Saxscape Hudson Model Refaced by Brian Powell to .113 I received this piece from a friend who wanted me to try it out. It was made by Ken Barry at Saxscape mouthpieces. The person who owned it before me had Brian Powell reface it (I’m not sure why) It has berg like baffle in it […]
How Much Should My Child Practice?
I get asked this question quite often by concerned parents. What I usually recommend for fourth grade beginning students is 3 15-20 minute times a week. I find that if students do this they will make steady progress during the first year with no problems. Of course, if a student is really excited and wants […]
Poll of 9 Tenor Mouthpieces
I decided to run a poll for 9 sound clips I just made of my last 9 tenor mouthpieces. I’m having a heck of a time deciding which ones to sell and I figured it would help me to play them side by side and record them. On all 9 clips I’m just playing a […]
100 Top 40 Tunes Every Working Sax Player Should Know
The other day one of my students said he wanted to get out of the house and start gigging and making some money. We’ve been working on standards and jazz improvisation over the last year or so. He asked me if I thought he was ready and we got into a discussion about playing out. […]
Sax Mouthpieces: The Length of the Facing Curve
I’ve been doing a lot of experimentation into different facing curve lengths on my alto and tenor saxophone. On my alto I have been using mouthpieces that were all refaced by Brian Powell to .80 tip openings. These are what I’ve been using: Florida Hard Rubber Link-20mm facing length Florida Hard Rubber Link-20.5mm facing length […]
NeffMusic Lessons: Learning How To Learn!
I’m writing this article to all my Neffmusic members to help them get the most out their lessons at Neffmusic. In order to really get the most out of my lessons there are some skills that you need to develop. These lessons are a bit different than going to a teacher and taking one on […]
Free Saxophone Intonation Tracking Graph
I made a video lesson on saxophone intonation where I taught about charting your intonation tendencies of your saxophone by using a tuner. What you do is play naturally for a few seconds and then end on the target note and while holding it turn and look at the tuner. You then put a mark […]
Chris Potter on Standards Transcription Book
While I was searching the internet a few weeks ago, I stumbled across this site. AJ Kluth has put out a transcription book of Chris Potter solos. Chris Potter is a phenomenal tenor saxophone player that is pretty popular on the jazz scene these days. I’ve been working on transcribing a few Chris Potter solos […]
Great Video on Giant Steps
I found this posted on Dave Valdez’s blog. It’s really amazing to watch. It’s a video of John Coltrane’s Giant Steps solo transcription being put on the page as the recording is playing. There is something about watching the video that is amazing. You’re hearing John Coltrane play a great tenor sax solo as the […]
Kenny Werner Masterclass
This is a great masterclass by Kenny Werner. I’ve been a fan of Kenny Werner since I read his book “Effortless Mastery” a number of years ago. I love his mindset of letting go of the fear and distraction that can attack us when we perform. So often when I was younger, I would be […]
The Portland Collection Contra Dance Music Real Books
About a year ago a soundman and good friend of mine ,Dave Fagan, played a CD through the sound system that immediately caught my attention. It sounded great and I asked him what it was. He said it was “Contra Dance Music” I had never heard of it before. After talking more about it, he […]
Practicing Jazz Saxophone With Focus
One of my biggest weaknesses when I was a kid was practicing without a specific focus. I wanted to do it all, play everything, be the best. I wanted results now. I would spend endless hours in the practice room practicing everything. The problem was, I wasn’t focused. I didn’t set goals. Instead of getting […]
Saxophone Mouthpiece Clips
I just thought you might be wondering what the deal is with the mouthpiece clips part of the page. They are mostly meant to be of interest to other sax players that are interested in tenor sax mouthpieces.
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