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You are here: Home / NeffMusic News / New Release-Mastering the Dominant Bebop Scale-Book 2

New Release-Mastering the Dominant Bebop Scale-Book 2

November 19, 2016 by Steve 3 Comments

I just finished a brand new Neffmusic book that I am very excited about.  I’ve been working on this off and on over the last seven years and more intensely over the last eight months.

In the years following my release of “Mastering the Dominant Bebop Scale”, I decided that a “Mastering the Dominant Bebop Scale-Book 2” also needed to be written.  As I continued to study the solos of the bebop greats like Charlie Parker, Sonny Stitt, Gene Ammons, Hank Mobley, Art Pepper, Phil Woods, Cannonball Adderley and many others, I noticed that there were a lot of elements and ideas being used outside of the bebop scale material in my first book.

DevastatingFrontCoverMedium
Click to Purchase PDF Version -Only 14.99

Click to Purchase Printed Version -Only 29.99

My goal in writing this second book is to introduce you to some of these more advanced lines and ideas in a similar approach as my first book.  These more advanced  bebop “links” as I call them, create more complex lines that weave in and out of the tonality they are being used over and make the lines much more interesting.

The added benefit of learning these additional “links” is similar to learning words when studying a language. The more words you know and understand, the better you can communicate and the more ideas and thoughts you can convey to others.  The same holds true for each of these musical “links”, the more you learn and master, the more interesting and varied your lines will be while improvising.

The book is divided up into twelve chapters, one for each key. The first half of every chapter includes 33 new bebop links that can be added one at a time to your jazz vocabulary.  These are links that I have discovered since writing book one that I think add new and interesting sounds and textures to your jazz lines.

The second half of every chapter includes what I call “Substitution Links” as well as “Non-Chord Tone Links”. These are ideas and musical words that I picked out from the great jazz soloists listed above.   They don’t fit easily into the existing bebop scale rules from book one but with a little effort and creativity, I have created some new rules for each “link” to help you add it to your existing lines.

DevastatingFrontCoverMedium

Click to Purchase PDF Version-Only 14.99

Click to Purchase Printed Version -Only 29.99

Each “link” comes with multiple two bar and four bar lines that mix the varied “links” from book one with the new content from book two.  Think of each new “link” as a new word that you are adding to your vocabulary. When you speak, you are usually not thinking of every word you are saying but rather pulling words from your existing vocabulary stored in your brain.  The goal of this series of books is to help you get to the point where you can effortlessly use any of the musical vocabulary contained within  in a multitude of ways to express yourself musically.

Although many of these lines were taken from the solos of great jazz players, these lines sound equally “great” over more modern and funky grooves.  If you are soloing over a groove in a dominant or minor key these lines will surprise and even stun your listeners because of there awesomeness!

*Mastering the Dominant Bebop Scale-Book 2 is 288 pages long and comes with a 39 minute video lesson on the book.  I talk about different insights I have had regarding the material in the book as well as some different approaches to practicing the material.

I hope you enjoy this book and that it does indeed take you one step closer to creating great lines like the bebop masters that came before us.       -Steve Neff

Here are a few sample pages from the book for you to check out……….

Mastering the Dominant Bebop Scale-Book 2 Sample Pages

https://cdn.neffmusic.com/2016/Bebop2Sample2.mp3

Mastering the Dominant Bebop Scale-Book 2 Audio Sample Clip

Filed Under: NeffMusic News Tagged With: bebop lines, bebop scale, dominant chords, Jazz Improvisation, mastering, steve neff

Steve

About Steve

Steve Neff has been playing and teaching saxophone and jazz improvisation around the New England area for over 30 years. He is the author of many best selling jazz improvisation methods as well as founding the popular jazz video lesson site Neffmusic.com.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Avatarmorgan says

    December 9, 2016 at 6:21 pm

    say I just received the book I ordered, great production value and teaching tool..
    where is the 39min video located not in book or container

    Reply
    • SteveSteve says

      December 10, 2016 at 10:48 am

      Morgan, I sent you an email. After you ordered the book you should have received a thank you email that said to email me the receipt and I would give you directions on how to get any other materials that go with the book. I think sometimes those emails get lost in people’s spam folders unfortunately. Steve

      Reply
  2. AvatarHein Reedijk says

    December 10, 2016 at 5:37 am

    Steve, you did it again! This is a great book, I’ve now been studying it for the last two weeks, and already making great progress in my playing. New doors have opened for me. Thank you very much!

    Reply

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Hey Steve, I’m a 22-year-old from Australia. I thought it would be worth saying. You’re an absolute legend. I can’t thank you enough. You have helped me rekindle my love for the saxophone and music as a whole. All the best for the future, your work doesn’t go unnoticed. PS. I am loving your devastating minor lines pdf.
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Mark Peotter

Love your lessons!  I have been using your lesson packages for many months now, and am learning a lot.  It is so perfect for me with a very busy adult schedule and difficulty in taking jazz/improv music lessons from reputable instructors who live and hour or more away from me.

Lenore
I like so many other subscribers feel so encouraged by Steve’s learning techniques; you will enjoy reading the comments of praise others have left as you too will feel that you share a common view and path. I feel very lucky to have come across Neffmusic and that feeling will remain with you as you search through a treasure trove of learning materials on offer, you will quickly find the lessons that you are suited to. You will instantly recognize the unparalleled quality of Steve’s teaching … Read more
Stephen
I would like to say that in the last year my sax playing has progressed loads from your lessons. I have had a sax for about 20 years and dabbled with lessons from a few teachers and have learnt very little from them. As you have said in your lessons many teachers tell you to use the blues scale and leave it there, not even showing you the resolution points!!. I am now believing I can in time become a good improviser.
Thanks again,
Shane
Shane
I’ve been a member of Steve’s site for about six months now and the difference it has made to my playing is immeasurable. The (many) benefits of this membership are that you can have lessons at time convenient to you, they work out A LOT cheaper than face-to-face lessons with a teacher of the same calibre and you can replay them ad infinitum. I don’t know how many times have I had lessons in the past where I’ve ended up covering the same concepts when really a ‘replay’ of the last lesson would h… Read more
Nick
I have NEVER seen material like yours.  Amazing!!
Jerry

Hi Steve,

First, I want to thank you for all of your great lessons. They are like a “For Dummies” version of all the books on my shelf. The lessons break things down into manageable pieces, and give me the confidence that I’m practicing the right pieces. I’m starting to make progress.   Thank You,   Kim

Kim
I just joined Neff Music last month. I can’t tell you how excited I’ve been to be able to pick back up on lessons. I’ve been in a rut and you got me out! I’ve especially appreciated the Lesson Path section. It was so clear I knew exactly where to jump in and start. Many many thanks!
Karin

Mr. Neff,  I want to thank you for sharing your God-given talents through your on-line lessons.  My husband, Michael, is blind, but he is a great sax player and he has been enjoying your lessons for quite some time now.  It’s not unusual for me to hear “Hey, babe, listen to THIS!” – and he will cut loose on his sax, just thrilled at what he learned during his session with you.  His excitement warms my heart!  You have no idea how much you have poured into my husband.  You have opened musical … Read more

Carole B
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Ed Woodmansee
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Patrick
I have found your videos and publications inspiring and your contribution to the world of saxophone playing is immense. Paul
Paul

Hello Steve,

I have not received my alto yet but have already gone through 14 lessons. I love your approach, style, knowledge and competence. I now regret so much to have stayed away from playing the sax for the past 45-50 years…(I am 65).  But It is never too late to get back to your first love. After 23 years in compuer sciences and 22 years in finances…I am now back to music for the rest of my life.

Doing some research on the net, I found this:

http://forum.saxontheweb.net/showthread.php?1… Read more

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Michael Byington
I want to say something about Steve Neff’s series of lessons, Beginner Jazz Improvisation. For a couple of years I tried many beginner lessons and my problem was that there was a gap between lessons that were fairly simple and ones that I was not quite ready for and my progress stalled out. That problem was solved with the series Beginner Jazz Improvisation. He guides you step by step along the way and builds a foundation for learning jazz and blues. He leaves no question about what to practice … Read more
Pete
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Uwe
Hey Steve, My name is Jason Freese and I play keyboards and sax in the band Green Day.  I grew up taking sax lessons from Eric Marienthal when I was a kid and got out of it for a long time. I ran into you on youtube while searching for sax stuff. I bought a whole bunch of your lessons and have been loving it! Thanks! Here is my wikipedia so you can see the albums I’ve played on….Thanks again. It’s sparked my interest in practicing again.   Jason
Jason Freese (sax player for Green Day)
I’ve been having ‘ online’  lessons with Steve for a few months now. Being a teacher myself I had had some reservations with the idea at first and the practicalities of it .  Let me just say that my playing has taken a huge leaps forward while studying with Steve and continues to do so.Steve studied with some renowned player/teachers such as Bergonzi and Garzone– this in itself is invaluable but Steve teaches from his own books, which cover a a vast amount of  jazz language. Steve h… Read more
David

I want to thank you for your “Ultimate II-V-I Primer”  which has sent me off on a much better path to improvisation.  The primer and the four bound books I have will keep me busy for a long time.  I like your lessons for two reasons.  The lessons work and THEY ARE FUN.  Thanks again.

Robert

Robert
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John
John
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