When teaching, I’m often struck by how many students can play all their major scales but have little actual understanding of the keys that they play in and how their related key signatures are constructed. Having an understanding of key signatures will greatly improve your reading and general music literacy, which will set you loose [read more…]
I have reviewed Forestone’s filed and unfiled reeds, finding that each had its own sound characteristics. Recently, I was introduced to the Forestone Black Bamboo reed. I knew I needed to test-play this reed to find out how it differed from the filed and unfiled cuts. For those of you new to the brand, Forestone’s reeds [read more…]
The new JodyJazz DV HR Tenor uses the patented DV secondary window to add mid and low harmonics, resulting in a more authoritative tone than normal tenor sax mouthpieces provide. And the long straight somewhat high baffle gives the mouthpiece it’s fantastic projection and cutting power along with excellent altissimo.
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The New DV HR Tenor from JodyJazz
Professional classical musicians seem to be able to memorize impossibly complicated solo works, orchestral excerpts, and other pieces in a short amount of time and with remarkable recall and precision. Similarly, professional jazz musicians know hundreds of tunes and seem to be able to play back almost anything they hear – in any key [read more…]
While I was recently searching for a new mouthpiece, I started reading more about refacing and how the right person could turn a good mouthpiece into a one-of-a-kind-mouthpiece. In this review, I will be profiling various mouthpiece makers/refacers whose mouthpieces I have tried – whether it be their own branded mouthpiece, or another branded mouthpiece [read more…]
One of the most basic and important truths of improvising is that no matter what note you play, you’re never more than a half-step away from the “right” note. Besides being a comforting thing to know, this truth might actually help you get out of a musical jam, and could also help you expand your [read more…]
Similar to last year’s NAMM show, the 2014 show was another year filled with some new products ranging from saxophones, mouthpieces, ligatures, reeds and much, much more. This NAMM show in particular, saxophone and reed manufacturer, Lupifaro invited me to join them at the booth and assist with the setup and tear down at a [read more…]
Technical Exercises in all Keys All players should organize their practice, but that structure should also leave a lot of room for variety and creativity. For most of my students, I recommend they practice in one key every week with a combination of scales and arpeggios, plus some kind of technical exercise that resembles the [read more…]
The following is an interview conducted by one of the world’s most renown classical saxophonists who also happens to be a brilliant jazz recording artist as well, Greg Banaszak. Here we have him keeping it truly real with saxophone mouthpiece and saxophone manufacturer, Phil Barone, who is practically a “household name” among saxophonists worldwide. Greg [read more…]
I’m sure many of you remember that first time you sat down to play some sheet music with somebody playing another instrument, and most likely had that crazy realization that you might be reading the same note on the page, but different notes are coming out of your instruments! Maybe you showed up to band [read more…]
To date, I have play-tested the P. Mauriat 67R, 76 2ND edition, and the 86 model alto saxophones at various NAMM conventions. Recently, Craig Denny at Saint Louis Music sent me one of the limited edition model altos that P. Mauriat just released as the “System-76 3rd Edition Alto” – aka “The Dragon” – aka the [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!
