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Ken Okutsu

Ken Okutsu Traditional Soprano Saxophone Mouthpiece Review

March 3, 2022 by Steve 7 Comments

Today, I am reviewing a great soprano saxophone mouthpiece made by Ken Okutsu at Okutsu mouthpieces in Japan.    This is a hard rubber Okutsu Traditional model soprano saxophone mouthpiece with an 8 tip opening. Ken Okutsu Traditional Soprano Saxophone Mouthpiece Here is some information from the Okutsu website about the Okutsu Traditional soprano saxophone […]

Filed Under: Mouthpiece Reviews, Soprano Mouthpiece Reviews Tagged With: hard rubber, Ken Okutsu, mouthpiece, review, sax mouthpiece, soprano saxophone, Traditional

Ken Okutsu Vincent Herring Custom Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece

March 30, 2017 by Steve 19 Comments

Today, I am reviewing another great alto saxophone mouthpiece by Ken Okutsu at Okutsu mouthpieces in Japan.    This is a new custom model called the “Vincent Herring Custom”.  Vincent Herring is a great alto sax player, if you haven’t heard him, do a search on iTunes and check out some of his recordings. I put […]

Filed Under: Alto Medium Baffle Reviews, Alto Mouthpiece Reviews, Mouthpiece Reviews Tagged With: alto sax, hard rubber, Ken Okutsu, saxophone mouthpiece, Vincent Herring

Ken Okutsu High Baffle Mouthpiece Alto Saxophone Review

August 11, 2015 by Steve 1 Comment

Today, I am reviewing my fourth hard rubber alto saxophone mouthpiece from Ken Okutsu in Japan. It is the High Baffle model and has a 7 tip opening which is .079.   I already reviewed four Okutsu tenor mouthpieces which were all excellent so I have been very curious to review these alto mouthpieces as well. Four New Ken Okutsu Alto Saxophone […]

Filed Under: Alto High Baffle Reviews Tagged With: Alto Saxophone, high baffle, Ken Okutsu, review, sax mouthpiece

Ken Okutsu Traditional II Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece Review

August 1, 2015 by Steve 1 Comment

Today, I am reviewing my third hard rubber alto saxophone mouthpiece from Ken Okutsu in Japan. It is the Traditional II model and has a 6 tip opening which is .075.   I already reviewed four Okutsu tenor mouthpieces which were all excellent so I have been very curious to review these alto mouthpieces also. Four New Ken Okutsu Alto Saxophone […]

Filed Under: Alto Medium Baffle Reviews Tagged With: Alto Saxophone, ebonite, Ken Okutsu, review, sax mouthpiece

Ken Okutsu Focus Core Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece Review

July 31, 2015 by Steve 3 Comments

Today, I am reviewing my second hard rubber alto saxophone mouthpiece from Ken Okutsu in Japan. It is the Focus Core model and has a 6 tip opening which is .075. (In the sound clip below I mistakenly say it is a Focus Tone but that was a mistake on my part…….sorry Ted Klum…….)   I already reviewed […]

Filed Under: Alto High Baffle Reviews Tagged With: Alto Saxophone, Focus Core, Ken Okutsu, review, sax mouthpiece

Ken Okutsu Traditional Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece Review

July 31, 2015 by Steve 3 Comments

Today, I am reviewing my first hard rubber alto saxophone mouthpiece from Ken Okutsu in Japan. It is the Traditional model and has a 6 tip opening which is .075.   I already reviewed four Okutsu tenor mouthpieces which were all excellent so I have been very curious to review these alto mouthpieces also. Four New Ken Okutsu Traditional Alto Sax […]

Filed Under: Alto Medium Baffle Reviews Tagged With: Alto Saxophone, hard rubber, Ken Okutsu, review, sax mouthpiece

Ken Okutsu Traditional Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece Review

April 17, 2015 by Steve 17 Comments

Today, I am reviewing my third hard rubber tenor saxophone mouthpiece from Ken Okutsu in Japan. It is the Traditional model and has a 7 tip opening which is .104. ( I call it a 7* tip in the recordings below because .104 is close to the traditional 7* size).   I already reviewed my first two Okutsu mouthpiece […]

Filed Under: Mouthpiece Reviews, Tenor Medium Baffle Reviews, Tenor Mouthpiece Reviews Tagged With: hard rubber, Ken Okutsu, review, sax, saxophone, tenor mouthpiece, Traditional model

Ken Okutsu Traditional II Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece Review

April 17, 2015 by Steve 19 Comments

Today, I am reviewing my second hard rubber tenor saxophone mouthpiece from Ken Okutsu in Japan. It is the Traditional II model and has a 7 tip opening which is .104. ( I call it a 7* tip in the recordings below because .104 is close to the traditional 7* size).  I hadn’t heard of Ken Okutsu before but […]

Filed Under: Mouthpiece Reviews, Tenor Medium Baffle Reviews, Tenor Mouthpiece Reviews Tagged With: hard rubber, Ken Okutsu, saxophone mouthpiece, tenor sax

Ken Okutsu High Baffle Tenor Mouthpiece Review

December 20, 2014 by Steve 7 Comments

Today, I am reviewing my first hard rubber tenor saxophone mouthpiece from Ken Okutsu in Japan. It is the high baffle model and has an 8 tip opening which is .110.  I hadn’t heard of Ken Okutsu before but he emailed me asking if I would be willing to try his mouthpieces.   I of course […]

Filed Under: Tenor High Baffle Reviews, Tenor Mouthpiece Reviews Tagged With: hard rubber, high baffle, Ken Okutsu, mouthpiece review, sax mouthpiece, tenor saxophone

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Wolfgang from Berlin

Wolfgang from Berlin
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
I’ve been having ‘ online’  lessons with Steve for a few months now. Being a teacher myself I had had some reservations with the idea at first and the practicalities of it .  Let me just say that my playing has taken a huge leaps forward while studying with Steve and continues to do so.Steve studied with some renowned player/teachers such as Bergonzi and Garzone– this in itself is invaluable but Steve teaches from his own books, which cover a a vast amount of  jazz language. Steve h… Read more
David

Mr. Neff,  I want to thank you for sharing your God-given talents through your on-line lessons.  My husband, Michael, is blind, but he is a great sax player and he has been enjoying your lessons for quite some time now.  It’s not unusual for me to hear “Hey, babe, listen to THIS!” – and he will cut loose on his sax, just thrilled at what he learned during his session with you.  His excitement warms my heart!  You have no idea how much you have poured into my husband.  You have opened musical … Read more

Carole B
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

Your material is great! I got your New Altissimo Lesson 6 months ago and I have learned more from that than in all my 44 years of playing! I appreciate your down to earth teaching method and I really appreciate the heart that you teach with. I have been a subscriber to your lessons for the past 6 months and I have learned a great deal. Over that period of time I have had some questions and you have never failed to respond. Thanks! I have already recommended your lessons to a number of players in… Read more

Michael Byington
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
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’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
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
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
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

Love your lessons!  I have been using your lesson packages for many months now, and am learning a lot.  It is so perfect for me with a very busy adult schedule and difficulty in taking jazz/improv music lessons from reputable instructors who live and hour or more away from me.

Lenore
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

Never really had lessons before just kinda worked things out on my own. Was in a rut but your lessons are really helpful in opening melodic possibilities. Ur an awesome resource to the saxophone community. Thanks for sharing. 

Anthony
I have NEVER seen material like yours.  Amazing!!
Jerry
Just wanted to send you a quick note to say thank you for being you, your playing, your website and your desire to help others. I’m a professional musician in the US Army and I’ve visited your website almost every day since discovering it a couple of months ago. Your lessons are profound and easy to use. I’ve purchased most of your PDF books and now am starting to delve more into the video and audio lessons.  Thank you for being a great resource!
James
I want to let you know that your instructional material is transforming my playing.  It is an immense pleasure to learn and play now, and I can’t tell you how grateful I am. The instructional material I got from you is by far the best of any I own (and I have over 100 books, DVDs, and what not). I literally can’t thank you enough! Deric
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Kenyon Carter

Thank You Steve. I think that I will be busy for years. Thank You for your great contribution to jazz music. Your books, more than teaching “how to play jazz”, actually teach “how to speak jazz”. I wish I found your methods years ago.  

Jean-Eric

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.
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

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