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…]
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, what [read more…]
Regardless of your horn, mouthpiece, or reed, the truth is, to the outside listener, you sound pretty much like...you. It's not that gear doesn't affect your sound at all, but your biggest and richest sound will only come by developing the skills within both your body and mind to sound great on any setup.
So if you're willing to move beyond having your day ruined by a lousy reed, then sax legend David Liebman's course, Ultimate Guide to Saxophone Sound Production is where you're going to want to go next.
Broken down into bite-sized lessons, this streaming video program covers just about every single aspect of saxophone sound production. It represents his entire life's work teaching the techniques and concepts that were handed down to masters such as Michael Brecker, Bob Berg, and Harvey Pittel (among many others), and then refined over the course of decades teaching countless lessons and masterclasses worldwide. Click below to see for yourself why so many professional saxophonists consider David's thorough, methodical, and practical approach the "real deal" for players at any level.
SAXOPHONETONE.COM
The Ultimate Guide to Saxophone Sound Production
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, and [read more…]
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 contains [read more…]
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 truly [read more…]
I would venture to guess that many of us go into a practice session or performance somewhat mindlessly. Of course, once the horn is in our mouth, we usually snap into conscious music-making mode. However, are there things we can do set ourselves up for the best possible results before we start playing? To dig [read more…]
Almost all of us know the feeling. It’s been a long practice or rehearsal session, and the inside of our lower lip is so sore that we can barely go on playing, thanks to our flesh-piercing lower teeth. (Ouch! Sounds painful when I put it that way, no?) This article was my response to an [read more…]
The definition of the word, Soul as defined on Dictionary.com: the emotional part of human nature; the seat of the feelings or sentiments. When it comes to music, it’s been my experience that the sound of a human being singing tends to touch the average person’s heart more than any other sound. Because we all [read more…]
Voicing on the saxophone is an aspect of playing the instrument that many of us don’t really get into until we’re in the more advanced stages. Those exposed to this practice early on are among the lucky ones. Ummm…what do you mean by “voicing”? As far as I see it, voicing refers to the manipulation [read more…]
As a saxophonist, performer, educator, and scholar, New York City’s Steve Lehman has travelled a truly original musical journey. Taking into consideration Lehman’s stints with barrier-busters such as Anthony Braxton, Dave Burrell, Mark Dresser, Vijay Iyer, Oliver Lake, Meshell Ndegeocello, David Wessel, and High Priest of Anti-Pop Consortium, one can see that Steve is anything [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!
