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 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…]
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
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 article is a guest post from Jeff Rzepiela, whose transcriptions of saxophone solos by the greats can be found at www.scooby-sax.com. Playing in a big band’s sax section can be a thrilling experience. When the section is in synch, it can be like the Blue Angels flying in perfect formation. On the other hand, [read more…]
Is that once-burning desire to burn on the horn starting to flicker? Are the hours you used to devote to practicing now in jeopardy of being traded in for hours in front of a TV set and a bag of Ruffles? Or maybe you’re still practicing your tush off, but progressing at a snail’s pace [read more…]
Let’s face it – saxophonists are known for playing out of tune. Well, not only for playing out of tune, but suffice it to say that the saxophone is anything but a perfectly tuned instrument. Simply pressing down the keys while blowing ain’t gonna cut it. And if you play alto or soprano – forget about it. You’ve really [read more…]
UPDATE: This article is from 2011, so apologies in advance for any ridiculously outdated information. That said, most of the information here is quite general and should apply to playing gigs with DJs. Also, please feel free to leave a comment or reach out via the contact page if there are any broken (ancient) video links. [read more…]
Sometimes I think back on the way it used to be… I traveled regularly with multiple horns and never had a problem getting on a plane. Usually a tenor and a soprano, sometimes even a backpack with a clarinet and flute too. When I moved to the east coast for college, I even remember getting two [read more…]
As a sax player coming up, it was strongly engrained in my subconscious that no woodwind doubling equals no music career. I remember going to my strict but highly effective sax teacher Vince Trombetta (who also taught this other sax player named Michael Baker – or Brecker or something like that) and the accompanying displeasure of [read more…]
Those of us familiar with Mike DiRubbo’s fiery brand of no-nonsense improvised flights of fancy can attest to the fact that he’s a major player in the jazz saxophone game. With shades of Kenny Garret, Jackie McLean, and John Coltrane, DiRubbo’s alto speaks in a distinctly powerful voice that’s at the same time modern and timeless. [read more…]