The Buddhists call the practice of applying calm awareness to one’s activities as “Mindfulness.” And no matter what it is you’re doing, mindfulness will allow you to do it better. Zen and the Art of Sax Of course, practicing the saxophone is no exception. In fact, I would venture to guess that over 90% of the [read more…]
As many of you know, for the past 5 months, I’ve been busting my hump putting together the mother of all saxophone educational programs. I didn’t want it to be just average, but instead I wanted it to be bursting at the seams with game-changing information that would guarantee major improvement for all those who [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.
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The New DV HR Tenor from JodyJazz
There are so many saxophones on the market today, it is often difficult to figure out which saxophone will suit us best. Since every player is different, it is hard for me to recommend one horn that fits everyone’s needs. While at the 2012 NAMM show, I had the opportunity to stop by the P. [read more…]
For most of us, playing on the mouthpiece alone results in a horrible noise much resembling what I’d imagine a duck in heat sounds like upon encountering a potential partner. But believe it or not, that horrid noise holds the truth of your current state of intonation. So here’s the deal – take the mouthpiece, [read more…]
Ever had a reed that was just a bit off? Maybe too hard, or too soft? Umm…what are you. CRAZY?! Of course we all have! In fact, most of the reeds we play fall into varying degrees of suckage. However, there are things you can do to make your reeds work better for you, thereby yielding additional [read more…]
While at the NAMM 2012 show I had the opportunity to meet and network with some of the world’s leading musical instrument and accessory manufacturers as well as some of the greatest saxophonists playing today. I was able to speak with established saxophonists such as Bob Reynolds, Greg Osby, and Pete Christlieb as well as [read more…]
What if I were to tell you that by using your tongue properly (and yes, I realize that sounds kind of creepy), you can boost your tone quality up a good notch? You might think, “Well that doesn’t make sense! What about the embouchure, throat, air support, tonal concept, reed, mouthpiece? Aren’t those the things [read more…]
Many musicians end up choosing the wrong mouthpiece or a specific brand of mouthpiece because their teacher or band director tells them that is what they have to play. From my experience in listening to video lessons from saxophonists such as Bob Reynolds, Don Menza, Bob Sheppard, and Antonio Hart along with the lessons I’ve taken [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…]
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…]
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!
