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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 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

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
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
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
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
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

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
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’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

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 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
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’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
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

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

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
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’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
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 let you know that your instructional material is transforming my playing.  It is an immense pleasure to learn and play now, and I can’t tell you how grateful I am. The instructional material I got from you is by far the best of any I own (and I have over 100 books, DVDs, and what not). I literally can’t thank you enough! Deric
Deric
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,

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 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

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