Once you have earned your first dollar, euro etc from playing music, you are now a professional. If you work as a full time, part time musician, composer, arranger, music teacher, or instrument repair tech, you are a professional. As such you need to act like a pro and you need to be aware of [read more…]
To sound bluesy on the saxophone you can go into depths of theory and get quite complicated, but you don’t have to! This method is designed to give you an introduction to creating a bluesy sound, is aimed at both beginners and more advanced players who have no experience of improvisation. There is an accompanying [read more…]
SPOILER ALERT: There really aren't that many melodic and harmonic "tricks" you need to know to play great solos. After going through just a few of these etudes and their brief analysis, you'll be well on your way to having a rock-solid "improvisational arsenal".
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Are you unbelievably consistent? Once you’ve learnt something, do you deliver it perfectly every time? Or are you like most of us? Sometimes it’s there – and sometimes there’s something lacking. Your ability to focus is one of the keys to that holy grail of consistency, and it brings benefits in many other areas too. [read more…]
Introduction The saxophone stand is probably one of the most overlooked accessories by saxophonists today (at least in my opinion). The saxophone stand, although scene as a simple piece equipment with the purpose of holding the saxophone, should not be overlooked. There are a few popular manufacturers such as Hercules, Hamilton, K&M, which have been [read more…]
The main concepts that I wanted to address in writing my first book Leaps & Sounds: 12 Contemporary Etudes for Jazz Saxophone, were integration of large intervals into improvising, voice leading and harmonic content. When Doron (the owner of BestSaxophoneWebsiteEver.com), asked me to write a short article to expand a bit on these concepts, I [read more…]
Does it seem like there’s always way too much to practice? Everywhere you look there’s an exciting new concept to work on that will make your next solo awesome if you can just master it. Not to mention all the half-finished things that you keep meaning to come back to but somehow never do. If [read more…]
Permutation – “often major or fundamental change (as in character or condition) based primarily on rearrangement of existent elements.” “the act or process of changing the lineal order of an ordered set of objects.” – Merriam-Webster Thank you Merriam. You hit the nail on the head. The “rearrangement of existent elements” and the “ordered set [read more…]
Introduction This year, The 2018 NAMM Show was filled with various manufacturers and vendors showcasing their new and existing line of products. With so many saxophones, ligatures, reeds, mouthpieces, cases, neck-straps etc. to test play (SO MANY!), it can become overwhelming. As mentioned in my 2018 NAMM Saxophone Gear Roundup (BSWE NAMM 2018 Round-Up), I [read more…]
This is a general term that I use that includes the use of the descending be-bop scale (half step between the root and dominant 7th) and all the various versions of the ascending and descending major be-bop scales…check out the many videos on this subject that are based on the teachings of master Barry Harris. [read more…]
lan·guage – the method of human communication. Let me start by saying music is a universal language, and within jazz, there are various “accents”, if you will, such as blues, bebop, cool, swing, and the list goes on. Learning the bebop jazz language in a fun and easy way is the purpose of this concept [read more…]
Tips and Techniques from the pros PLUS free access to the Sax Lessons with the Stars archive - 10 years worth of interviews and exercises featuring the likes of David Liebman, Bob Mintzer, Ben Wendel, Bob Reynolds, and many more!
