastating Dominant Lines for Jazz and Funk Soloing (Digital PDF Book)
    Rated 5 out of 5
    by Mark White
  • The Best Embouchure for Tone, Intonation and Endurance Lesson
    Rated 5 out of 5
    by Christopher Lutyk

Jazz Improvisation Books

Mastering Altered Pentatonics
Mastering Altered Pentatonics
Devastating Dominant Lines for Jazz & Funk
Devastating Dominant Lines for Jazz & Funk
Mastering the Minor ii-7b5 V7b9 Bebop Scale
Mastering the Minor ii-7b5 V7b9 Bebop Scale
Dominant Bebop Scale Book
Mastering the Dominant Bebop Scale
Mastering the Dominant Bebop Scale-Book 2
Mastering the Dominant Bebop Scale-Book 2
The New Ultimate II-V-I Primer (Major)
The New Ultimate II-V-I Primer (Major)
Mastering Major Diatonic Patterns
Mastering Major Diatonic Patterns
Devastating Minor Lines for Jazz & Funk
Devastating Minor Lines for Jazz & Funk-Thirty 5 Star Reviews!!!
Mastering the Blues Scale Vol. 2-Dominant Chords
Mastering the Blues Scale Vol. 2-Dominant Chords
Best II-V-I Patterns Book
Best II-V-I Patterns
Approach Note Velocity Book
Approach Note Velocity
Mastering the Blues Scale Vol. 1-Minor Chords
Mastering the Blues Scale Vol. 1-Minor Chords
Major Bebop Scale Book
Mastering the Major Bebop Scale & Sound

Footer

Recent Comments

  • Alfonso on Drake FG (Freddie Gregory) Model Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece Review
  • Steve on Drake FG (Freddie Gregory) Model Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece Review
  • Alfonso on Drake FG (Freddie Gregory) Model Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece Review
  • Steve on Meyer Bros New York Connoisseur Series Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece Review
  • Francesco Todeschini on Meyer Bros New York Connoisseur Series Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece Review

Top rated products

  • Overtones-The Path to Altissimo Lesson
    Rated 5.00 out of 5
    $9.99
  • The Dorian Mode Lesson
    Rated 5.00 out of 5
    $9.99
  • Cool Piano Voicings Lesson 1
    Rated 5.00 out of 5
    $9.99
  • The Best II-V-I's Overview Lesson
    Rated 5.00 out of 5
    $9.99
  • Straight No Chaser-Jazz Articulation Lesson
    Rated 5.00 out of 5
    $9.99

Product tags

alto sax alto saxophone approach notes audio lesson bebop scale beginner beginner saxophone blues blues licks blues patterns blues scale blues scales diminished scale dominant chords ear training fundamentals II-V-I improvisation jazz improvisation jazz lines jazz patterns jazz sax jazz saxophone jazz standard jazz standards licks Mastering the Blues Scale Michael Brecker modern improv modern improvisation online lesson patterns playing outside practice habits reading music sax basics sax lessons saxophone scales smooth jazz steve neff tenor sax tenor saxophone video lesson video lessons
  • Instagram
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • SUPPORT

Neffmusic © 2023