Everything I Know About Practicing Today I want to show a bit of my daily practice routine. That way you can see the sort of things that I’m working on to improve my own saxophone playing. My hope is that this helps you with some ideas for new things to practice, or just some better […]
How I Practice (with my new favorite app) Read More »
Ever wonder how a ligature or different kinds of ligatures can affect your saxophone sound? In this video I go through a bunch of different ligatures and give you my honest unfiltered reaction to each one. The other day I was trying out a bunch of different ligatures and while there is not a huge
In Search of the ULTIMATE Saxophone Ligature Read More »
Jody Espinosa of Jody Jazz and Jay Metcalf of BetterSax join forces to share and demonstrate the whole line of Jody Jazz HR* Custom Dark Mouthpieces. The show is hosted by Daniel Chia of Singapore. Check out the 1 hour and 30 minute discussion and Q+A by clicking on the photo above! Enjoy! Want more
BetterSax + Jody Jazz Live Stream | HR* Custom Dark Mouthpieces Read More »
What kind of saxophone sound are you going for? Dark? Bright? A mixture of the two? Or does it depend on the style of music you’re playing? In this video, I’m going to lay out some of the ways to get a darker sound on the saxophone. You may have heard that some saxophones play
How to Get a DARK Saxophone Sound | Jody Jazz HR* Custom Dark Read More »
He’s an absolute legend, and normally you’d have to spend $45,000/year at the Berklee College of Music to gain his wisdom, OR you can check out this masterclass with the incredible George Garzone right here, on BetterSax. Check out the video above for the full interview with George Garzone Interested in more great interviews and
A Saxophone Masterclass with George Garzone Read More »
Hey Everyone! Welcome back, today I’m gonna show you a few simple techniques for improvising over the classic soul standard “Ain’t no Sunshine” by Bill Withers. Plus, I’ll show you a neat little trick to make the pentatonic scale sound even cooler. In this lesson I’m gonna be using the “Ain’t no Sunshine” backing track
5 Ways of Improvising Over Basic Chords + Pentatonic Scale Trick Read More »
One thing I get asked A LOT is what do the different traits of a saxophone mouthpiece mean? What’s the difference between a smaller and larger tip opening? What does more baffle mean for resistance? How does the chamber size affect my sound? Well read on – because answers are ahead. The Baffle On a
3 Key Traits of YOUR Saxophone Mouthpiece Read More »
The Smooth Jazz Lick I don’t listen to a lot of smooth jazz, but when I do, I always hear this recurring thing that I am calling the smooth jazz lick. In this video I’m going to teach it to you. Now, please don’t make any judgements based on the words smooth jazz. If you’re
The Smooth Jazz Lick Read More »
Is the Better Sax Alto better? Now that I have the new Better Sax Alto, I think I spent too much on my Yanagisawa saxophone.. Last year I bought the Elite Yanagisawa WO33 alto sax. It has a solid silver neck and bell, and is about as good as it gets when it comes to
Did I Spend Too Much on My Sax? Better Sax Alto v. Yanagisawa Read More »
You all heard the BetterSax intro plenty of times, and while I think it’s perfect as is – saxophonist Dave Pollack has other ideas. Check out his rendition of the BetterSax intro – smooth jazz style. To quote him “it’s being played on the wrong instrument and there are wrong notes in it. In this
Dave Pollack Tackles the BetterSax intro – Smooth Jazz Style Read More »
Hey everyone, today I’m going to show you a really great scale pattern that will sure to spice things up in your practice sessions and help you understand different kinds of major and minor keys. First before you get started download the lesson pdf from the BetterSax Shed here. This will help you follow along
Applying a Pattern to Any Scale in all 12 Keys Read More »
Hey BetterSax players, we’re back with another episode of great sax solos, and today I’m going to break down the solo from James Taylor’s “How Sweet it is to be Loved by You” played by David Sanborn. First of all before we get started, download the Lesson PDF from the BetterSax shed here. This way
Blues Scale trick as played by David Sanborn | Great Sax Solos Ep. 3 Read More »
This Sax is Better Today I’m very excited to officially announce to you the release of the BetterSax alto saxophone. After reviewing many low cost alto saxophone options available I realized that the saxophone world really needed an affordable instrument that was also reliable, and desirable. It’s not enough to just be able to purchase
The BetterSax Alto Saxophone Read More »
Here’s a look at two mouthpieces from Phil-Tone Mouthpieces, first I the Intrepid 6 then the Novella 6. In this play test I’m playing over the Someday My Prince Will Come backing track from BetterTrax. It’s part of the Essential Jazz Repertoire Vol. 2 collection. Both are great classic jazz mouthpieces to check out. Between the Phil-Tone
Phil-Tone Intrepid 6 and Novella 6 – Mini Mouthpiece Review Read More »
Here’s a look at the NY Jazz Alto Drake Mouthpieces – one with a brass insert, one without. Both mouthpieces are great in any case. I’m playing on my beautiful Yanagisawa AWO33 with a Yany Sixs Ligature. In this play test, I’m playing the Shuffle Blues in F backing track from BetterTrax. It’s part of the
NY Jazz Alto Drake Mouthpieces – Mini Mouthpiece Review Read More »
Hey BetterSax players, today I’ve got a real treat for you – the BRAND NEW Roland Aerophone Pro AE-30 wind synth. I’m going to unbox it and give you my first impressions. UNBOXING First of all, you have a very large, well-designed case. Immediately, the case indicates to me that this is PRO instrument. With
NEW Roland Aerophone Pro AE-30 Wind Synth Unbox & First Impressions Read More »
Had the pleasure of speaking with The Working Artist Project about my life, career, and BetterSax. Check out the full interview below, or check out the podcast here. The Working Artist Project “The Working Artist project is our attempt to answer questions and confront challenges that artists face on a daily basis. We are taking
The Working Artist Project Presents: Jay Metcalf Read More »
As you all may know, for the past several years, I’ve been using a tool called the ReedGeek on all of my reeds. It has become a tool I just cannot live without. I want to introduce to you an evolution of this tool which has made it even better and more affordable. This tool
The Reed Whisperer – Introducing the GEEKLET Read More »
Here’s a bit of me playing over one of the awesome backing tracks from BetterTrax for Song for My Father by Horacde Silver. This one comes from the Essential Jazz Repertoire Vol. 1 collection of backing tracks. I’m on a Drake Reso 7* for Tenor Sax. It’s is a fantastic classic jazz mouthpiece – very fun and
Drake Reso 7* – Mini Mouthpiece Review Read More »
Kenny G gives ME a Saxophone Lesson! In this video we are going to get some advice, inspiration and a music lesson from the biggest selling instrumental recording artist of all time, Kenny G. I’m also going to breakdown every note Kenny plays for us and make that available for you to download in case you want
Kenny G Gives ME a Saxophone Lesson Read More »
Today, I’m going to review and play test 5 different premium Theo Wanne Tenor Saxophone mouthpieces. Theo Wanne is known for making some of the world’s best mouthpieces and his designs are played by some of the top saxophone players out there. If you’re thinking about picking one of these up or just curious about
Metal vs Hard Rubber | Theo Wanne Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece Review & Comparison Read More »
