Here’s a bit of encouragement for those of you who are practicing like crazy but feel a bit discouraged. Every musician I know goes through times like this. I’ve had a few times in my life where I was extremely depressed and bummed out about my playing. The best advice I Read More…
“Live” Approach Note Patterns on R&B
October 29, 2010 By 2 Comments
Back about 10 years ago, I decided to work on my approach note patterns. I had been taught a few of these patterns in lessons with Jerry Bergonzi and wanted to really get them down. As I started to really work on the approaches in every key I found myself finding others to add to Read More…
Great Hal Galper Masterclass Videos
August 1, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Here are some great clips from youtube of a Hal Galper masterclass. Hal Galper is a great piano player who has has played with many of the jazz legends. I came to know him from some Phil Woods albums I had growing up. These are great to watch a number of times. Hal is such Read More…
Neffmusic Jazz Improvisation Lessons: Where do you start?
January 23, 2010 By Leave a Comment
The most commonly asked question I get emailed to me is “What mouthpiece should I get?”. The second most common question would be ”I looked at all your jazz improvisation lessons and really want to start but I have no idea where to start or what jazz lessons to get. What do you suggest?”
To answer Read More…
Approach Note Books and Lessons
May 8, 2009 By Leave a Comment
“Approach Note Velocity” by Steve Neff
Approach Note Velocity is a book that I created for myself so that I could master all the different approach notes in every key. I have divided the book up into sections by key and have written out the exercises so that you can practice them and read them if Read More…
Getting the Most from Neffmusic Online Lesson
February 27, 2009 By Leave a Comment
To get most out of my NeffMusic Online Lessons I would suggest a few simple ideas.
1. Focus on one topic like Blues scales, Approach Notes, Pentatonics……..etc.
In my mind it’s always better to focus on one topic at a time and master it. Working on bits and pieces of 10 different lessons and not mastering Read More…
Transcriptions of Chris Potter On Rhythm Changes
November 19, 2008 By 5 Comments
Here are two short transcriptions of solos Chris Potter did on a March 8, 2008 masterclass that he did somewhere. The bootleg was floating around the internet (www.dimeadozen.org) and I was lucky enough to grab it. In these two examples Chris is showing the differences in his playing style from when he was younger to Read More…
How Much Should My Child Practice?
November 8, 2008 By Leave a Comment
I get asked this question quite often by concerned parents. What I usually recommend for fourth grade beginning students is 3 15-20 minute times a week. I find that if students do this they will make steady progress during the first year with no problems. Of course, if a student is really excited and wants Read More…
The Ultimate II-V-I Primer
October 11, 2008 By 1 Comment
This is the title of a new pdf book that I have written. Basically, it is a step by step introductory approach to learning all your major 7th, minor 7th and dominant 7th chords. I take you through the basics of playing just the roots and then add the 3rds, 5ths, 7ths, 9ths………. The goal Read More…
Skype Lessons with Steve Neff
October 6, 2008 By Leave a Comment
For the past 3-4 months I have been experimenting with doing online lessons using Skype. It has been working great so far. It is amazing that you can sit down at your computer and have an in person lesson with someone on the other side of the world. Once in awhile I have run into Read More…
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