• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Website of Steve Neff

  • BLOG
  • SHOP
  • MY ACCOUNT
  • RAVES
  • CONTACT

Search Neffmusic

You are here: Home / Jazz Lessons / Modern Improv / Playing Outside-Shifting Pentatonics Lesson
Playing Outside-Shifting Pentatonics Lesson

Playing Outside-Shifting Pentatonics Lesson

Rated 4.50 out of 5 based on 2 customer ratings
(2 customer reviews)

$9.99

SKU: 098 Category: Modern Improv Tags: jazz improv, pentatonics, playing outside the changes, video lesson
  • Description
  • Reviews (2)
  • Lesson Sample

Description

In this lesson I introduce a method I use with students to shift in and out of a tonality by shifting to a different pentatonic in the 4th measure of a phrase. I talk about 2 pentatonics I use often to take a line “outside” a minor tonality as well as two pentatonics I use for “inside” playing to give you more options. I talk in depth about how to practice the material as well as demonstrating everything to a play along on my tenor sax. To get the most out of this lesson I suggest you study the other pentatonic lessons first as I will be dealing with the scales I taught in those lessons.  (Video)

 

2 reviews for Playing Outside-Shifting Pentatonics Lesson

  1. Avatar
    Rated 5 out of 5

    Nigel – February 6, 2011

    This lesson is worth its weight in gold! I had already been using shifted pentatonics for a few years. However, 20 minutes of this lesson has really blown the lid off the whole idea for me and moved me so much further forward than my previous years of experimenting. Steve makes the color, tension and excitement of playing outside immediately accessible, by taking relatively simple ideas and demonstrating how to implement them with rhythm, style and conviction in a way that rubs straight off on to the listener. What I particularly like is that the lesson has changed both the way I think, and how I hear a number of notes within a given key. The result of the lesson is not that I am trying to remember a particular pentatonic scale, but that my mental map of how sounds fit together has radically changed, so when I’m improvising now I’m hearing new notes and placing them effectively in to solo lines, whereas before, I would have been avoiding them or simply deaf to their possibilities. Steve is doing much more than teaching a few tricks to make you sound good, he takes time to explain the ideas and encourages you to use them to find your own voice.

  2. Avatar
    Rated 4 out of 5

    Blease (verified owner) – August 14, 2015

    The lesson is good especially for this money – fits the LESSON DESCRIPTION (but nothing more), I add this comment because I’ve bought this lesson because of Nigel’s Review which is much much over-exaggerated.. The content of this lesson don’t dig up nothing new what you can find for free on the topic of modern impro with outside playing on youtube… Anyway Neff keep it up 🙂 I give You 4/5 stars

Add a review Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Lesson Sample

https://public.neffmusic.com/Playing%20Outside-Shifting%20Pentatonics%20clip.mp4

Related products

  • Playing Outside-3 Tonic Chromaticism Lesson

    Playing Outside-3 Tonic Chromaticism Lesson

    $9.99
    Add to cart
  • Altered Dominant Substitutions-Lesson 1

    Altered Dominant Substitutions-Lesson 1

    Rated 5.00 out of 5
    $9.99
    Add to cart
  • Dominant Alteration Scale Choices

    Dominant Alteration Scale Choices

    $9.99
    Add to cart
  • II-V-I Altered Scale Mastery-Lesson 1

    II-V-I Altered Scale Mastery-Lesson 1

    $9.99
    Add to cart

Primary Sidebar

Cart

Search Products

COMPLETE LESSON INDEX

PRINTED BOOKS


NEFFMUSIC PRINTED BOOKS

Testimonials

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 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
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, 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
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

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
I have NEVER seen material like yours.  Amazing!!
Jerry
For anyone living in remote areas away from live jazz sax teachers, Neff is the way to go. In fact this is a great resource for anyone seriously interested in mastering the sax. I’ve never been disappointed in a lesson.
Oliver
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
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

Featured Lessons

  • Mastering the Dominant Pentatonic Sound over a Blues (Digital PDF Book) Mastering the Dominant Pentatonic Sound over a Blues (Digital PDF Book)
    Rated 5.00 out of 5
    $19.99 Original price was: $19.99.$14.99Current price is: $14.99.
  • The Secret to Modern Outside Jazz Lines Lesson-Minor The Secret to Modern Outside Jazz Lines Lesson-Minor $9.99
  • Creating Modern II-V-I Lines with Simple Pentatonics Lesson Creating Modern II-V-I Lines with Simple Pentatonics Lesson
    Rated 5.00 out of 5
    $9.99
  • The Best Embouchure for Tone, Intonation and Endurance Lesson The Best Embouchure for Tone, Intonation and Endurance Lesson
    Rated 4.91 out of 5
    $9.99
  • Devastating Dominant Lines for Jazz and Funk Soloing (Digital PDF Book) Devastating Dominant Lines for Jazz and Funk Soloing (Digital PDF Book)
    Rated 5.00 out of 5
    $14.99
  • Mastering the Minor ii-7b5 V7b9 Bebop Scale (Digital PDF Book) Mastering the Minor ii-7b5 V7b9 Bebop Scale (Digital PDF Book)
    Rated 5.00 out of 5
    $14.99
  • Lesson Series Deals-Save Big on Select Lessons

Product Categories

Recent Reviews

  • Playing Outside-4 Tonic Dominant b9 Pentatonics-Lesson 1 Playing Outside-4 Tonic Dominant b9 Pentatonics-Lesson 1
    Rated 5 out of 5
    by Stuart
  • Mastering Altered Pentatonics (Digital PDF Book) Mastering Altered Pentatonics (Digital PDF Book)
    Rated 5 out of 5
    by Jim Ramsey
  • Practicing Double-Time Licks Lesson Practicing Double-Time Licks Lesson
    Rated 5 out of 5
    by Az Samad
  • Bebop Scale-Altered Scale II-V-I Practice Lesson Bebop Scale-Altered Scale II-V-I Practice Lesson by Noah

Top Rated Products

  • Devastating Minor Lines for Jazz and Funk Soloing (Digital PDF Book) Devastating Minor Lines for Jazz and Funk Soloing (Digital PDF Book)
    Rated 5.00 out of 5
    $14.99
  • Mastering the Dominant Bebop Scale (Digital PDF Book) Mastering the Dominant Bebop Scale (Digital PDF Book)
    Rated 5.00 out of 5
    $14.99
  • Approach Note Velocity Volume 1-Major (Digital PDF Book) Approach Note Velocity Volume 1-Major (Digital PDF Book)
    Rated 5.00 out of 5
    $14.99

Footer

Recent Comments

  • John Dugan on Otto Link Super Tone Master Florida V Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece Review
  • Steve on Les Becs d’Autan Florida Slant Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece Review
  • João Castanho on Les Becs d’Autan Florida Slant Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece Review
  • Olaf on The New JJ Babbitt and Theo Wanne Meyer 6M Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece Review
  • Olaf on The New JJ Babbitt and Theo Wanne Meyer 6M Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece Review

Top rated products

  • Devastating Minor Lines for Jazz and Funk Soloing (Digital PDF Book) Devastating Minor Lines for Jazz and Funk Soloing (Digital PDF Book)
    Rated 5.00 out of 5
    $14.99
  • Mastering the Dominant Bebop Scale (Digital PDF Book) Mastering the Dominant Bebop Scale (Digital PDF Book)
    Rated 5.00 out of 5
    $14.99
  • Approach Note Velocity Volume 1-Major (Digital PDF Book) Approach Note Velocity Volume 1-Major (Digital PDF Book)
    Rated 5.00 out of 5
    $14.99
  • Mastering the Major Bebop Scale & Sound (Digital PDF Book) Mastering the Major Bebop Scale & Sound (Digital PDF Book)
    Rated 5.00 out of 5
    $14.99
  • Approach Note Velocity Volume 2-Minor (Digital PDF Book) Approach Note Velocity Volume 2-Minor (Digital PDF Book)
    Rated 5.00 out of 5
    $14.99

Product tags

alto sax alto saxophone approach notes audio lesson bebop scale beginner beginner saxophone blues blues licks blues patterns blues scale blues scales diminished scale dominant chords ear training fundamentals II-V-I improvisation jazz improvisation jazz lines jazz patterns jazz sax jazz saxophone jazz standard jazz standards licks Mastering the Blues Scale Michael Brecker modern improv modern improvisation online lesson patterns playing outside practice habits reading music sax basics sax lessons saxophone scales smooth jazz steve neff tenor sax tenor saxophone video lesson video lessons
  • Instagram
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • SUPPORT

Neffmusic © 2005–2026