• 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 / Sax Lessons / The Style of Michael Brecker-Lesson 9-Alternate Fingering Licks
“Tune of the Week-Blue Bossa Lesson” has been added to your cart. View cart
The Style of Michael Brecker-Lesson 9-Alternate Fingering Licks

The Style of Michael Brecker-Lesson 9-Alternate Fingering Licks

$11.99

Categories: Sax Lessons, Sax Tone Tags: altered fingerings, false fingerings, lesson, Michael Brecker, overtones, saxophone, voicing
  • Description
  • Reviews (0)
  • Lesson Sample

Description

Michael Brecker blew my mind back in the mid eighties when I first heard a recording of him in my college dorm room.  The sounds I heard that day were like nothing  I had heard out of a saxophone up until that day.  Brecker’s use of altissimo, overtones, altered fingerings as well as his aggressively burning technique just floored me that day. I could not figure out how anyone could play this way on the saxophone!

Later that year, I went to a Steps Ahead concert in Buffalo NY in the hopes that if I saw Michael Brecker in person, that I could decipher what he was actually doing.  I remember being so excited to finally see him live. I watched him play the whole concert but I was sadly disappointed that I could not figure out what he was doing.  His fingers were just moving too fast!

Over the years I have figured out many of his classic altered finger licks but about a month ago, I decided to take a closer look at what he was doing with these licks.  I started finding videos on Youtube of the licks I thought sounded amazing and slowing them down to 1/4 the speed.  I found that I could more clearly see his fingers and hear the notes he was playing at this speed.

In this compilation of lessons, I share 11 killer Michael Brecker alternate fingering licks with you as well as a video lessons on each lick. I show you how to finger the alternate fingerings and what I think Brecker is doing. I demonstrate all 11 licks on the tenor saxophone and teach you what I need to do to be able to play these lines.  These licks are usually only for subscribers of the site but I thought I would give you all a chance to check them out.   I will be adding more of these types of licks as well as Killer Altissimo licks in the future.   I am excited to be learning these licks as well and have been learning something new from Michael everyday!   You can see some examples of these types of licks on this page.

I demonstrate all the concepts in this lesson on the tenor saxophone. (11 Video Lesson, 11 Looped Videos of Brecker playing the lick, 5 Videos of the PDFs of the licks)

Examples of some of the Licks covered in the lessons:

https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.neffmusic.com/2019/BreckerAltFingerLick11.mp4

Lick 11

https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.neffmusic.com/2019/BreckerAltFingerLick10.mp4

Lick 10

https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.neffmusic.com/2019/BreckerAltFingerLick8.mp4

Lick 8

https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.neffmusic.com/2019/BreckerAltFingerLick7.mp4

Lick 7

https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.neffmusic.com/2019/Brecker_Classic_Alt_Lick5.mp4

Lick 5

 

Reviews

There are no reviews yet.

Be the first to review “The Style of Michael Brecker-Lesson 9-Alternate Fingering Licks” Cancel reply

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

Lesson Sample

https://public.neffmusic.com/BreckerAltFingerLick11LessonClip.mp4

Related products

  • Overtone Scale Exercise Lesson

    Overtone Scale Exercise Lesson

    Rated 5.00 out of 5
    $9.99
    Add to cart
  • Developing Fast Fingers Lesson

    Developing Fast Fingers Lesson

    $9.99
    Add to cart
  • How to Practice Altissimo Technique Lesson

    How to Practice Altissimo Technique Lesson

    $9.99
    Add to cart
  • Allard Overtone Exercise Lesson 2

    Allard Overtone Exercise Lesson 2

    $9.99
    Add to cart

Primary Sidebar

Cart

Search Products

COMPLETE LESSON INDEX

PRINTED BOOKS


NEFFMUSIC PRINTED BOOKS

Testimonials

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
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
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
Absolutely the best learning experience in my 40 years of playing.These books are awesome!!
Alfred LaBella
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
I have NEVER seen material like yours.  Amazing!!
Jerry
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
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 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

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
  • The Secret to Altissimo (no one has ever told you about before) Lesson The Secret to Altissimo (no one has ever told you about before) Lesson
    Rated 4.75 out of 5
    $9.99
  • Lesson Series Deals-Save Big on Select Lessons

Product Categories

Recent Reviews

  • 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
  • Mastering the Dominant Pentatonic Sound over a Blues (Digital PDF Book) Mastering the Dominant Pentatonic Sound over a Blues (Digital PDF Book) by Andy
  • Mastering the Dominant Pentatonic Sound over a Blues (Digital PDF Book) Mastering the Dominant Pentatonic Sound over a Blues (Digital PDF Book)
    Rated 5 out of 5
    by Russ

Top Rated Products

  • 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
  • The Style of Dexter Gordon-Lady Bird Lesson 1 The Style of Dexter Gordon-Lady Bird Lesson 1
    Rated 5.00 out of 5
    $9.99
  • Tune of the Week-Days of Wine and Roses Lesson Tune of the Week-Days of Wine and Roses Lesson
    Rated 5.00 out of 5
    $9.99

Footer

Recent Comments

  • Jack Tyler on The Boston Sax Shop Red Label Custom Tenor Saxophone Reeds Review
  • Manas on Rico Metalite M7 and M9 Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece Review
  • Steve on Les Becs d’Autan MB1 Pilgrimage Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece Review
  • Johnny Hedlund on Les Becs d’Autan MB1 Pilgrimage Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece Review
  • Bart on Theo Wanne Brahma Gold Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece Review

Top rated products

  • 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
  • Tune of the Week-Softly as a Morning Sunrise Lesson Tune of the Week-Softly as a Morning Sunrise Lesson
    Rated 5.00 out of 5
    $9.99
  • The Style of Dexter Gordon-Lady Bird Lesson 1 The Style of Dexter Gordon-Lady Bird Lesson 1
    Rated 5.00 out of 5
    $9.99
  • Tune of the Week-Days of Wine and Roses Lesson Tune of the Week-Days of Wine and Roses Lesson
    Rated 5.00 out of 5
    $9.99
  • Tune of the Week-Invitation Tune of the Week-Invitation
    Rated 5.00 out of 5
    $9.99

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 © 2005–2025