Introduction Since moving out to the Bay Area 7 years ago, I’ve had the chance to visit various music stores and repair shops and meet saxophonists selling gear from time to time. Now, when it comes to someone who is not just a great player but has one of the nicest collections of vintage saxophones, [read more…]
Introduction Back in May, I finally made the trip to visit my sister in Boston. While in Boston, I knew before I left I needed to check out the music scene as well as any music shops that focused on saxophones (problems of a gear head). Even though I was only visiting for a couple [read more…]
Flashy technique and altissimo are all fine and good, but a rich, powerful, and distinctive saxophone sound that truly grabs your listeners is the hallmark of any great player. Thing is, without the correct methods, you're likely to waste time, looking for the perfect setup and trying to make sense of vague and conflicting instruction from books, videos, and private teachers.
Luckily, sax legend David Liebman, one of the world's foremost experts on saxophone sound production, takes you on a step-by-step journey through the method used by legends such as Michael Brecker, Bob Berg, and other masters. Starting from your mental concept of sound, to the breath, to the throat and the oral cavity (lots of cool overtone exercises here!), to the embouchure, and then on to expressive effects and working on reeds - Dave covers everything you need to develop the sort of sound that turns heads - from the first note.
SAXOPHONETONE.COM
Ready to go Deep Into the Art of Building a Massive Saxophone Sound?
It’s been a good 12 years since I published one of the all-time most popular articles on this website. That post being my most recent (and only) collection of terrible saxophone jokes to commemorate the birthday of Adolphe Sax, the inventor of our beloved instrument. November 6 (tomorrow, at the time of this writing in [read more…]
Introduction Steve Kortyka and newcomer on the scene, Ryan Devlin are two heavy players navigating the scene today at different points in their musical careers. Between the two of them, they’ve recorded multiple albums – Ryan with Thoughts on the Matter and The Shape of Light, and Steve with Steps Forward, Wedding Song, and Looking [read more…]
I’m going to go out on a limb and guess that unless you a super-advanced and possibly professional improvising musician, you sometimes struggle to come up with new stuff to play in your solos. Next, I’m going to go out a bit farther out on that limb and guess that many of you look to resources [read more…]
Introduction One of the first saxophone-centered stores I ever visited was Roberto’s Winds. I remember when I first visited, the Vandoren V16 hard rubber line of mouthpieces for tenor and alto sax had just come out, in addition to Roberto’s Reeds and earlier versions of their wooden ligatures Quite recently, in addition to reeds, ligatures, [read more…]
The mouthpiece you use on your saxophone contributes a great deal to the sound you produce on the sax. It creates a link and bond between you and the saxophone. Because of how important the role of the mouthpiece is in shaping your “tone-signature” on the sax, it is one accessory you should always take [read more…]
Introduction While attending TCNJ (The College of New Jersey), a music major named John Ketts told me that if I wanted to really get my jazz chops together, then I should study with one of his friends who just graduated from William Paterson University named Dave Pollack. I had never heard of Dave before, but [read more…]
I this article, I’d like to share some specifics on two regular fixtures from my practice routine – warm ups and creating lines. Warm Ups #1: Body Wake Up I first try to ‘wake up’ my body with this exercise. I put almost-exaggerated air and body support on the notes marked with articulation, which makes [read more…]
Introduction As a fan of the SNAP Saxophone Quartet, thus far, I have been fortunate enough to speak with three members of the group (Sam Dillon, Andrew Gould, and Nick Biello). In this interview, I complete the circle by speaking with Paul Jones, the remaining member of the quartet who, up until now, I hadn’t [read more…]