I just got back from Rotterdam in the Netherlands where I played at the North Sea Jazz Festival with a band called the California Honeydrops. In a recent YouTube video, I shared with you some of the things I was doing to prepare for that gig: learning, memorizing and writing down the horn lines. Today […]
How to Get Called Back for Gigs (12 Tips From a Freelance Sax Player) Read More »
Today, I want to talk about saxophone ligatures. You know the little device that holds your reed onto the mouthpiece. There are so many different ones to choose from, and apart from the basic cheapo two screw model, each one claims to improve your sound in a whole range of ways… In this article, I
Why Ligatures Matter? It’s NOT How You Think… Read More »
Like just about everything else, the world of saxophones has it’s share of myths, legends and widely held yet false beliefs. I’m going to try and clear some of these up. At least some of the ones concerning instruments and gear. If you agree or disagree with any of my statements let me know in
Saxophone Myths: Equipment Edition Read More »
Like everything else on saxophone, playing in the altissimo range is really hard until one day it’s not so hard. Today I’m going to show you all of my fingerings from high F-sharp up through high C in the altissimo range for alto saxophone and tenor saxophone. But more importantly, I’m going to show you
Altissimo Fingerings for Tenor and Alto Saxophone Read More »
Let’s take a look at what’s wrong with the way many of us were taught the saxophone. Then we’ll take a look at some solutions to these problems. Click here to watch the video version of the post. How We Learn Saxophone I’ve been studying saxophone for over 30 years, and teaching it for more
6 Reasons You Were Taught the Saxophone Wrong Read More »
Today, let’s talk about a how the melodies you practice on the saxophone or any instrument can help you improve in the areas that matter most, quickly. Click below for the video version of this post. Practicing Technique While Feeling Accomplished Ever feel like you’re practicing for hours and not getting anywhere? Everybody feels like
How You Can Use Melodies to Practice Your Fundamentals on Saxophone Read More »
Calling all saxophonists! It’s time to get into the blues. This video is all about playing the blues on saxophone. We’re going to talk about something that always gets neglected when talking about improvising in the blues, or really any style. If you feel like something important might be missing when you’re improvising, this is
Blues Improvisation Lesson for Saxophone Read More »
Every saxophone player has a need for speed. Here’s how to play faster, cleaner and with more solid rhythm. Click below for the video version of this post. Where Are Your Fingers Now? When you play your saxophone, where are your fingers as they move? Are they resting on or very near the keys most
How to Play Faster on Saxophone and Make Fewer Mistakes Read More »
Do you have trouble getting the low notes to come out on your saxophone sometimes, or ever? You’re not alone, this is something that every sax player struggles with at some point. In this lesson, I’m going to go over the most important things you need to be doing to get the low notes out
How to Play Low Notes on the Saxophone (a breathing tutorial) Read More »
Do you have trouble getting altissimo notes to come out reliably or even at all on your saxophone? Every saxophone player has struggled with this. I’d like to share with you the trick that helped me finally overcome the barriers to playing altissimo. If you practice what I’m about to show you, over time you’ll
How to Play Altissimo on Saxophone Read More »
There is a common misconception out there that you need to be highly proficient on your instrument, and know all your scales and lots of music theory and harmony before you can even attempt to improvise. My beginner improvisation lesson isn’t just for beginners. It’s for anyone who is new to improvising or just searching
Beginner Improvisation Lesson Read More »
This lesson is about the saxophone embouchure which is everything that’s going on with your mouth when you’re playing the saxophone. It’s very important to get this right from the beginning as Incorrect technique and bad habits can cause you some big problems and long term difficulties. Saxophone Embouchure Instructions Basic Setup Repetition I strongly
Saxophone Embouchure Tutorial Read More »
Let’s talk about assembly and disassembly. When students first come to me for lessons, no matter what their level, the first thing I want to do is correct flagrant bad habits that are very common. I started out making a video on how to put the saxophone together and take it apart properly. I know
17 Pro Saxophone Tips – Assembly/Disassembly Read More »
Whatever stage you are at with your saxophone playing, it is often frustrating trying to get to the next level – especially when practicing. Everyone goes through periods of feeling stuck. Whether you’ve just picked up the saxophone recently or have been playing for a while, there are some solutions that I’d like to share
It’s All About The Process (Of Practicing) Read More »
As saxophone players, we strive to play beautiful melodies and take killer solos right? You may be surprised to learn that it is not as difficult as you may think. The key lies in a simple method that I can’t wait to share with you. This post is a quick guide to learning to play sax
Play Sax By Ear Using the 5 Notes of the Pentatonic Scale Read More »
In case your are not 100% sure how transposition works, I’ve put together this concise saxophone transposition guide to clear things up. Watch the video below: The saxophone is a transposing instrument. This means that notes played on a saxophone will sound different from a note of the same name played on another instrument
How to Transpose – a Guide for Saxophones Read More »
If you want to learn to play Hello on the saxophone, you might order the sheet music online and read through it. If you are a strong music reader, this may work well for you, but you’ll be limited in many ways. Read on to discover a better method for learning melodies to popular songs that
How to Play Hello on the Saxophone and take a solo Read More »
Sometimes it seems way harder than it is to find time to practice. Now that summer is here, (at least in the south of France) my schedule has become even more busy than usual. I’m lucky enough to have gigs playing the saxophone most days of the week. Add to that the arrival of our
Finding Precious Practice Time Read More »
This week while working with some students on a jazz etude we kept running into the same problem with syncopated rhythms. Where to place syncopated eighth notes rhythmically. What I heard from my students while playing the piece was a hesitation or uncertainty each time a basic syncopated rhythm came up. So even though we
How to Master Syncopated Rhythms Read More »
