In January of 2022, I took a trip to Sweetwater in Fort Wayne IN and got to check out their music store, which has got to be one of the most impressive spaces I’ve ever seen. My Trip to Sweetwater In the band and orchestra department, they’ve got a unique feature you won’t find anywhere
Testing the REVERB SIMULATOR Room at Sweetwater Read More »
“Just the Two of Us” “Just the Two of Us” is one of the all time great tunes. Today we’re going to do a quick lesson on a few different tools to use when improvising over this chord progression. There are a bunch of chords in this progression, and while they are all 7 chords
Easy Approaches to Soloing Over “Just the Two of Us” Read More »
How I Learned My Major Scales in all 12 Keys I recently challenged you to learn all 12 major scales on your saxophone… and then play them in one breath. This major scales challenge got me thinking of how I learned my scales for the first time. Shoutout to my saxophone teacher when I was
How I Learned My Major Scales in all 12 Keys Read More »
Jody Jazz Major Scale Challenge Hey there, today I’ve got an opportunity for you to get better at the saxophone and win some very cool prizes in the process. Jody Espina from Jody Jazz mouthpieces had a great idea for a competition, where viewers can play through a challenging exercise and be entered into the
Jody Jazz Major Scale Challenge | (CLOSED CONTEST) Read More »
Do you have trouble finding time to practice these days? Me too. But I’m stealing a moment right now to share some great gift ideas Here’s our first gift idea and keep in mind I’ve got stuff on this list for every budget… The Sax Holder Neckstrap Alternative This thing is just so ugly, but
What to buy a Saxophonist (or yourself) | Saxophone Gift Guide Read More »
We have some very exciting news to share! The BetterSax BURNIN’ mouthpiece is now available for shipping internationally You can purchase the mouthpiece here at Sax.co.uk, or if you’re in the U.S., you can order the mouthpiece now from Sweetwater. If you want to learn more about the BURNIN’ mouthpiece, click here. For more news
The BetterSax BURNIN’ Mouthpiece is Now Available Internationally Read More »
I had the exceptional honor and good fortune to be able to meet with Master George Coleman at his home on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. I don’t know what it is, but when I meet other saxophone players it usually starts out with a quick repair job. So while we waited for another
A Saxophone Lesson with Master George Coleman Read More »
When I finally learned to growl on the saxophone I was growling on everything. In this video I’m going to show you how to growl on the saxophone. But first, I want you to promise you won’t overdo it. You promise? Okay good. Now we can get started. How to Growl I remember asking my
How to Growl on the Saxophone (Natural Distortion Pedal) Read More »
Improvising Over Chords – Adding Color Here’s a quick music theory and improvisation lesson for you to go over some very cool sounds that work over minor chords. We’ll talk about the Major 7 and a Major 6-Minor 7. It’s best to watch this lesson so you can hear how these chords can be applied!
Add These Colors Over Minor Chords – Improvisation Lesson Read More »
I’ve been making YouTube videos about playing the saxophone since 2016, and over the past 5 or 6 years I’ve covered a lot of topics. However, one very crucial element that I have not yet made a video on is articulation. That changes today. Tn this video I’ll go over the basics that everyone learning
Tonguing Basics for Saxophone Players Read More »
SYOS Originals One of the most talked about recent developments in the “saxosphere” has been 3D printed mouthpieces. If you thought they were a gimmick well you were probably wrong. By now there are so many 3D printed mouthpieces floating around you probably already have a few, I certainly have quite the collection going… Today,
3D Printed Mouthpieces Just Got Better – New SYOS Originals Read More »
Q+A with Alex Hahn BetterSax coming back with another great guest interview – Alex Hahn. He is an award-winning, young, and emerging artist that has played with lots of legendary saxophonists. He’s got a new course out called @Realalexhahn Vol. 4: Transcriptions from my Instagram Videos. It has “20 solos over your favorite jazz standards
How to Find Your Own Musical Personality – with Alex Hahn Read More »
BetterSax is back with another mouthpiece comparison and review. This time we will be looking at 4 great mouthpieces from Jody Jazz to see if one of them might be a good choice for you. I recorded everything with this Beyerdynamic M160 ribbon mic which does an amazing job on the saxophone. It doesn’t pick
Dark To Bright Tenor Sax Mouthpieces from Jody Jazz Read More »
You have heard this sax solo before by Kirk Whalum, I’m sure. It is one of the most listened to saxophone solos of all time. In this video let’s find out why it’s basically a blueprint for how to craft a killer solo “I Will Always Love You” This great saxophone solo is from the
The Most Listened to Sax Solo Ever | Kirk Whalum | Great Sax Solos Ep. 4 Read More »
In this live interview/hang, Jaleel Shaw and I go through a rapid fire list of 20 questions about all things saxophone. One of the top saxophonists active in the modern jazz scene today, with three albums out as a leader. He performs with Roy Haynes, Nate Smith and a long list of other top musicians.
Do You Need to Transcribe Solos? and 19 More Questions with Jaleel Shaw Read More »
Eric Alexander Eric Alexander, by any measure is one of the top saxophonists in the world today. In this video, we are talking about his new course 21 Major Key Explorations. He gives some of the best advice anyone wanting to learn jazz improvisation needs to hear. One of the things I love about Eric
The Key to Jazz Improvisation – 21 Major Key Explorations with Eric Alexander Read More »
BetterSax Ultimate Sax Swab Kits Ultimate Sax Swab Kits are now available in the BetterSax Store. If you aren’t swabbing your saxophone out every time (you know who you are) please start doing so now. As a repair technician, this is the number one thing you can do to prolong the life of your pads
If You’re Not Doing This Already… Please Start. Read More »
Here’s another quick saxophone lesson for you. I lifted this phrase from one of my favorite saxophonists Sonny Stitt. He would play stuff like this all the time in minor keys. It’s a bit cliché but that’s a good thing. Having a bunch of cliché and recognizable melodic phrases in your vocabulary is a very
Use Clichés Like This One in your Solos to Connect with Listeners Read More »
Here’s a mini sax lesson for you. Take this diatonic triad pattern through the keys for some nice arpeggio practice. These are arranged in such a way that it lends itself very well to bebop. If you add a bebop articulation to this it will sound pretty hip. Take a look at the video to
Learn This Easy Bebop Pattern Read More »
Curved Soprano Saxophones I don’t know about you, but I’ve always loved curved soprano saxophones, and I’ve always wanted one. Problem was, there were not that easy to come by. Most saxophone makers stick to the straight variety with the exception of Yanagisawa. They’ve been making an excellent curved soprano sax for decades. Another problem,
Cheap vs Expensive Curved Soprano Saxophones Read More »
Easy ii-V-I Lick In this lesson, I’m going to teach you an easy ii-V-I lick. As always there’s a pdf download for you that goes along with this lesson in the BetterSax Shed. The idea is not to learn a bunch of phrases by rote and then plug them in to create a paint by
How to Turn LICKS Into SOLOS – Easy ii-V-I Lick Read More »
