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Reviews

JLV Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece Sound Resurfacing Ligature Review

September 23, 2020 by Steve 24 Comments

Today, I am reviewing an innovative new saxophone mouthpiece ligature I received from JLV Sound in France.  It is the JLV Sound Resurfacing Sax Ligature for hard rubber tenor saxophone mouthpieces. This is not your everyday run of the mill saxophone ligature.  I have included quite a few photos and even a video presentation of […]

Filed Under: Saxophone Stuff Tagged With: hard rubber, JLV, ligature, mouthpiece, resurfacing, review, saxophone, sound, tenor sax

Boston Sax Shop Superlative Tenor Saxophone Ligature Review

September 11, 2020 by Steve 10 Comments

Today, I am reviewing a beautiful new saxophone ligature I received from Jack Tyler at the Boston Sax Shop.  It is the Boston Sax Shop Superlative Sax Ligature for hard rubber tenor sax mouthpieces. I have reviewed a number of Boston Sax Shop products on this site in the past and have written about Jack […]

Filed Under: Saxophone Stuff Tagged With: Boston Sax Shop, BSS, hard rubber, ligature, mouthpiece, review, superlative, tenor sax, tenor saxophone

SYOS Michael Wilbur Signature Model Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece Review

July 17, 2020 by Steve 13 Comments

Today, I am reviewing the Michael Wilbur signature model 8* tenor saxophone mouthpiece from SYOS mouthpieces in France.  This is my third SYOS tenor saxophone mouthpiece I will be reviewing today.  I have already reviewed the Chad LB SYOS Signature model mouthpiece for tenor sax and the Tivon Pennicott Signature model mouthpiece for  tenor sax […]

Filed Under: Mouthpiece Reviews, Tenor High Baffle Reviews, Tenor Mouthpiece Reviews Tagged With: Michael Wilbur, Moon Hooch, mouthpiece, review, Signature Model, SYOS, tenor saxophone

SYOS Dayna Stephens Signature Model Soprano Saxophone Mouthpiece Review

July 15, 2020 by Steve 14 Comments

Today, I am reviewing the Dayna Stephens signature model 7 soprano saxophone mouthpiece from SYOS mouthpieces in France.  This is my first soprano sax mouthpiece from SYOS that I am reviewing and I have to admit that I am pretty blown away by this Dayna Stephens soprano mouthpiece.   I literally took this mouthpiece out of […]

Filed Under: Mouthpiece Reviews, Soprano Mouthpiece Reviews Tagged With: Dayna Stephens, mouthpiece, review, Signature Model, soprano saxophone, SYOS

The Best Saxophone Embouchure: Where’s that Bottom Lip?

June 30, 2020 by Steve 114 Comments

I just completed a new saxophone video lesson entitled “The Best Embouchure for Tone, Intonation and Endurance Lesson” in which I teach my approach to the saxophone playing embouchure and playing the saxophone.  While working on the sax lesson, I thought it would be a cool idea to search the internet for good photos of […]

Filed Under: Learning at Neffmusic, Saxophone Stuff Tagged With: best, bottom lip, embouchure, mouthpiece, perfect, playing, sax, saxophone

Theo Wanne Gaia 3 Hard Rubber Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece Review

June 17, 2020 by Steve 29 Comments

I was excited to hear that Theo Wanne was releasing a new alto saxophone mouthpiece called the Gaia 3 a few months ago and asked Theo if I could review it.  I had reviewed the original Gaia alto saxophone mouthpiece back in 2010 and it was one of  the best alto saxophone mouthpieces I have […]

Filed Under: Alto Medium Baffle Reviews, Alto Mouthpiece Reviews, Mouthpiece Reviews Tagged With: Alto Saxophone, Gaia 3, hard rubber, review, sax mouthpiece, Theo Wanne

Whoa!! Michael Brecker Performing on a Hard Rubber Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece!!

June 5, 2020 by Steve 36 Comments

I wanted to share this interesting video I found on Facebook this morning that was shared by Louis Gerrits who runs the website michaelbreckerliverecordings.com which is a website dedicated to the great tenor saxophonist Michael Brecker who passed away in 2007. *Louis was also kind enough to share the Michael Brecker photos in this article […]

Filed Under: Jazz Videos, Saxophone Stuff Tagged With: Guardala, hard rubber, Michael Brecker, otto link, saxophone mouthpiece, slant signature, tenor sax

10mFan Chameleon Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece Review

April 28, 2020 by Steve 28 Comments

Today, I am reviewing a new tenor saxophone mouthpiece from 10mFan sax mouthpieces.  This is the Chameleon 7** hard rubber tenor saxophone mouthpiece.   I have already reviewed a number of great 10mFan tenor saxophone mouthpieces and alto saxophone mouthpieces in the past that you can find here. Whenever Mark Sepinuck, at 10mFan mouthpieces, comes out […]

Filed Under: Mouthpiece Reviews, Tenor High Baffle Reviews Tagged With: 10mFan, Chameleon, hard rubber, review, saxophone mouthpiece, tenor sax

The Bill Evans Omnibook for Piano Review

March 5, 2020 by Steve 7 Comments

*I posted all the recordings I could find on Youtube that go with this transcription book at the bottom of this review………Enjoy! Today, I am reviewing the Bill Evans Omnibook for piano that is published by Hal Leonard.  Hal Leonard has already released many other great Omnibooks that I have already reviewed here including the […]

Filed Under: Book Reviews Tagged With: bill evans, Hal Leonard, Omnibook, piano, review, solo, Transcriptions

From the Inside Out by Dr. Mark Watkins Book Review

January 1, 2020 by Steve 7 Comments

Today, I am reviewing “From the Inside Out” by Dr. Mark Watkins that is published by Outskirts Press. “From the Inside Out” is a revolutionary in-depth 309 page resource book for the development of saxophone sound.  When this book is described as “in-depth”, Dr. Watkins is not joking!  It is 309 pages of descriptions, scientific […]

Filed Under: Book Reviews Tagged With: development, Dr. Mark Watkins, From the Inside Out, MRI, saxophone sound, vocal tract

Saxscape Florida Slim Profile Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece Review

December 31, 2019 by Steve 13 Comments

Today, I am reviewing a Saxscape Florida Slim Profile 7** (.108 tip opening) tenor saxophone mouthpiece that Ken Barry at Saxscape mouthpieces recently sent me to try out and perhaps review.  Earlier this year, I reviewed a Saxscape Live model tenor sax mouthpiece as well as a Saxscape Fat Cat Classic and Downtown MB1 tenor […]

Filed Under: Mouthpiece Reviews, Tenor Medium Baffle Reviews, Tenor Mouthpiece Reviews Tagged With: florida, Ken Barry, mouthpiece, review, sax, Saxscape, slim profile, tenor saxophone

Saxscape Downtown MB1 Slim Profile Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece Review

December 28, 2019 by Steve 18 Comments

Today, I am reviewing a Saxscape Downtown MB1 8* (.115) slim profile tenor saxophone mouthpiece that Ken Barry at Saxscape mouthpieces recently sent me to try out and perhaps review.  Earlier this year, I reviewed a Saxscape Live model tenor sax mouthpiece as well as a Saxscape Fat Cat model tenor saxophone mouthpiece that I […]

Filed Under: Mouthpiece Reviews, Tenor High Baffle Reviews, Tenor Mouthpiece Reviews Tagged With: downtown, Ken Barry, MB1, Michael Brecker, mouthpiece, review, sax, Saxscape, slim profile, tenor saxophone

Macsax Queso Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece Review

December 19, 2019 by Steve 9 Comments

Today, I am reviewing a Macsax Queso 8* tenor saxophone mouthpiece (formerly the FJ IV model).  I was contacted by Jeff Gjertsen at Macsax earlier this year and asked if I would be willing to review the brand new line of Macsax tenor saxophone mouthpieces.  Of course, I was excited to try these beautiful mouthpieces […]

Filed Under: Mouthpiece Reviews, Tenor Medium Baffle Reviews, Tenor Mouthpiece Reviews Tagged With: FJ IV Tenor, MacSax, mouthpiece, Queso, review, sax, tenor saxophone

Buyer Beware! Counterfeit Vintage Saxophone Mouthpieces Galore

December 18, 2019 by Steve 29 Comments

Disclaimer: If you bought a vintage mouthpiece in the last few years off of Ebay then this article might not be good news for you.  If you would rather not know……then do not continue to read…… A friend of mine reached out to me a few weeks ago and was excited to share the good […]

Filed Under: Mouthpiece Reviews, NeffMusic News, Saxophone Stuff Tagged With: counterfeit, ebay, fake, florida, Greece, Hungary, Meyer, NY Bros, rip-off, slant, vintage mouthpieces

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Testimonials

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
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
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
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
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 the wealth of helpful lessons you’ve provided over the years.  I truly feel as though it has improved my playing more than the 4 years I spent at Berklee… and that’s not a slight on the school as I loved my experience there.
John
John
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 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
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
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
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!
Absolutely the best learning experience in my 40 years of playing.These books are awesome!!
Alfred LaBella
I just started looking at my lessons and I have to say, dude you are awesome.  I ABSOLUTELY will learn from you!  I started the tenor about 1 ½ yrs ago and have since picked up an alto, and more recently a soprano.  I spend most of the time on the tenor, followed by soprano, and have only gotten to the alto a few times.  I think I’ll be sticking with tenor.  I’m having a great time and hope one day to play well enough to get regular gigs.  I’ve been playing keys for about 35 years (… Read more
Wil
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
Hey Steve! I hope you and your family are well.  I’m just writing to say thank you so much for all the resources you have made available to the saxophone community. I have been using your material for many years and I always come back to it… in fact I just took a break from practicing to write this…( reviewing “CreatingModern II-V-I Lines with simple pentatonics”.) I am, and continue to be, one of your raving fans! Blessings to you and your family this holiday season! Wishing… Read more
Gerry Aylward

After reading your story I will never feel quite right about complaining about any of my MINOR health issues!!    God bless Steve and I really hope that your health doesn’t stop you from fulfilling your calling.    These books have been such a help to open up my jazz vocabulary…   Thanks so much for sharing your story and for providing these great teaching tools…   John Leclerc   Saxophonist / composer/ EWI player and professional working musician of 35 years….

John Leclerc
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
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
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

Hello Steve, I’m getting so much out of your lessons and books, amazing how much one may think one knows, there is always a new frontier or new way to view something you think you had somewhat down. You have taken it all to a new level and am so grateful. Your lessons are so down to earth and understandable and clear!  Thanks so much Steve! Cheers, Eddie

Eddie Parente
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
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 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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