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Drake Double Ring Ceramic Alto Mouthpiece 5

August 3, 2009 by Steve 4 Comments

This is a new alto mouthpiece by Aaron Drake at Drake Ceramic Mouthpieces. He has been generous enough to send  two alto pieces to me to try. These are called “Double Ring” Jazz pieces.  One has a .075 tip and one has a .080 tip. These mouthpiece are very unique in that they are made […]

Filed Under: Alto Medium Baffle Reviews, Alto Mouthpiece Reviews Tagged With: aaron drake, alto, double ring, drake ceramic mouthpieces

Theo Wanne Gaia 7* Tenor Mouthpiece

July 27, 2009 by Steve 20 Comments

This is a new Theo Wanne mouthpiece called the Gaia.  He advertises this on http://www.theowanne.com/ as being close to a Florida Link type of sound.  I have to say that out of the Theo Wanne pieces I have played so far this is my favorite. The higher baffle Wanne mouthpieces were too bright for what […]

Filed Under: Tenor Medium Baffle Reviews, Tenor Mouthpiece Reviews Tagged With: Gaia, tenor mouthpiece, Theo Wanne

Morgan Fry Floridated Link

June 19, 2009 by Steve Leave a Comment

This is a mouthpiece that Morgan Fry sent me from the UK. He’s been advertising a Floridated link on his site www.morganfrymouthpieces.com. I was curious about how they played so I sent him an email to see if i could try one. In looks it is very similar to my very good Florida Link that […]

Filed Under: Tenor Low Baffle Reviews, Tenor Mouthpiece Reviews Tagged With: floridated link, morgan fry, refacing, tenor mouthpiece

Mastering the Dominant Bebop Scale

May 15, 2009 by Steve 2 Comments

Mastering The Dominant Bebop Scale The Dominant Bebop Scale is a scale that can be used over a dominant chord. It has both the major 7th and the flat 7th in the scale so in the key of G the scale would be GABCDEFF#G. The reason that the dominant bebop scale sounds so great is […]

Filed Under: Book Reviews, NeffMusic News Tagged With: blues, circle of fifths, dominant bebop scale, dominant chords, improvising, steve neff

Vandoren V16 Hard Rubber T6

May 13, 2009 by Steve 24 Comments

This is a Vandoren  tenor sax mouthpiece I picked up in a local music store for a student of mine. I tried a  Vandoren T7 and this  Vandoren T6 and I liked this T6 quite a bit more on my tenor.  It has a long roll over baffle that continues right down into the chamber.  […]

Filed Under: Tenor Low Baffle Reviews, Tenor Mouthpiece Reviews Tagged With: tenor mouthpiece, Vandoren T6

Approach Note Books and Lessons

May 8, 2009 by Steve Leave a Comment

“Approach Note Velocity” by Steve Neff Approach Note Velocity is a book that I created for myself so that I could master all the different approach notes in every key.  I have divided the book up into sections by key and have written out the exercises so that you can practice them and read them […]

Filed Under: Book Reviews, Jazz Education, NeffMusic News Tagged With: approach note velocity, approach notes, Jazz Improvisation, jazz playing, online lessons

RS Berkeley “Virtuoso” tenor sax review

April 21, 2009 by Steve 15 Comments

About 6 months ago I had a new member to my site named Les Silver. Les signed up for online lessons and we exchanged quite a few emails and phone calls talking about my lessons and in our conversations he told me about his saxophone line that he has been developing over the last few […]

Filed Under: Sax Reviews, Saxophone Stuff Tagged With: les silver, mark VI, rs berkeley, selmer, virtuoso tenor sax

Getting the Most from Neffmusic Online Lesson

February 27, 2009 by Steve 1 Comment

To get most out of my NeffMusic Online Lessons I would suggest a few simple ideas. 1. Focus on one topic like Blues scales, Approach Notes, Pentatonics……..etc. In my mind it’s always better to focus on one topic at a time and master it.  Working on bits and pieces of 10 different lessons and not […]

Filed Under: Jazz Education, NeffMusic News Tagged With: Jazz Improvisation, online lessons, steve neff, video lessons

Two Chris Potter Transcriptions from “Song for Anyone” CD

February 15, 2009 by Steve Leave a Comment

Here are two Chris Potter transcriptions that I received from  Corey Armstrong for tenor sax.  I haven’t had the time to check them out note for note but these are two great solos from the “Song for Anyone” CD and must have taken quite a bit of time to figure out. Corey said I could […]

Filed Under: Transcriptions Tagged With: chris potter, song for anyone, tenor sax, transcription

LAW Medium Chamber Bright (MCB) .110

February 9, 2009 by Steve Leave a Comment

This is another LAW mouthpiece by Lawrence Waldron in the UK. It was in the same package as the LCD(Large Chamber Dark) piece.  This piece is a MCB(Medium Chamber Bright) piece.  It has a roll over baffle that slopes more gradually into the chamber than the LCD piece.  This gives it a bit more power […]

Filed Under: Tenor Medium Baffle Reviews, Tenor Mouthpiece Reviews Tagged With: LAW mouthpiece, Lawrence Waldron, medium chamber bright, tenor sax

Lamberson J8

February 9, 2009 by Steve 6 Comments

Here is a Lamberson J8 tenor mouthpiece that I bought a few months ago.

Filed Under: Tenor Low Baffle Reviews, Tenor Mouthpiece Reviews Tagged With: J8, Lamberson, tenor mouthpiece

Sugal Super Gonz I 7*

February 9, 2009 by Steve Leave a Comment

Sugal Super Gonz 7* Here is a Sugal Super Gonz I tenor mouthpiece  that I bought off a friend of mine. This is from the mid 90’s and started out as a 8*.   I had Brian Powell bring it down to a 7* and clean up the facing quite a bit.  I played a Super […]

Filed Under: Tenor Medium Baffle Reviews, Tenor Mouthpiece Reviews Tagged With: Sugal Super Gonz, tenor mouthpiece

LAW LCD (Large Chamber Dark) .110

February 9, 2009 by Steve Leave a Comment

This is another LAW piece from Lawrence Waldron.  Every once in awhile he sends me a package in the mail with some pieces to try. These are as great as usual. This one is a LCD(Large Chamber Dark) and has a .110 tip opening. I really liked the sound of this piece. I actually didn’t […]

Filed Under: Tenor Low Baffle Reviews, Tenor Mouthpiece Reviews Tagged With: LAW mouthpiece, Lawrence Waldron, mouthpiece clip

Joshua Redman Transcription “Blues for Pat” Solo

January 11, 2009 by Steve 2 Comments

Joshua Redman is one of my favorite tenor sax players out there. I especially love his early albums “Moodswing” and “Timeless Tales”. Here’s Joshua Redman transcription from the album “Live In San Francisco” with Pat Metheny.  This tune is called “Blues for Pat” and it’s a great solo on a blues form. Redman does a […]

Filed Under: Transcriptions Tagged With: blues for pat, joshua redman, tenor sax solo, transcription

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NEFFMUSIC PRINTED BOOKS

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 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

Mr. Neff,  I want to thank you for sharing your God-given talents through your on-line lessons.  My husband, Michael, is blind, but he is a great sax player and he has been enjoying your lessons for quite some time now.  It’s not unusual for me to hear “Hey, babe, listen to THIS!” – and he will cut loose on his sax, just thrilled at what he learned during his session with you.  His excitement warms my heart!  You have no idea how much you have poured into my husband.  You have opened musical … Read more

Carole B
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
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

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 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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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 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

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
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 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

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
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
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
I have NEVER seen material like yours.  Amazing!!
Jerry

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