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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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. […]
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 […]
Here’s a simple exercise to help you gain confidence moving around various subdivisions of the beat while also improving the accuracy of your articulation at the same time. You’ll definitely need a metronome for this one, and it’s a good idea to record yourself doing this so you can hear how precisely you’re able to […]
The Intro David Liebman is a man who needs no introduction to virtually anyone in the saxophone world. But for those of you who need to be introduced, in my estimation, a bona-fide living legend, and an important voice in many seminal moments in the history of jazz. Going back, there is his work on the […]