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Hi! I am Steve Neff

I have been playing and teaching saxophone and jazz improvisation around the New England area for the last 30+ years. I love teaching and anything to do with the saxophone. I hope you find this website helpful in your musical journey. Thanks, Steve

Transcription of Clay Pritchard’s Solo on Cherokee

December 9, 2016 by Steve 3 Comments

Here’s a transcription that Steve Kortyka did of a Clay Pritchard solo over Cherokee on the video below.  You might not have heard of these guys yet but Steve Kortyka is a great New York player that plays with Lady Gaga among many others and Clay Pritchard was a semi-finalist from the 2013 Monk Competition. Steve […]

Filed Under: Transcriptions Tagged With: Cherokee, Clay Pritchard, jazz sax, Steve Kortyka, tenor saxophone

Transcription of Jeff Ellwood’s Solo on Freedom Jazz Dance

December 8, 2016 by Steve 2 Comments

Here’s another transcription from the Jeff Ellwood “School of Outness”.  This is from another video of Jeff that I found on Facebook a couple of months ago and put in my transcription folder of cool solos I had to one day transcribe. The video below is Jeff Ellwood playing a tenor sax solo over “Freedom Jazz […]

Filed Under: Transcriptions Tagged With: Eddie Harris, Freedom Jazz Dance, jazz sax, Jeff Ellwood, solo transcription, tenor saxophone

Transcription of Jeff Ellwood’s Solo on Just the Two of Us

November 30, 2016 by Steve 7 Comments

Here’s another transcription I am excited about sharing with everyone.  I found the video on Facebook this morning and proceeded to play it over and over until my wife got annoyed at me and said “Steve, it is 6:30 in the morning!  What are you doing?”  “Sorry, honey.” I replied.  That was how my day started………. […]

Filed Under: Transcriptions Tagged With: Grover Washington Jr., jazz saxophone, Jeff Ellwood, Just the Two of Us, tenor sax, transcription

The Sax Mouthpiece Doesn’t Matter! Really??

November 21, 2016 by Steve 32 Comments

Today,  I am reviewing a garden hose. Ok, not really but I might as well be.  Every week, I get emails saying: The mouthpiece doesn’t matter, you will sound like you no matter what mouthpiece you play…… Charlie Parker could play anything…….. You sound the same on every mouthpiece. It’s you not the mouthpiece….. You […]

Filed Under: Mouthpiece Reviews Tagged With: bad, importance, lame, sax mouthpiece, saxophone, worthless piece of crap

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” […]

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

Joe Graziosi’s Soul Station in all 12 Keys Project

November 8, 2016 by Steve 5 Comments

Every once in a while I happen upon something extraordinary that bewilderingly gets little to no attention from the jazz saxophone world.  A number of months ago, Joe Graziosi started a thread on SOTW (Sax on the Web) letting people know about a new project that he had been working on over the last three years […]

Filed Under: Jazz Education Tagged With: 12 keys, Hank Mobley, Joe Graziosi, saxophone transcription, Soul Station, tenor sax

Phil-tone JZ Series Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece Review

November 5, 2016 by Steve 8 Comments

Today, I am reviewing another great mouthpiece by Phil Engleman at Phil-Tone mouthpieces.    Phil Engleman is the founder of Phil-Tone mouthpieces and I have reviewed a number of his excellent mouthpieces in the past.  The Equinox, the Eclipse, the Solstice, the Tribute, the Sapphire, the Mosaic, the Rift etc…………… Phil has even more models that […]

Filed Under: Tenor Low Baffle Reviews Tagged With: hard rubber, Phil Engleman, Phil-tone, review, saxophone mouthpiece, tenor sax

Johannes Gerber NY Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece Review

November 3, 2016 by Steve 7 Comments

Today, I am reviewing another great alto sax mouthpiece by Johannes Gerber in South Africa. Mr. Gerber has been making mouthpieces for many years and I have reviewed three of his mouthpieces in the past, the Gerber Slant model , the Gerber Solo LC soprano saxophone mouthpiece  and last week the Gerber Vintage alto sax mouthpiece.   […]

Filed Under: Alto Medium Baffle Reviews Tagged With: Alto Saxophone, Johannes Gerber, Ny model, review, sax mouthpiece

Johannes Gerber Vintage Alto Mouthpiece Review

October 28, 2016 by Steve 7 Comments

Today, I am reviewing another great mouthpiece by Johannes Gerber in South Africa. Mr. Gerber has been making mouthpieces for many years and I reviewed a great tenor saxophone mouthpiece of his a few years ago, the Gerber Slant model  as well as the Gerber Solo LC soprano saxophone mouthpiece  last year.   Johannes Gerber has […]

Filed Under: Alto Low Baffle Reviews, Alto Mouthpiece Reviews, Mouthpiece Reviews Tagged With: alto sax, Alto Saxophone, Johannes Gerber, mouthpiece, vintage model

Morgan Excalibur 7M Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece Review

October 20, 2016 by Steve 7 Comments

Today, I am reviewing a Morgan Excalibur 7M alto saxophone mouthpiece made by the Morgan Mouthpiece Company.  Dave and Teresa Hoskins run MorganMouthpieces.com as well as Junkdude.com and they were kind enough to send me a sample of the Morgan Excalibur 7M alto sax mouthpiece to review on my site. When I first started really getting into […]

Filed Under: Alto Medium Baffle Reviews Tagged With: alto sax, excalibur, hard rubber, Ralph Morgan, saxophone mouthpiece

Saxophone Lessons in Montpelier Vermont

September 6, 2016 by Steve 2 Comments

Jazz Saxophone Lessons in Montpelier Vermont! I’ve just finished setting up my teaching studio in Montpelier, Vermont.  If you live near the Montpelier Vermont area, are in the U32 High School or the Washington West Supervisory Union and are interested in saxophone lessons I am now accepting new students.  Montpelier is the Vermont state capital […]

Filed Under: NeffMusic News Tagged With: Barre, Berlin, Burlington, harwood union, high school, Jazz Education, Montpelier, sax lessons, saxophone teacher, Stowe, Vermont, Waitsfield, Waterbury Center, Williston

History of the Saxophone Video by Ben Flocks

August 25, 2016 by Steve 1 Comment

I had to share this!  Saxophonist Ben Flocks has made a video that takes us through 150 years of saxophone history in about 10 minutes!  This was posted on Youtube in 2014 but somehow I have missed it for the last two years.  This is not a boring lecture but a musical performance where he […]

Filed Under: Jazz Videos Tagged With: Ben Flocks, history, saxophone, video

Just Joe’s Sax Gel Strap Review

August 11, 2016 by Steve 11 Comments

I want to start this review out with a big apology to Joe Rohrbacher of Just Joe’s Music in Bend, Oregon.  Joe sent me a couple of complimentary Just Joe’s Sax Gel Straps to try out and perhaps review almost 5 YEARS AGO!!  This was around the fall of 2011 and at the time I was having a […]

Filed Under: Saxophone Stuff Tagged With: gel strap, Just Joe, leather, neck strap, review, sax, saxophone

Chris Potter Interview/Performance with Christian McBride

August 4, 2016 by Steve 2 Comments

Another great interview and performance by the great saxophone player Chris Potter.  This was recorded from Christian McBride’s SiriusXM radio show “The Low Down”. The interview is fascinating and Chris has such a humble and real honesty about him that it is like he’s in your living room talking to you.  At the 7:45 mark […]

Filed Under: Jazz Videos Tagged With: chris potter, Christian McBride, interview, performance, tenor saxophone

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NEFFMUSIC PRINTED BOOKS

Testimonials

Your major diatonic patterns book is great. I”m studying the first twenty patterns (first twenty pages) each day with different articulation each day and slowly increasing the tempo each week or so.  There is a noticeable improvement in finger coordination across all keys and its amazing how much more secure I feel on the difficult keys when attempting to play pieces with 5+ flats/sharps. I’m able to sort out the fingerings for these pieces now much more quickly than before, often in one or two … Read more
Geoff
Thank you so much for the great job you are doing to help further our jazz studies. Though I make my living as a repairer of musical instruments I am a student of jazz and have been fortunate enough to be involved with a big band and a combo for the last several years. As my children began to leave “the nest” I had decided to dedicate the next half of my life to a more serious study of the sax but I didn’t know exactly how I would go about doing this until a friend of mine turned me onto your si… Read more
Jon

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.  

Jean-Eric

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

P

P
I can’t say enough about my membership at Neff Music. Steve has taken the mystery out of playing the saxophone well and improvising both jazz and rock music. Like most struggling players I have a load of all sorts of books on my shelf just gathering dust. Books that I didn’t understand or know how to put to use…or just have the time to go threw them. Steve’s lessons really simplify things and he puts it in a way that I can understand. They inspire me to keep pushing and having him as my guide or… Read more
Ken

Steve, just a note to say thanks.

I’ve been playing a long time, but your material, laid out in such a thoughtful way, helps me to understand concepts in a new and deeper way.

You are a true gift to the jazz community.

60 lessons and going strong,

Kevin Ledbetter

Kevin Ledbetter
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
Patrick
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

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 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
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
Steve’s monthly lessons are entirely valuable. Without brow beating, he tells you all the stuff you deep down know you really should be working on, instead of just relying on the same old patterns. In spite of the fact that you’re taking a video lesson, Steve’s presentation is comfortable and “real”. In a little more than a year, he’s developed a library of lessons that seem to offer any player a lifetime’s worth of practice material. I’m just glad I stumbled upon it.… Read more
Grant
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
Pierre

I want to thank you again, because, not only are you an inspiration to listen to, you are a fine teacher!

I have been teaching sax and other winds for over 20 years, and you give me that “push” to give my students more!

Mark Peotter

Mark Peotter
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 bought Steve’s dominant bebop book and took a couple of online lesson from him. I really appreciated Steve’s careful listening of what I wanted to get done in a lesson and his clear, concise ideas on next steps to improve my playing and musical interpretation.  His mastering  the Dominant Bebop Scale has lots of exercises to use a scale that addresses the largest percentage of chords I come across in pop/blues music. The dominant V7.  Needless say it has improved my playing.  I teach and a… Read more
Keith
Just wanted to send you a quick note to say thank you for being you, your playing, your website and your desire to help others. I’m a professional musician in the US Army and I’ve visited your website almost every day since discovering it a couple of months ago. Your lessons are profound and easy to use. I’ve purchased most of your PDF books and now am starting to delve more into the video and audio lessons.  Thank you for being a great resource!
James
Thanks so much for putting all this great learning material out there. I don’t often have the time to take a lesson with a teacher, so the ability to download lessons is really invaluable. My playing has improved enormously (I think :)) – and the lessons are so varied there’s always something to be inspired by. Incredible value too!
Roger
Your lessons on playing the blues is so clear . I have been through many books on blues playing and not one of them explains as clear as your lessons . Most of them say “Play the same blues scale over all three chords of a 12 bar blues ” Its very misleading .     Thanks
Martin
I’m an experienced player in the pop/soul/funk areas of music and, previously, classical.  Over the decades I’ve been playing, I’ve always felt that I could do what I needed in those styles of music.  However, recently I began to feel limited by my use of the same old licks. When I discovered Steve Neff’s website, and heard the audio examples based on the exercises in his books, I realized they were what I needed.  I purchased all of them and have been working on them since.  It’s very hard work… Read more
Paul

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
By the way, BIG COMPLIMENTS to you, Steve! Not only are you a great player, you are also a great teacher! I, too, am a woodwinds player/teacher. I have new inspiration to play and teach because of you. The concepts and “thinking” is similar to what I already learned in College, but hearing you explain and PLAY the concepts REALLY MAKES THE DIFFERENCE! Also, your written patterns are more interesting than other books I have seen! Keep up the good work. I will be recommending your sit… Read more
I will be recommending your site to others!
Hey Steve! I hope you and your family are well.  I’m just writing to say thank you so much for all the resources you have made available to the saxophone community. I have been using your material for many years and I always come back to it… in fact I just took a break from practicing to write this…( reviewing “CreatingModern II-V-I Lines with simple pentatonics”.) I am, and continue to be, one of your raving fans! Blessings to you and your family this holiday season! Wishing… Read more
Gerry Aylward
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

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