This begins as a simple exercise in practicing 2-octave major scales in all 12 keys, ascending and descending, at increasing speeds. General Idea Start from low Bb, and play each scale in 2 octaves up and down, repeating the bottom note before moving up a half step to the next scale. Instead of speeding up [read more…]
Secondary dominants play a crucial role in harmony theory, especially in jazz improvisation. They add richness and excitement to diatonic progressions, while expanding the possibilities of cadential harmony. To explore this important concept effectively in the context of jazz improvisation, I have designed a series of chord progressions. Each progression incorporates all secondary dominants, offering [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
House music is one of the most exciting and sax-friendly genres of electronic music. Unlike other styles such as techno or trance, house music is characterized by its infectious 4/4 beat, soulful vibes and deep grooves. The chord structures are usually simple and repetitive, almost always in minor keys, there is a lot of open [read more…]
Introduction If you’ve ever had any interest in creating arrangements for saxophone quartet, or if you’re simply curious about how those arrangements are created, the read on, as there are few people walking the planet would be as qualified on the subject as the man you’re about to hear from. René Blom is a conservatory-trained [read more…]
During my 45 years of playing the saxophone, 25 of which have included teaching at the university level, I’ve developed a teaching philosophy that boils down to two pretty simple things: Help students develop strong fundamental musical skills (instrumental technique that is relaxed, flowing, and confident; rhythmic/metric integrity; fluency in theory and harmony; broad knowledge [read more…]
Introduction For some saxophonists, developing palm key technique is a challenge. These keys, used to finger the notes of the upper register, specifically high D, Eb, E and F, can feel awkward to many performers since to depress these notes, the left-hand palm must be used. In addition, high E and F are notes whose [read more…]
If you ever witnessed the iconic “jazz flute” scene from the Will Ferrell comedy, Anchorman, then you’ve heard my flute playing. My improvised flute solo for that scene has since become a great calling card, which is interesting because I’m primarily a saxophone player. My Journey to the Flute I began playing the saxophone when [read more…]
To anyone who’s ever played a wind instrument, the advice to use proper air support is not exactly “insider information”. We’ve all heard it before, many times. Over the course of my years on the saxophone, I certainly have been advised to “support the air from the diaphragm” , but I have to admit – [read more…]
Introduction While attending TCNJ (The College of New Jersey), a music major named John Ketts told me that if I wanted to really get my jazz chops together, then I should study with one of his friends who just graduated from William Paterson University named Dave Pollack. I had never heard of Dave before, but [read more…]
To keep it interesting for myself, one of the things I did while writing The Jazz Saxophone Book, was to create what I called “Short Asides.” When something I was writing about sparked an idea that deserved a bit of a detour, I’d go ahead and write about it, and the Short Aside format helped [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!
