Free saxophone lessons from the BetterSax Blog for both alto and tenor saxophones. Learn about fundamentals, how to play melodies and improvise solos by ear and 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 …
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 …
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 …
My Inspiration Sometimes we all need a little extra inspiration It’s November, the weather is getting colder and the kids are back at school. This is the time of year …
Let’s get started with this “easy pentatonic link.” Here’s the link to get the downloads mentioned in the video: Free Pentatonic Scale Patterns Downloads for Saxophone “Easy” Pentatonic Lick for …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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. …
Play Sax By Ear Using the 5 Notes of the Pentatonic Scale Read More »
One of my main goals as an educator is to help you all play sax by ear. I’d like to share with you some thoughts in response to comments I …
I have gotten many requests over the years from students wanting to learn Christmas songs. One of the problems with this is the limited amount of time you have to …
Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) – Play By Ear Lesson 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: Click here to get …
I get asked by students all the time about how to practice exercises and patterns. Here’s a quick overview of the process with a video to help guide you along the …
How To Practice Pentatonic Patterns for Improvisation Read More »
I bring up saxophone listening all the time in my lessons. Listening to the saxophone is as important as practicing the saxophone. Today I’d like to share with you a …
Saxophone Listening Guide with YouTube playlists Read More »
My new ebook gives saxophone students a tool for improving several aspects of their saxophone playing at once while having fun at the same time. Pentatonic Patters for Improvisation is on …
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 …
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 …
The other day I came across a cool video on YouTube of a fantastic saxophone player performing a very original version of the classic standard Stand By Me by Ben …
How to Play Stand By Me on Saxophone and Take a Solo 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 …
