The first time I saw Greg Fishman was when I attended Jamey Aebersold’s jazz workshop. Since then, Greg has come out with multiple educational books for saxophone such as Jazz Saxophone Etudes, Jazz Phrasing for Beginners, Tasting Harmony, and a good number more. The two books (to date) that make up Fishman’s newest series, Hip [read more…]
Today’s article was inspired by a reader who posed the following great question: Any tips / advice on the critical skill of learning to relax when playing? Before I start a piece I try to breath deeply and let go of stress in the body. Despite this I can feel the tension rise, particularly in [read more…]
Over the course of my playing career I have tried countless saxophone accessories and reeds from many manufacturers. The first box of reeds I ever played on was a Rico orange box. I later moved on to the Rico Royals and then continued to try more and more reeds from different manufacturers to see how [read more…]
This guest post is from saxophone and multi-reed player, composer, recording artist, and educator Sam Sadigursky of SamSadigursky.com As an improviser and composer, I do my best to always add an element of creativity and ear-training to all the practicing that I do. Often, my practice time is quite limited, so being able to address several things [read more…]
This article comes to us from renown professional saxophonist, recording artist, and author of the new book, A Complete Approach to Sound for the Modern Saxophonist, Ben Britton. I think it is safe to say that most of us who play saxophone are drawn to it because of its sound. It can be vocal and at the same [read more…]
For some time Forestone filed reeds have been my reed of choice. I actually reviewed their original line of reeds this past January in my post-NAMM 2012 article. For those of you unfamiliar with Forestone, to recap from my article: The Forestone reed is made up of a combination of polypropylene resin and cellulose wood fiber. Over [read more…]
UPDATE: Sadly, it has come to my attention that there are many saxophonists who have apparently purchased products from Lebayle, only to never receive what they paid for, nor did they receive any responses to multiple attempts at communication. So although I will leave this article up on the site for reference, please beware before [read more…]
Yes, I know, they’re not as fun as learning that hip new Mark Turner lick or wailing over Jamey Aebersold. But they’re necessary. The “they’re” I’m referring to are, of course, our dreaded long tones. But the truth is, they don’t have to be so torturous. There’s things you can do to make them more fun. [read more…]
I had the opportunity to read world-renown saxophonist Eric Alexander’s new e-book, Improvising with the Whole Step Triad Combination Scale. The book is focused around a concept Eric refers to as the “whole step triad combination scale.” I have been a long-time fan of Eric Alexander and am extremely excited that Eric has come out with a [read more…]
This is a guest post by saxophonist, arranger, and educator Brad Carman of BradCarmanMusic.com. We all know that some notes on the saxophone are tougher to hit than others, especially as we begin to delve into the altissimo register. While there is a great deal of information out there about the art of altissimo as [read more…]
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