Author Archive: Doron Orenstein
I've been playing the sax since the late 80's, but my musical journey has run quite the gamut. The musical rap sheet includes tours with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra and reggae master Half Pint, center stage at the L.A. Music Center, cozy cafes, raucous night clubs, gear-drenched studios, and the pinnacle of any musician's career - playing weddings in New Jersey! (duh). There's a lot of other stuff too, but you should be reading these blog posts and leaving comments instead. Now off you go!
Saxophone and Mouthpiece Highlights Plus Exclusive Interviews from NAMM 2013
Tweet For those of you who’ve never heard of it, the NAMM (which stands for “National Association of Music Merchants”) show is a ginormous convention held each year in Anaheim, California. It’s a true play land (bad pun intended) for musicians in every genre, as musical instrument and equipment manufacturers are set up in booths [...]
Category: News, Updates, and Brand Overviews
15 Glimpses Into the Minds of History’s Great Saxophone Players
Tweet This week I wanted to do something a bit special. Rather than rattling on with my views on saxophone playing and music in general, I thought I’d leave it to the saxophone greats to share their wisdom and insights with you. Between all of the combined quotes below is centuries worth of knowledge on [...]
Category: Best Saxophone Players, Best Saxophone Tips and Techniques
9 Tips Guaranteed to Make You Play Better by Relaxing More
Tweet 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 [...]
Category: Best of the Blog, Best Saxophone Tips and Techniques
How to Make Your Long Tone Practice Bearable, and Even…Fun?
Tweet 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 [...]
Category: Best of the Blog, Best Saxophone Tips and Techniques
A 2-Minute Tip to Get You Sounding Better Right Away
Tweet If you’re a subscriber to my email newsletter, you should have received my most recent edition in which featured a great tip from sax great, Bob Sheppard regarding sound production. I’m not going to repeat everything I wrote, since you can get that stuff by checking out the online version of the newsletter here. However, [...]
Category: Best of the Blog, Best Saxophone Tips and Techniques
David Sanborn’s Reed Preparation Ritual
Tweet Reed preparation rituals - everyone’s got one. We may find ourselves doing things like soaking our reeds in Listerine, or shaving them down with a nail file, or burying them in the ground for 6 months, or just slapping them on the mouthpiece and playing. The goal is to end up with a reed that sounds, [...]
Category: Best Saxophone Tips and Techniques
A Set of Mouthpiece Exercises to Boost Your Tone, Big-Time
Tweet Did you know that playing on the mouthpiece alone is a great way to train the muscles in your mouth and throat to respond extremely effectively in getting you the best and biggest sound you can possibly get? If not, I’d recommend checking out this article. Although the article I just pointed you to [...]
Category: Best of the Blog, Best Saxophone Tips and Techniques
Behind the Scenes: Adding Piano to Bob Mintzer Interview
Tweet As some of you know, I am currently working on a follow-up to my educational program for saxophone players, Bulletproof Saxophone Playing. You may have also heard me say that this time around I’m featuring Bob Mintzer, Dave Liebman, and Bob Sheppard. Needless to say, I’m completely honored to get to work with these [...]
Category: News, Updates, and Brand Overviews
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