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You are here: Home / Beginner Improvisation Series / Beginner Improvisation-Alto Sax / Beginner Jazz Improvisation Lesson 1A-Alto Sax

Beginner Jazz Improvisation Lesson 1A-Alto Sax

Rated 5.00 out of 5 based on 7 customer ratings
(7 customer reviews)

$9.99

SKU: 252 Category: Beginner Improvisation-Alto Sax Tags: alto saxophone, beginner, jazz improvisation, sax lessons, video lessons
  • Description
  • Reviews (7)
  • Lesson Sample

Description

Learning to be a great jazz improviser is a life long journey.  If you love jazz and are drawn to the vision of standing in front of a crowd as you improvise a great jazz solo,  then you are more than likely ready to take your first steps to get there.   The question I hear about most from potential students is “Where do I start?”.  This can be overwhelming for a beginning jazz student.   There are so many books and methods out there that a student has no idea where to start.  In this  beginner jazz improvisation series for the alto saxophone I teach you a balanced approach to learning to improvise.

I will take you from the very beginning and teach you how to improvise just as if you were a new student coming in to my studio in person.   In this lesson I teach you the C major scale, the D dorian scale, the G mixolydian scale and the chords that these work over.  I show you how to learn them and the chords as well as how to practice them with some Aebersold play alongs. I also show you the A blues scale and talk about how to use it against C major and A minor.  Rather than just stopping there, I go a step further by teaching you how to hear the resolution points within each scale and chord and what to listen for when improvising.   Once you can hear these tensions and resolutions it will help and empower you to create your own unique and personal lines and solos.  My goal with these series of lessons is too teach you all the basic chords and scales in every key and get you improvising in a fluent way over some common jazz standards. (Audio,Video & PDF) (32 Minute Video Lesson)

7 reviews for Beginner Jazz Improvisation Lesson 1A-Alto Sax

  1. Avatar
    Rated 5 out of 5

    Stephen – December 1, 2010

    Great start to this series of lessons and definitely better than shooting stars or passing comets I am truly grateful that this is happening in my lifetime. Great work Steve!

  2. Avatar
    Rated 5 out of 5

    Adrian – January 3, 2011

    “Steve, your Basic Improv lessons are THE BOMB!!! I have gone through so many teachers and none of them explains the concept and methodology quite as simply and easy to understand as yours! They just ask you to memorize scales and play what comes to mind. All jazz instructors should take a look at what you have.

    These lessons should be the very first lessons you put up. Makes everything all so clear now.

    Please consider writing a Neff Method to Basic Jazz Improv. I believe it will become a must have book for many Jazz Improv 101 college programs.

  3. Avatar
    Rated 5 out of 5

    Pete Dimaline – January 28, 2011

    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 and focus on and the material is very interesting. I think this is the best teaching series available and he continues to add more lessons to the series. I can’t thank him enough for it. May he go on for ever! Pete

  4. Avatar
    Rated 5 out of 5

    Sam Munn – December 31, 2012

    I just started on my first lesson ‘Beginning I improvisation 1A’. The way this lesson has started out is filling me with a lot of hope because it really does start from the ‘beginning’. I have bought many books, tapes and downloads labeled as ‘Beginners’ and after the first sentence they start rattling off like Charlie Parker. They must have forgotten what it’s like to be a beginner – so frigging frustrating. Well i am going back to your video, let you know how i get on.
    Cheers, Sam

  5. Avatar
    Rated 5 out of 5

    Bill – September 6, 2013

    This is an awesome series. I am now more that half way through the series and I am quite pleased with my progress. Some of the lessons stand out more than others but the bottom line is over time you will gain an in depth knowledge of improvisation. One of my favorite things to do on my spare time is to improvise along with my “Band-In-A-Box”. I really feel like I’m progressing in my knowledge and skills. My wife told me she actually likes listening to me. What a shock that was to hear. By the way don’t let the title “Beginner Improvisation Series” fool you. This is not just for beginners.

  6. Avatar
    Rated 5 out of 5

    Vinny (verified owner) – April 30, 2014

    Hello, I just listened to both 1A and 1B on the beginning Jazz Improvisation for the Alto and took notes. Wow. There is a lot of work here. This is great stuff Sir. I know a good amount of notes but have not in my short time playing learned the scales so I know I have a lot of catching up to do. It will take me a while to get to the place to play with the recordings on the volumes.

    Next month I have 4 more lessons to pick and I am just getting started on these 4. No one’s fault but my own.

    I am going to memorize them. Love the blues

    Again, great lessons.

    Vinny

  7. Avatar
    Rated 5 out of 5

    TIM GOUGH (verified owner) – June 24, 2019

    Really impressed with the course. After years learning and playing classical repertoire and knowing nothing at all about jazz and blues it’s starting out great, and it suits my way of learning. Can’t wait to learn and practice even more. Highly recommended.

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Lesson Sample

https://public.neffmusic.com/Beginner%20Jazz%20Improvisation%20Lesson%201A-Alto%20Sax%20clip.mp4

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Testimonials

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

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
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
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

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 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

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 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

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
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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