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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

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Lesson Sample

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

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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!

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I would like to say that in the last year my sax playing has progressed loads from your lessons. I have had a sax for about 20 years and dabbled with lessons from a few teachers and have learnt very little from them. As you have said in your lessons many teachers tell you to use the blues scale and leave it there, not even showing you the resolution points!!. I am now believing I can in time become a good improviser.
Thanks again,
Shane
Shane
I can see from your instructional videos that you are a fantastic teacher – one that can truly relate to all ages – humble yet very positive in approach – never coming across as superior and yet so totally capable of demonstrating the principles and techniques that you seek to impart to the students. I have gained so much confidence in my playing from “pouring over” time and again these invaluable lessons. Invaluable not only in musical content, but also in human interaction content. I am absolu… Read more
Ron
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
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