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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

The Lighthouse Omnibook-Dave Liebman and Steve Grossman Review

July 22, 2016 by Steve 9 Comments

Today’s review is about a great transcription book by Petter Wettre entitled “The Lighthouse Omnibook”.   This book has been sitting on my shelf for a few years but I was reminded of it the other day when John Greiner (a great tenor player that I played with at Berklee in different ensembles) mentioned the […]

Filed Under: Book Reviews Tagged With: Dave Liebman, Elvin Jones, Live at the Lighthouse, Omnibook, saxophone, Steve Grossman, Transcriptions

Sax Mouthpiece Reviews and Morality

July 22, 2016 by Steve 80 Comments

Ok,  so this might seem like a strange title for a blog post but I have an issue that I need some insight and input on from my Neffmusic readers.  Here’s the issue and then I will pose some questions at the end. Mouthpiece Reviews and Morality:   Nine years ago I started what is […]

Filed Under: Mouthpiece Reviews Tagged With: ethics, morality, opinion, reviews, saxophone mouthpieces

Retro Revival New Yorker Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece Review

July 16, 2016 by Steve 22 Comments

Today, I am reviewing the new Retro Revival New Yorker alto saxophone mouthpiece made by Joel Peskin (iReedMan) and Bob Sheppard.  Joel  and Bob have started a company called Retro Revival in which he produces exact copies of great vintage mouthpieces from the past.   His first two mouthpiece releases were for this New Yorker alto […]

Filed Under: Alto Medium Baffle Reviews, Alto Mouthpiece Reviews Tagged With: alto sax, Brothers, Joel Peskin, New York Meyer, New Yorker, Retro Revival, review, saxophone mouthpiece

Bill Evans Signature Series Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece Review

July 9, 2016 by Steve 58 Comments

Today, I am reviewing the new Bill Evans Signature Series Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece.  Now, before I go further I must add a disclaimer: Warning: This is one the most expensive mouthpieces on the market that I know of right now. (1695.00 US) If you do not want to be tempted by a mouthpiece that you can’t […]

Filed Under: Tenor High Baffle Reviews, Tenor Mouthpiece Reviews Tagged With: bill evans, Guardala, jazz saxophone, review, sax mouthpiece, tenor saxophone

Westcoast Sax MoFo Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece Review

June 18, 2016 by Steve 12 Comments

Today, I am reviewing the Westcoast Sax “MoFo” tenor saxophone mouthpiece.  Now, not being hip to the newest slang and terminology, I had to ask my teenagers what MoFo meant.  My daughters told me “Mofo” stood for mother-f*****, someone who is bad-a** or hard core.  My first thought was “Why would someone name a saxophone […]

Filed Under: Tenor High Baffle Reviews, Tenor Mouthpiece Reviews Tagged With: Mofo, review, saxophone, tenor mouthpiece, Theo Wanne, Wescoast Sax

Liu Shizhao Pilgrimage MB Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece Review

June 9, 2016 by Steve 22 Comments

A month or two ago,  I posted a review of a couple new saxophone mouthpiece from Liu Shizhao out of China.  He sent me a tenor saxophone mouthpiece prototype MB Prototype and an alto prototype that I was very impressed with and wrote reviews on. Recently,  he has sent me two more saxophone mouthpieces to review that […]

Filed Under: Tenor High Baffle Reviews Tagged With: Guardala, jazz sax, Liu Shizhao, Michael Brecker, Pilgrimage, review, tenor mouthpiece

Lamberson J7 1920 Hard Rubber Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece Review

June 4, 2016 by Steve 22 Comments

In an effort to mix things up a bit,  I am now reviewing a new J7 tenor saxophone mouthpiece made by Fred Lamberson. Earlier this week, I reviewed the Ted Klum London model tenor mouthpiece which was probably one of the loudest and brightest mouthpieces I have played but now I turn my attention to […]

Filed Under: Tenor Low Baffle Reviews Tagged With: 1920 hard rubber, dark tone, Fred Lamberson, J7, sax mouthpiece, tenor saxophone

Rafael Navarro “Bob Mintzer” Bop Boy Tenor Mouthpiece Review

June 4, 2016 by Steve 20 Comments

Today I am reviewing another great mouthpiece by Rafael Navarro.  This is a hard rubber “Bob Mintzer” Bop Boy model.  I have reviewed most of Rafael Navarro’s tenor models in the past.  In the beginning,  he was kind enough to send me a bunch to review but after a while he started getting busier as his […]

Filed Under: Tenor High Baffle Reviews Tagged With: Bob Mintzer, Bop Boy, hard rubber, Rafael Navarro, sax mouthpiece, tenor saxophone

Ted Klum London Model Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece Review

June 1, 2016 by Steve 13 Comments

Today’s review is of a very used Ted Klum London model tenor saxophone mouthpiece that a friend of mine was nice enough to let me try.   Ted Klum is a great sax mouthpiece maker and refacer who has a great reputation among saxophone players.   His site is www.tedklummouthpieces.com.   It has been quite […]

Filed Under: Tenor High Baffle Reviews Tagged With: high baffle, London Model, sax mouthpiece, Ted Klum, tenor saxophone

Wes Montgomery’s Round Midnight Transcription for Tenor Sax

May 12, 2016 by Steve 2 Comments

A friend of mine emailed me a link to the youtube video below and I have been listening to it all week long.  I love the way Wes Montgomery plays the melody on Round Midnight by Thelonious Monk. It’s got a great bluesy feel to it that I don’t hear with any of the sax […]

Filed Under: Transcriptions Tagged With: guitar, Monk, Round Midnight, saxophone, tenor sax, Thelonious, Wes Montgomery

Snake Oil for the Saxophone? The Buzz Oversized Neck Screw by Westcoast Sax

April 13, 2016 by Steve 50 Comments

Whether you are into competitive sports, weight loss, golf or the saxophone, you have probably heard claims about products that you didn’t believe. Many times I refer to these claims and products with a term you have probably heard before: “Snake Oil”.  The definition of the term is : “Snake oil is an expression that originally […]

Filed Under: Sax Reviews, Saxophone Stuff Tagged With: Buzz, oversized, sax screw, sound, tenor saxophone, tone, westcoast sax

Joe Allard Overtone Exercise for Saxophone

April 7, 2016 by Steve 9 Comments

I wanted to share this great saxophone Overtone exercise that Dr. David Demsey wrote out a number of years ago.   Dr. Demsey studied with Joe Allard from 1977-1980 and is the Coordinator of Jazz Studies and Professor of Music at William Paterson University. There is a great interview with Dr. Demsey about Joe Allard that any of you […]

Filed Under: Saxophone Stuff Tagged With: altissimo, David Demsey, education, Joe Allard, overtones, PDF, sax, saxophone

Michael Brecker on Three Quartets with Chick Corea

April 2, 2016 by Steve 4 Comments

I just found this on Youtube this morning and wanted to share it. This video was made in 2003 and is a reunion concert of the original musicians from Chick Corea’s “Three Quartets” album. Chick Corea, Michael Brecker,Eddie Gomez and Steve Gadd. Three Quartets was released in 1981 and was one of the first albums […]

Filed Under: Jazz Videos Tagged With: Chick Corea, Eddie Gomez, Michael Brecker, Steve Gadd, tenor saxophone, Three Quartets, video

Saxophone Lessons in Montpelier Vermont!

March 8, 2016 by Steve Leave a Comment

Jazz Saxophone Lessons near Montpelier Vermont! I’ve just finished setting up my teaching studio in Waitsfield, Vermont.  If you live near the Montpelier Vermont area and are interested in saxophone lessons I am now accepting students.  Montpelier is a city in central Vermont and is about a half hour from Waitsfield Vermont. I teach saxophone and specialize in jazz […]

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

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Testimonials

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
Two years later I began a search for a sax teacher and happened to come across Steve Neff when I was searching YouTube for sax teachers.  I went to neffmusic.com and was very impressed with the lessons Steve Neff was offering.  The concept of selecting lessons was an approach that I thought was unique and purchased a few lessons.  I liked the lessons so much that I signed-up for a 6 month package. I was very happy with all the lessons I selected.  I also purchased Steve’s book Mastering the B… Read more
Michael
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

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
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
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 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

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

Claude
I am a music book junkie and I have to say that your books are the most clear, user friendly, and helpful books I own.  They are my absolute favorites and I only wish I had them years ago.  I wouldn’t change a thing about the experience I had in acquiring my degree at Berklee, but my playing has perhaps grown more in the time I’ve spent buried in your books and lessons.  Keep up the great work!!! Thanks, John
John
I have found your videos and publications inspiring and your contribution to the world of saxophone playing is immense. Paul
Paul
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
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
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
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
Steve really changed my way of practicing: I got a whole lot of new ideas for my playing the tenor.  His lessons are really helpful, give a lot stuff to practice and give clear answers to complicated stuff.  Steve has a lot of humor and I wish I had laughed so much in my former days with the horn.  All topics, from Blues to Approach note are dealt with clearness that wet ones appetite to play and practice that great ideas.
Uwe
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
Just to say thanks for your advice and lessons.  I’ve just read your amazing story.  I really appreciate what you do in regards to teaching.  I have bought a couple of your lessons and frankly they’re undersold.   I’ve learned much more with these two lessons than with 2 years of sax teachers.   Thanks so much………..
Mike
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.
Sapph
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
Ron
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
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
First, I’m really excited about your materials! This site is a vast resource for any aspiring (and maybe already inspired) jazz musicians. I’m not a sax player, I play mandolin and fiddle, but have been learning jazz and playing weekly with a quintet for the past 6 months and have been struggling with all of the issues you get into in your lessons. I bought several books and lessons and plan to continue with some others as soon as I organize my practice routine. Thanks again for a great site … Read more
Tony Galfano

Your material is great! I got your New Altissimo Lesson 6 months ago and I have learned more from that than in all my 44 years of playing! I appreciate your down to earth teaching method and I really appreciate the heart that you teach with. I have been a subscriber to your lessons for the past 6 months and I have learned a great deal. Over that period of time I have had some questions and you have never failed to respond. Thanks! I have already recommended your lessons to a number of players in… Read more

Michael Byington

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