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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

As Funny as a Brain Tumor! Part 1

October 15, 2009 by Steve 6 Comments

Over the years, I have told this story hundreds of times.  At restaurants, friend’s homes, camping trips and many other places.   There have been a number of times where I start telling the story to one person and soon find myself surrounded by a number of people all tentatively listening. These attentive listeners will […]

Filed Under: Funny as a Brain Tumor Tagged With: brain stem, brain tumor, funny, hysterical, laughing, Massachusetts, meningioma, MGH, steve neff

As Funny as a Brain Tumor! Part 2

October 14, 2009 by Steve 6 Comments

Ok, where was I?  Oh yeah……… So all this hysterical laughing is going on.  As this is getting worse and worse,  things in my life start to quickly fall apart around me.  Most of my relationships are stressed because people think I’m a little strange (OK very strange if not crazy).  The bands I’m in […]

Filed Under: Funny as a Brain Tumor Tagged With: boston, brain tumor, funny, health problems, laughing, MGH, musician, saxophone, steve neff

As Funny as a Brain Tumor! Part 3

October 13, 2009 by Steve 6 Comments

I’m back with Part 3.  At this point in the story, things start to get REALLY interesting…….  Before I delve into the rest of the story,  I need to give you some history about myself.  First of all, up until this point in my life,  I was hardly ever sick.  I never broke a bone. […]

Filed Under: Funny as a Brain Tumor Tagged With: boston, brain tumor, cancer, funny, health problems, hospital, laughing, meningioma, MGH

As Funny as a Brain Tumor! Part 4

October 12, 2009 by Steve 7 Comments

Hello again!  Where was I?  Oh yeah, around this time, my younger brother came out to visit me from Buffalo NY.  I hadn’t seen him in awhile and he decided to come out to Boston for a visit.  We had a lot of fun while he was here but the one thing I remember was […]

Filed Under: Funny as a Brain Tumor Tagged With: boston, brain stem, brain tumor, health, laughing, LensCrafters, Massachusetts General Hospital, meningioma

As Funny as a Brain Tumor! Part 5

October 11, 2009 by Steve 4 Comments

Here we are at Part 5 in the story………….A couple of days after the whole “LensCrafters” experience,  I decided to go get some chinese food with a good musician friend of mine down in Boston. We met down in Chinatown in Boston for a late dinner. During dinner,  I told him about all the things […]

Filed Under: Funny as a Brain Tumor Tagged With: boston, brain tumor, doctors, emergency room, laughing, meningioma, MGH, saxophone

As Funny as a Brain Tumor! Part 6

October 10, 2009 by Steve 6 Comments

I’ll do my best in this next part of the story to recount things in the proper order.  To be honest,  the next few parts of the story are a little vague and cloudy in my memory. I remember meeting with a Doctor to have the talk you have before a major surgery.  His name […]

Filed Under: Funny as a Brain Tumor Tagged With: boston, brain tumor, doctors, hospital, laughing, meningioma, MGH, surgery

As Funny as a Brain Tumor! Part 7

October 9, 2009 by Steve 3 Comments

Well………..where were we?  Oh yeah, in Mass General Hospital, waiting for my next surgery.  As I remember,  it was 2-3 days later.   They came to get me for the surgery and it was an emotional time.  This was the big surgery where they were messing with my nerves, arteries and not to mention my […]

Filed Under: Funny as a Brain Tumor Tagged With: boston, brain tumor, laughing, meningioma, MGH, steve neff, surgery

As Funny as a Brain Tumor! Part 8

October 8, 2009 by Steve 5 Comments

Ok, on with the story.  If you’ve read parts 1-7 you know I’ve been through quite the ordeal so far.  It’s over now.  All that is behind me and I can move on.  I can start living my life again and not worry about what’s wrong with me or what surgery I need next.  This […]

Filed Under: Funny as a Brain Tumor Tagged With: bacterial meningitis, brain tumor, laughing

As Funny as a Brain Tumor! Part 9

October 7, 2009 by Steve 7 Comments

Ok,  I have my emotions contained again and can go on with my story…….  After the neurosurgeon told me I couldn’t play the saxophone ever again, I think I was in  shock.  I didn’t know what to say or how to feel.  After a short while, I started feeling this heavy feeling of sadness coming […]

Filed Under: Funny as a Brain Tumor Tagged With: brain tumor, cancer, laughing, steve neff

As Funny as a Brain Tumor! Part 10

October 6, 2009 by Steve 4 Comments

In this next part of the story, we need to skip ahead a few years.  Just so you are clear on the time line,  I had the brain tumor symptoms from 1993-1995.  I had the brain surgery in August of 1995.  I had bacterial meningitis in August of 1996 (I actually had bacterial meningitis two […]

Filed Under: Funny as a Brain Tumor Tagged With: brain tumor, chiocca, proton beam radiation

As Funny as a Brain Tumor! Part 11

October 5, 2009 by Steve 10 Comments

After the Proton Beam Radiation treatment I quickly jumped back into things.  It was about a month later,  that I was on a gig playing my sax when I got this excruciating pain in my jaw.    I had to stop playing my solo and I just held my jaw for a second and then […]

Filed Under: Funny as a Brain Tumor Tagged With: brain tumor, proton beam, steven johnson syndrom, tegretol, toxic epidermal necrolysis

As Funny as a Brain Tumor! Part 12

October 4, 2009 by Steve 5 Comments

Well, I’ve been putting this off long enough!  To be honest, writing this part of the story is not something I feel very excited about.  There are a few reasons for this.  One, it’s not funny (well maybe a little funny).  Two, it brings back some painful memories.  Three, it doesn’t paint me in the […]

Filed Under: Funny as a Brain Tumor Tagged With: brain tumor, God, steve neff

As Funny as a Brain Tumor! Part 13

October 3, 2009 by Steve 1 Comment

Hello again.  No I didn’t die.  I’m sorry for the delay with this chapter but every once in awhile I have a problem with tendonitis in my arms and have to take a break from typing for them to get better.  I am feeling  better now and can continue the story.  OK,  where was I………….. […]

Filed Under: Funny as a Brain Tumor Tagged With: brain tumor, cancer, depression

As Funny as a Brain Tumor! Part 14

October 2, 2009 by Steve 2 Comments

After the events in Part 13, I started feeling like my regular self again. Life went on.  We moved a few times and ended up in Southern New Hampshire.  I have two more stories to share with you and then we’ll be done.  Hopefully, there will be no more to tell in future stories although […]

Filed Under: Funny as a Brain Tumor Tagged With: headaches, intracranial pressure, shunt

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Testimonials

Steve,  Just want to say thanks for all you are doing for all of us. I’ve learned more from you than anyone else in my 40 years of playing.

If you can give some tips on One Note Samba, Ceora, and Wave… that would be cool.  I really like learning how you apply your concepts to actual songs!

Have a great year,

Kevin Ledbetter

I've learned more from you than anyone else in my 40 years of playing.
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
Absolutely the best learning experience in my 40 years of playing.These books are awesome!!
Alfred LaBella
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
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 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

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 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
Hi Steve, I can’t express just how much I appreciate your teaching. My playing has improved so much over the past year since I have been studying and practicing with your lessons. It is possible to teach an old dog new tricks, these lessons are proof! Thanks, Michael Byington
Michael Byington
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

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
Hi Steve, I live in a gorgeous but rural area of Oregon-no music store within 80 miles. Your lessons are my lifeline!  Truly the best there are anywhere online. Love your playing. Love your teaching.  Thanks again. Ed
Ed Woodmansee
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
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
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

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
I have found your videos and publications inspiring and your contribution to the world of saxophone playing is immense. Paul
Paul

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
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)

Steve,

I have played for many years and have enjoyed going “back to the basics” in some of your lessons!  You have such a gift for explaining concepts.  As I have gotten older, some of the basic things have gotten muddled because I just play, not knowing why.  As I refresh myself with “why”, it increases my confidence and expands my playing.  Thank you so much for using your gift!  You are a blessing!

Julia
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 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 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
Hi Steve, I have been shedding your materials for quite a while now and I love them! They are extremely well organized and presented and there are tons of ’em! I really appreciate your methodical approach and find myself referring students to your resources often.  Thanks so much!  
Kenyon Carter

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