I recently did a survey asking sax players what was the area of their playing that they’d most like to improve. The answer – well, you can probably guess that based on the title of this article. While technique is a very subjective term which can be used to describe the sum total of our [read more…]
As many of you know, I’m currently working on an e-book with accompanying audio lessons. One of my interviewees for the project is Bill Plake, whose insights into the physiological aspects of making music are seemingly endless. Among the many topics upon which I was enlightened by the good Mr. Plake was the puffing of [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.
JODYJAZZ.COM
The New DV HR Tenor from JodyJazz
To change things up just a little bit, I went ahead and put this week’s article to video. In my little micro-movie, I cover the topic of developing your own saxophone tone in a deliberate manner so that you can sound like you by first deciding what “you” sounds like. The video is a continuation [read more…]
“Don’t play the saxophone. Let it play you.” – Charlie Parker Playing a woodwind instrument requires deep breathing, steady air flow and appropriate pressure on the reed. If any of these are lacking, your air flow will be impaired, which will have a negative impact on your performance. By paying attention to your breathing, posture [read more…]
In the hands of New York City’s Patrick Cornelius, the saxophone is mere putty. His latest solo outing titled Maybe Steps features Cornelius soaring through a melodic collection of original tunes as well as a couple of standards accompanied by an intense, yet subtle backdrop supplied by his top-notch rhythm section. Starting off on the [read more…]
When putting these interview articles together, sometimes I get an artist whose accomplishments are so impressive and numerous that it makes putting everything into a few paragraphs, well, kind of a pain in the tush. That said, thanks a lot Grace Kelly. I’ll go ahead and list just a few of the bullet points here: [read more…]
I’ve recently begun to throw myself full force into practicing again. Although I’ve done quite a bit of professional playing in my day, the last few years have seen me doing a lot more work at the computer and a lot less at the horn. But unlike other periods where music performance was a more central [read more…]
This article serves as the show notes for this week’s podcast interview with Greg Banaszak. Greg Banaszak is a rare breed of saxophonist indeed. First off, let’s start with his status as, literally, one of the most esteemed classical saxophonists walking the planet at this time. The New York Times refers to him as “A Saxophone Tour [read more…]
I remember taking my younger nephew to a musical exhibit on one of our most memorable family vacations. It was called Amazing Music Studio and it gave attendees the opportunity to pick an instrument of interest and learn, over the course of a few hours, the basics of that instrument. Rather than just pressing buttons [read more…]
This article is the first part of a series on challenging saxophone intervals. To see the other articles which comprise this series to date, please click here. In our first installment of this series, we established the importance of practicing transitioning between notes that are difficult to move between. Since last time we covered half [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!
