List of Lisa's sax solos

During the opening sequence, Lisa is often seen in her band class playing an improvised solo on her baritone saxophone much to Mr. Largo's annoyance. Mr. Largo sends her away, while still playing her saxophone. For a long time, Lisa's solos were provided by jazz baritone saxophonist Terry Harrington. As of late-Season 21, there has been 36 different sax solos used (a few are not played by a sax).
In "The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular" and "He Loves to Fly and He D'ohs", the solo is heard without showing her, and has been reanimated in "Kill Gil, Volumes I & II", "The Burns and the Bees", "Treehouse of Horror XXIV", "White Christmas Blues" and "I Won't Be Home for Christmas". In "Boy Meets Curl", Lisa is seen playing solo 7 (Downward Blues 2) within the episode.
Since "Take My Life, Please", the opening has been redone in HD, and now Lisa is seen for more of the solo, and after she exits the music room, she peaks in and does a few more notes before leaving.
Below are the solo nicknames (which are unofficial and each solo is given one to distinguish it) and the description of it. Underneath that are each season with what sax solo each episode uses.
==Sax Solos==
===Solo 1: Main Theme (High)===
This solo follows the 12-note main melody tune. Only used in Season 1, with the exception of "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire", "Bart the General" and "Life on the Fast Lane".
===Solo 2: Main Theme===
This solo follows the main melody tune, but is one octave lower. This is used mostly in Season 2 episodes with full, uncondensed openings. A few variants of this solo also appear.
===Solo 3: Main Theme, Variant 1===
This is almost an exact copy of Solo 2, except that it sounds more breathy and the 14th note is more aggressively played. This is used in Season 2 episodes with condensed openings.
===Solo 4: Slow Downward Blues Scale===
A deliberate downward and chromatic blues scale that ends with a quick downward trill.
===Solo 5: Main Theme, Variant 2===
A very plain no-frill variant of the theme, but not breathy like in Solos 2 and 3.
===Solo 6: Downward Blues 1===
Similar to Solo 4, but quicker. Starts at the top and ends with two "friendly sounding" notes.
===Solo 7: Downward Blues 2===
Similar to Solo 6, but there is a pause at the beginning, and then a slide to the top note. The ending is plain in comparison.
===Solo 8: Main Theme, Variant 3===
The last variant of the theme. It has a fancy triplet on the third note that wasn't used in the previous variants. This may be the most famous solo that Lisa has done.
===Solo 9: Crazy Be-Bop===
Possibly the funniest Lisa solo, and this one is a favorite of many. It starts with several atonal blasts, followed by a crazy attempt to get back on rhythm.
===Solo 10: Melodic Figure 1===
Optimistic and happy sounding, this solo is bright, thoughtful and not bluesy at all.
===Solo 11: Melodic Figure 2===
Similar to Solo 10, but there's only a hint of notes.
===Solo 12: Break Out===
Very melodic and thoughtful, this solo starts early, as if Lisa is breaking out of the pattern and taking over.
===Solo 13: Funk 1===
Another favorite of many, this solo is a James Brown influence, and the accent is on the "one" (downbeat).
===Solo 14: Funk 2===
Sounds like Solo 13 coming in late, ending with two low blasts.
===Solo 15: Funk Groove===
Groovy, backbeat driven funk that begins with three 3/4 (dotted 1/2 notes) notes, which descend with three 1/16th notes a piece.
===Solo 16: Slow Soul===
Simple, slow and sad, this solo only has two longing wails.
===Solo 17: Hot Jazz===
Bluesy riff that starts slow, moves up to the top, turns downward with two "hot" blasts, and ends low and quiet.
===Solo 18: Three Blasts===
Familiar sounding melodic riff, but brand new, which is distinguished by three deliberate blasts in the middle.
===Solo 19: Mellow Yellow===
The first bar sounds eerily like the chorus of "Mellow Yellow" by Donovan, and ends very bluesy and sad.
===Solo 20: Wailing Horn===
Dramatic, drawn-out blues notes that end on a non-blues tonal center note in major.
===Solo 21: Counter Rhythm===
Starts off funky, then slows down and breaks out of the main rhythm with a soulful blues climax.
===Solo 22: Coffeehouse Improv 1===
A simple and slow-paced bluesy melody, largely from a minor key that is defined by an obvious beat.
===Solo 23: Fragments===
Four distinct groups of 4-5 notes each, sounding like a few false starts, but not unintentionally. Overall, this solo is reminiscent of fragments of the theme, but only if viewers don't listen too closely.
===Solo 24: Coffeehouse Improv 2===
Similar to Solo 22, but is lower and has more of a melody, ending on a down note.
===Solo 25: Sorcerer's Apprentice===
Kind of march with discrete notes, and the first four notes sound very similar of "The Sorcerer's Apprentice".
===Solo 26: Wail and Bass===
A sustained high note, followed by a few steps down to a low tone, which sounds a little uninspired.
===Solo 27: Barn Dance 1===
A rapidly-paced and knee-slapping piece that sounds like it belongs at a hoedown.
===Solo 28: Funk 2.5===
Starts like Solo 23, but sounds more like Solos 13 and 14 at the end.
===Solo 29: Hot Jazz Minor 1===
Starts a lot like Solo 17, but then hits a minor key and gradually works down in a jazzy way, finishing with the last four notes being repeated.
===Solo 30: Hot Jazz Minor 2===
Similar to Solo 29 (and sounds close to 17), but the trip down the scales is more playful and doesn't repeat.
===Solo 31: Barn Dance 2===
Similar to Solo 27, but is not as frenetic.
===Solo 32: Up-Note Jazz===
A jazzy finger-snapping tune with a sort of questioning up note near the end.
===Solo 33: Deck the Halls===
A syncopated, jazzy version of the first line to "Deck the Halls".
===Solo 34: Staccato and Flourish===
A few discrete and almost random notes, followed by a 6-note series of two alternating notes, ending with a final flourish.
===Solo 35: 4 + 4 + More===
Starts with two separate, somewhat similar groups of four notes, followed by what sounds like a third variant continues farther down a scale.
===Solo 36: Too-Ra-Loo-Ra-Loo-Ral===
A thoughtful and drawn-out rendition of the first line of the song.
==Season 1==
# 	Solo 	Episode Name 	
Code
1 	No solo 	Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire	7G08
2 	Main Theme (High)	Bart the Genius 	7G02
3 	Main Theme (High)	Homer's Odyssey 	7G03
4 	Main Theme (High)	There's No Disgrace Like Home 	7G04
5 	No solo 	Bart the General 	7G05
6 	Main Theme (High)	Moaning Lisa 	7G06
7 	Main Theme (High)	The Call of the Simpsons 	7G09
8 	Main Theme (High)	The Telltale Head 	7G07
9 	No solo 	Life on the Fast Lane 	7G11
10	Main Theme (High)	Homer's Night Out 	7G10
11	Main Theme (High)	The Crepes of Wrath 	7G13
12	Main Theme (High)	Krusty Gets Busted 	7G12
13	Main Theme (High)	Some Enchanted Evening 	7G01
==Season 2==
# 	Solo 	Episode Name 	Code
1 	Main Theme 	Bart Gets an "F" 	7F03
2 	Main Theme 	Simpson and Delilah 	7F02
3 	No solo 	Treehouse of Horror 	7F04
4 	Main Theme 	Two Cars in Every Garage and Three Eyes on Every Fish	7F01
5 	Main Theme 	Dancin' Homer 	7F05
6 	Main Theme 	Dead Putting Society 	7F08
7 	Main Theme 	Bart vs. Thanksgiving 	7F07
8 	Main Theme 	Bart the Daredevil 	7F06
9 	Main Theme 	Itchy & Scratchy & Marge 	7F09
10	Main Theme 	Bart Gets Hit by a Car 	7F10
11	Main Theme, Variant 1	One Fish, Two Fish, Blowfish, Blue Fish 	7F11
12	Main Theme, Variant 1	The Way We Was 	7F12
13	Main Theme 	Homer vs. Lisa and the 8th Commandment 	7F13
14	Main Theme, Variant 1	Principal Charming 	7F15
15	Main Theme, Variant 1	Oh Brother, Where Art Thou? 	7F16
16	Main Theme 	Bart's Dog Gets an F 	7F14
17	Main Theme 	Old Money 	7F17
18	Main Theme, Variant 1	Brush with Greatness 	7F18
19	No solo 	Lisa's Substitute 	7F19
20	Main Theme 	The War of the Simpsons 	7F20
21	Main Theme 	Three Men and a Comic Book 	7F21
22	Main Theme 	Blood Feud 	7F22
==Season 3==
# 	Solo 	Episode Name 	Code
1 	Main Theme, Variant 2 	Stark Raving Dad 	7F24
2 	Downward Blues 1 	Mr. Lisa Goes to Washington 	8F01
3 	Main Theme 	When Flanders Failed 	7F23
4 	Slow Downward Blues Scale	Bart the Murderer 	8F03
5 	Funk 1 	Homer Defined 	8F04
6 	Downward Blues 2 	Like Father, Like Clown 	8F05
7 	No solo 	Treehouse of Horror II 	8F02
8 	Main Theme, Variant 2 	Lisa's Pony 	8F06
9 	Main Theme, Variant 3 	Saturdays of Thunder 	8F07
10	Downward Blues 1 	Flaming Moe's 	8F08
11	Crazy Be-Bop 	Burns Verkaufen der Kraftwerk 	8F09
12	Melodic Figure 1 	I Married Marge 	8F10
13	Melodic Figure 2 	Radio Bart 	8F11
14	No solo 	Lisa the Greek 	8F12
15	Break Out 	Homer Alone 	8F14
16	No solo 	Bart the Lover 	8F16
17	Slow Downward Blues Scale	Homer at the Bat 	8F13
18	Downward Blues 2 	Separate Vocations 	8F15
19	Crazy Be-Bop 	Dog of Death 	8F17
20	Main Theme, Variant 3 	Colonel Homer 	8F19
21	Melodic Figure 1 	Black Widower 	8F20
22	Melodic Figure 2 	The Otto Show 	8F21
23	Break Out 	Bart's Friend Falls in Love 	8F22
24	Main Theme, Variant 3 	Brother, Can You Spare Two Dimes?	8F23
==Season 4==
# 	Solo 	Episode Name 	Code
1 	Melodic Figure 2 	Kamp Krusty 	8F24
2 	Melodic Figure 1 	A Streetcar Named Marge 	8F18
3 	Break Out 	Homer the Heretic 	9F01
4 	Crazy Be-Bop 	Lisa the Beauty Queen 	9F02
5 	No solo 	Treehouse of Horror III 	9F04
6 	Main Theme, Variant 3 	Itchy & Scratchy: The Movie 	9F03
7 	Melodic Figure 1 	Marge Gets a Job 	9F05
8 	Downward Blues 1 	New Kid on the Block 	9F06
9 	Crazy Be-Bop 	Mr. Plow 	9F07
10	Melodic Figure 2 	Lisa's First Word 	9F08
11	Break Out 	Homer's Triple Bypass 	9F09
12	Main Theme, Variant 3 	Marge vs. the Monorail 	9F10
13	Melodic Figure 1 	Selma's Choice 	9F11
14	Downward Blues 1 	Brother from the Same Planet 	9F12
15	Melodic Figure 2 	I Love Lisa 	9F13
16	Downward Blues 2 	Duffless 	9F14
17	Funk 1 	Last Exit to Springfield 	9F15
18	Main Theme, Variant 3 	So It's Come to This: A Simpsons Clip Show	9F17
19	Melodic Figure 2 	The Front 	9F16
20	Slow Downward Blues Scale	Whacking Day 	9F18
21	Melodic Figure 1 	Marge in Chains 	9F20
22	Break Out 	Krusty Gets Kancelled 	9F19
==Season 5==
# 	Solo 	Episode Name 	Code
1 	Main Theme, Variant 3	Homer's Barbershop Quartet 	9F21
2 	Melodic Figure 2 	Cape Feare 	9F22
3 	No solo 	Homer Goes to College 	1F02
4 	No solo 	Rosebud 	1F01
5 	No solo 	Treehouse of Horror IV 	1F04
6 	No solo 	Marge on the Lam 	1F03
7 	No solo 	Bart's Inner Child 	1F05
8 	No solo 	Boy-Scoutz 'n the Hood 	1F06
9 	Crazy Be-Bop 	The Last Temptation of Homer 	1F07
10	No solo 	$pringfield (Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Legalized Gambling)	1F08
11	Downward Blues 1 	Homer the Vigilante 	1F09
12	Downward Blues 2 	Bart Gets Famous 	1F11
13	Downward Blues 1 	Homer and Apu 	1F10
14	No solo 	Lisa vs. Malibu Stacy 	1F12
15	No solo 	Deep Space Homer 	1F13
16	No solo 	Homer Loves Flanders 	1F14
17	No solo 	Bart Gets an Elephant 	1F15
18	No solo 	Burns' Heir 	1F16
19	No solo 	Sweet Seymour Skinner's Baadasssss Song 	1F18
20	Downward Blues 2 	The Boy Who Knew Too Much 	1F19
21	No solo 	Lady Bouvier's Lover 	1F21
22	No solo 	Secrets of a Successful Marriage 	1F20
==Season 6==
# 	Solo 	Episode Name 	Code
1 	No solo 	Bart of Darkness 	1F22
2 	No solo 	Lisa's Rival 	1F17
3 	No solo 	Another Simpsons Clip Show 	2F33
4 	No solo 	Itchy & Scratchy Land 	2F01
5 	No solo 	Sideshow Bob Roberts 	2F02
6 	No solo 	Treehouse of Horror V 	2F03
7 	No solo 	Bart's Girlfriend 	2F04
8 	No solo 	Lisa on Ice 	2F05
9 	No solo 	Homer Badman 	2F06
10	No solo 	Grampa vs. Sexual Inadequacy 	2F07
11	Melodic Figure 2 	Fear of Flying 	2F08
12	No solo 	Homer the Great 	2F09
13	No solo 	And Maggie Makes Three 	2F10
14	No solo 	Bart's Comet 	2F11
15	No solo 	Homie the Clown 	2F12
16	Main Theme, Variant 2	Bart vs. Australia 	2F13
17	No solo 	Homer vs. Patty and Selma 	2F14
18	No solo 	A Star is Burns 	2F31
19	No solo 	Lisa's Wedding 	2F15
20	No solo 	Two Dozen and One Greyhounds 	2F18
21	No solo 	The PTA Disbands 	2F19
22	Main Theme, Variant 3	'Round Springfield 	2F32
23	No solo 	The Springfield Connection 	2F21
24	No solo 	Lemon of Troy 	2F22
25	No solo 	Who Shot Mr. Burns? (Part One)	2F16
==Season 7==
# 	Solo 	Episode Name 	Code
1 	No solo 	Who Shot Mr. Burns? (Part Two) 	2F20
2 	No solo 	Radioactive Man 	2F17
3 	No solo 	Home Sweet Homediddly-Dum-Doodily 	3F01
4 	No solo 	Bart Sells His Soul 	3F02
5 	No solo 	Lisa the Vegetarian 	3F03
6 	No solo 	Treehouse of Horror VI 	3F04
7 	No solo 	King-Size Homer 	3F05
8 	No solo 	Mother Simpson 	3F06
9 	No solo 	Sideshow Bob's Last Gleaming 	3F08
10	Main Theme, Variant 3	The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular 	3F31
11	No solo 	Marge Be Not Proud 	3F07
12	No solo 	Team Homer 	3F10
13	No solo 	Two Bad Neighbors 	3F09
14	No solo 	Scenes from the Class Struggle in Springfield 	3F11
15	No solo 	Bart the Fink 	3F12
16	No solo 	Lisa the Iconoclast 	3F13
17	No solo 	Homer the Smithers 	3F14
18	No solo 	The Day the Violence Died 	3F16
19	No solo 	A Fish Called Selma 	3F15
20	No solo 	Bart on the Road 	3F17
21	No solo 	22 Short Films About Springfield 	3F18
22	No solo 	Raging Abe Simpson and His Grumbling Grandson in "The Curse of the Flying Hellfish"	3F19
23	No solo 	Much Apu About Nothing 	3F20
24	No solo 	Homerpalooza 	3F21
25	No solo 	Summer of 4 Ft. 2 	3F22
==Season 8==
# 	Solo 	Episode Name 	Code
1 	No solo 	Treehouse of Horror VII 	4F02
2 	Funk 1 	You Only Move Twice 	3F23
3 	No solo 	The Homer They Fall 	4F03
4 	No solo 	Burns, Baby Burns 	4F05
5 	No solo 	Bart After Dark 	4F06
6 	No solo 	A Milhouse Divided 	4F04
7 	No solo 	Lisa's Date with Density 	4F01
8 	No solo 	Hurricane Neddy 	4F07
9 	No solo 	El Viaje Misterioso de Nuestro Jomer (The Mysterious Voyage of Homer)	3F24
10	Crazy Be-Bop 	The Springfield Files 	3G01
11	No solo 	The Twisted World of Marge Simpson 	4F08
12	No solo 	Mountain of Madness 	4F10
13	Melodic Figure 2	Simpsoncalifragilisticexpiala(Annoyed Grunt)cious 	3G03
14	No solo 	The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show 	4F12
15	No solo 	Homer's Phobia 	4F11
16	No solo 	Brother from Another Series 	4F14
17	No solo 	My Sister, My Sitter 	4F13
18	No solo 	Homer vs. the Eighteenth Amendment 	4F15
19	No solo 	Grade School Confidential 	4F09
20	Break Out 	The Canine Mutiny 	4F16
21	No solo 	The Old Man and the Lisa 	4F17
22	No solo 	In Marge We Trust 	4F18
23	No solo 	Homer's Enemy 	4F19
24	No solo 	The Simpsons Spin-Off Showcase 	4F20
25	No solo 	The Secret War of Lisa Simpson 	4F21
==Season 9==
# 	Solo 	Episode Name 	Code
1 	No solo 	The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson	4F22
2 	No solo 	The Principal and the Pauper 	4F23
3 	Break Out 	Lisa's Sax 	3G02
4 	No solo 	Treehouse of Horror VIII 	5F02
5 	Funk 1 	The Cartridge Family 	5F01
6 	No solo 	Bart Star 	5F03
7 	No solo 	The Two Mrs. Nahasapeemapetilons 	5F04
8 	Downward Blues 2 	Lisa the Skeptic 	5F05
9 	No solo 	Realty Bites 	5F06
10	No solo 	Miracle on Evergreen Terrace 	5F07
11	No solo 	All Singing, All Dancing 	5F24
12	No solo 	Bart Carny 	5F08
13	No solo 	The Joy of Sect 	5F23
14	No solo 	Das Bus 	5F11
15	No solo 	The Last Temptation of Krust 	5F10
16	No solo 	Dumbbell Indemnity 	5F12
17	No solo 	Lisa the Simpson 	4F24
18	Downward Blues 1 	This Little Wiggy 	5F13
19	No solo 	Simpson Tide 	3G04
20	No solo 	The Trouble with Trillions 	5F14
21	No solo 	Girly Edition 	5F15
22	No solo 	Trash of the Titans 	5F09
23	No solo 	King of the Hill 	5F16
24	Break Out 	Lost Our Lisa 	5F17
25	Slow Downward Blues Scale	Natural Born Kissers 	5F18
==Season 10==
# 	Solo 	Episode Name 	Code
1 	No solo 	Lard of the Dance 	5F20
2 	Slow Downward Blues Scale	​​​​​​The Wizard of Evergreen Terrace	5F21
3 	No solo 	Bart the Mother 	5F22
4 	No solo 	Treehouse of Horror IX 	AABF01
5 	Melodic Figure 1 	When You Dish Upon a Star 	5F19
6 	Crazy Be-Bop 	D'oh-in' in the Wind 	AABF02
7 	Main Theme, Variant 3 	Lisa Gets an "A" 	AABF03
8 	Slow Downward Blues Scale	Homer Simpson in: "Kidney Trouble"	AABF04
9 	Slow Downward Blues Scale	Mayored to the Mob 	AABF05
10	Melodic Figure 2 	Viva Ned Flanders 	AABF06
11	Melodic Figure 2 	Wild Barts Can't Be Broken 	AABF07
12	Melodic Figure 1 	Sunday, Cruddy Sunday 	AABF08
13	Funk 1 	Homer to the Max 	AABF09
14	Funk 1 	I'm with Cupid 	AABF11
15	 	 	
16	 	 	
17	 	 	
18	 	 	
19	 	 	
20	 	 	
21	 	 	
22	 	 	
23	 	 	
==Season 11==
==Season 12==
==Season 13==
==Season 14==
==Season 15==
==Season 16==
==Season 17==
==Season 18==
==Season 19==
==Season 20==
==Season 21==
==Season 22==
==Season 23==
==Season 24==
==Season 25==
==Season 26==
==Season 27==
==Season 28==
==Season 29==
==Season 30==
==Season 31==
==Season 32==
==Season 33==
==Season 34==
==External links==
*More comprehensive list
Category:Lists
Category:Running gags