Today’s article was inspired by a reader who posed the following great question: Any tips / advice on the critical skill of learning to relax when playing? Before I start a piece I try to breath deeply and let go of stress in the body. Despite this I can feel the tension rise, particularly in [read more…]
I had the opportunity to read world-renown saxophonist Eric Alexander’s new e-book, Improvising with the Whole Step Triad Combination Scale. The book is focused around a concept Eric refers to as the “whole step triad combination scale.” I have been a long-time fan of Eric Alexander and am extremely excited that Eric has come out with a [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
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…]
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…]
This guest post is from Randy Hunter of RandyHunterJazz.com. There are a lot of steps on the road to becoming a top notch jazz improviser. You learn the technical aspects of playing your instrument, practice scales and patterns, study harmony and ear training; then you have to work at assembling your ideas in a creative and [read more…]
This guest post is from world touring keyboard player Steve Nixon. He is the owner of the jazz education website www.freejazzlessons.com. Ok, saxophone players. I have a confession to make right off the bat. Even though I’m a piano player I’ve always had a secret connection to the saxophone. The first time I heard Sonny [read more…]
The very survival of any artform depends on its ability to continually move forward and progress. Otherwise it becomes more of a museum exhibit than a living, breathing, and ever-expanding medium. Like any other artform, jazz requires the leadership of fearless and authentic artists to keep it alive and breathing, and without a doubt, renown [read more…]
Let me get this right; you practice long-tones, scales, exercises and patterns from a popular saxophone method book – every day – but you’re still not experiencing the progress you expect. Maybe you’ve been working to learn a particular tune for some time, but just can’t seem to make the improvements you desire. You feel [read more…]
This guest post is from saxophone and multi-reed player, composer, recording artist, and educator Sam Sadigursky of SamSadigursky.com Whether you ever plan to improvise or not, to develop as a musician you have to be comfortable playing in all 12 major and minor keys. I know we’ve all heard this before, but this not only means that you [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!
