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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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Steve- I joined your site this month and have downloaded 4 lessons and also purchased your new book and video on diatonic patterns. I just want to say I am very pleased with your approach and teaching techniques. I am getting back into playing after laying off for some time. The information you offer on your site is of great value and I am enjoying being a member. Thank you for what you are doing for the saxophone community.
Tony
Thank you for all the educational information you provide.  I am a classically trained musician.  Professionally, I am a 4th and 5th grade band teacher.  I have played piano and sax for many years, but now I am starting to gig out more. I have always improvised by ear in the past. I have gotten by with my strong sense of pitch, rhythm and melodic contour. However, I want to go deeper. I want to play with a greater variety of melodic and rhythmic ideas to pull from.  I have studied to gain a … Read more
Ray
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 have found your videos and publications inspiring and your contribution to the world of saxophone playing is immense. Paul
Paul
I am enjoying your style of teaching, and you’ve done a great job with the videos….good sound quality and well constructed lessons.  Balances the more guitaristic material found on the majority of guitar based programs.  Jazz vocab is what I’m all about at this point in the journey.   I especially dig the fact that you’ve studied with Bergonzi…helps me see his voluminous output in a more  bite sized way.
Milton
It is so refreshing to have a great player, who can provide lessons and examples in a manner which is understandable to most any enthusiastic saxophonist who is ready to improve. not just the, do this, do that, memorize this, memorize that… while all that is absolutely necessary, you go on to give reasons and examples to explain and validate why you have to do all of these things, the benefits, if you will… that is the key for me, you tell, explain, demonstrate, explain some more, you give perso… Read more
Cedric
I have been a member of Neffmusic for more than a year now and have enjoyed every minute of it! I have not only been going thru the Dominant Bebop Scale lessons and book (OUTSTANDING!) but the mouthpiece reviews, solo clips and transcriptions are very interesting. Steve approach to beginning and intermediate improv have given me many new pathways to teach my high school jazz ensemble students. Congratulations Steve, great product!
Craig

After reading your story I will never feel quite right about complaining about any of my MINOR health issues!!    God bless Steve and I really hope that your health doesn’t stop you from fulfilling your calling.    These books have been such a help to open up my jazz vocabulary…   Thanks so much for sharing your story and for providing these great teaching tools…   John Leclerc   Saxophonist / composer/ EWI player and professional working musician of 35 years….

John Leclerc
I can see from your instructional videos that you are a fantastic teacher – one that can truly relate to all ages – humble yet very positive in approach – never coming across as superior and yet so totally capable of demonstrating the principles and techniques that you seek to impart to the students. I have gained so much confidence in my playing from “pouring over” time and again these invaluable lessons. Invaluable not only in musical content, but also in human interaction content. I am absolu… Read more
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Thank You Steve. I think that I will be busy for years. Thank You for your great contribution to jazz music. Your books, more than teaching “how to play jazz”, actually teach “how to speak jazz”. I wish I found your methods years ago.  

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Martin

I must say again how much I appreciate all your material. Including the video tutorials. It help keep me focused and knowing what to aim for. And your laid back teaching style appeals to me too. 

Thanks

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P
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,
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Robert

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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
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I’ve been downloading your lessons for 4 months now (20 lesson) and I have noticed tremendous growth in my playing thus far! I’m so happy that I stumbled upon your site!
Bob

Hello Steve,

I just want to say thank you so much for your unbelievable work, it is just mind opening, thanks for sharing it.

Wolfgang from Berlin

Wolfgang from Berlin
I just wanted to write a thank you note to you for this website. I play and teach saxophone, but I have always been intimidated by the gear aspect. Your website has helped me become a lot more knowledgable. Your knowledge is staggering! I’m telling all my students about your website. Pierre
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Just a brief note to compliment you on your teaching skills and in particular for the honesty of your lessons.  I am a returning alto sax player in my 50’s and I was looking for a no nonsense, straight to the point kind of guidance. I had intended to email you with a few questions regarding the use of the bis key but then I noticed that there was a lesson on that specific topic and after viewing it,  all my questions were answered. I once took a group lesson with a well known professional sax … Read more
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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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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
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