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I realize that learning how to position your left hand thumb on the saxophone properly isn’t the most glamorous subject. But. Oh. Is. It. Important. Bad left hand thumb placement is everywhere. It’s an epidemic. I encourage you to engage your peripheral vision and start spying on your fellow saxophonists. See? The various thumb positions [read more…]
In my book Easy Easy Bebop, I refer to the lesson below as “the magic of the neck strap”. The short tip from the book has helped so many players that I decided to give further information on finding the “sweet spot” in the adjustment of one’s saxophone neck strap. As you know neck straps are [read more…]
Official Bio Hailing from the remote location of Perth, West Australia, saxophonist Troy Roberts has received numerous accolades including 3 DownBeat Jazz Soloist Awards, 2 Grammy Nominations, and was the only Australian semi-finalist in the 2008 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Saxophone Competition. Since attending The West Australian Academy Of Performing Arts (WAAPA) and graduating with [read more…]
This article is a lesson that comes to us courtesy of world-renown saxophonist, Jon Gordon, and also appears in his book, Foundations for Improvisors. For this lesson it’s essential that you have or can get access to a keyboard to play through and hear this material. One concept I find very helpful to musicians is the [read more…]
Introduction The vintage Otto Link “Slant Signature” mouthpiece is still today one of the most sought after and copied mouthpieces on the market. Almost every mouthpiece maker/manufacture offers their version of an Otto Link Slant Signature whether it be an “exact” copy or a slightly modified version. I have reviewed various Otto Link “Slant Signature” [read more…]
Once you have earned your first dollar, euro etc from playing music, you are now a professional. If you work as a full time, part time musician, composer, arranger, music teacher, or instrument repair tech, you are a professional. As such you need to act like a pro and you need to be aware of [read more…]
To sound bluesy on the saxophone you can go into depths of theory and get quite complicated, but you don’t have to! This method is designed to give you an introduction to creating a bluesy sound, is aimed at both beginners and more advanced players who have no experience of improvisation. There is an accompanying [read more…]
Are you unbelievably consistent? Once you’ve learnt something, do you deliver it perfectly every time? Or are you like most of us? Sometimes it’s there – and sometimes there’s something lacking. Your ability to focus is one of the keys to that holy grail of consistency, and it brings benefits in many other areas too. [read more…]