This article is in response to an article by renowned NYC jazz saxophonist, Mike Lee titled, “How Did ‘Licks’ Become a Four Letter Word?”. Click here to read it if you haven’t done so already. Mike and I agree on one thing. There is no faster way to go from a clueless beginner to [read more…]
The advent of social media has allowed me to witness the re-emergence of the phenomena of βlickβ haters. The complaint against licks, I think, boils down to musicians sounding uninspired and clinical because their improvisations sound like exercises and donβt illicit a sense of freedom and spontaneity that true art requires. The conventional wisdom is [read more…]
You know that adrenaline you get from hearing a saxophonist tearing through super-hip lines with incredible clarity and a rock-solid time feel? Now, obviously, there's a lot more that goes into great sax playing than just playing a bunch of fast notes, but without solid technical skills, your playing is going to lack a critical dimension when it comes to exciting your listeners.
Luckily, there is, indeed, a clear path to developing those head-turning chops while at the same time adding original modern vocabulary to your improv "vocabulary", and renowned sax recording artist and educator Adam Larson's course, ππͺπ¨π©π΅π―πͺπ―π¨-ππ’π΄π΅ π’π―π₯ ππ³πΊπ΄π΅π’π-πππ¦π’π― is a "one-stop shopping" destination to get you there. Instead of blindly running scales or reading out of an exercise book, Adam takes you through a method similar to that of Brecker and other masters, where it's all about increasing the speed of not only your fingers, but your mind, and most importantly, your ears.
So if you're willing to do something you've never done so you can have something you've never had - click below to learn more about Adam's popular, game-changing course and start turbo-charging your playint - today.
SAXTECHNIQUE.COM
Lightning-Fast and Crystal-Clean Saxophone Technique
For those 10 or so of you who follow the Best. Saxophone. Website. Ever. on social media or are subscribed to the sax tips newsletter, by now you have probably heard me blather on about saxophone recording artist and master class clinician, Adam Larson’s new video course, Lightning-Fast and Crystal-Clean, which I am publishing through [read more…]
In my book Easy Easy Bebop, I refer to the lesson below asΒ “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,Β 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…]
Are you unbelievably consistent? Once youβve learnt something, do you deliver it perfectly every time? Or are you like most of us? Sometimes itβs there β and sometimes thereβs 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…]
Does it seem like thereβs always way too much to practice? Everywhere you look thereβs an exciting new concept to work on that will make your next solo awesome if you can just master it. Not to mention all the half-finished things that you keep meaning to come back to but somehow never do. If [read more…]
Permutation – “often major or fundamental change (as in character or condition) based primarily on rearrangement of existent elements.” “the act or process of changing the lineal order of an ordered set of objects.” – Merriam-Webster Thank you Merriam. You hit the nail on the head. The “rearrangement of existent elements” and the “ordered set [read more…]
This is a general term that I use that includes the use of the descending be-bop scale (half step between the root and dominant 7th) and all the various versions of the ascending and descending major be-bop scales…check out the many videos on this subject that are based on the teachings of master Barry Harris. [read more…]