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Vermont Wooden Toy Factory Saxophone Mouthpiece Stand Review

July 1, 2022 by Steve 8 Comments

A bunch of you have asked me about these beautiful wooden mouthpiece stands I have been using lately on social media.  They are made by a friend of mine up here in Vermont whose name is Pat Slater.  I met Pat at church one Sunday and as we were making small talk, I asked him […]

Filed Under: Saxophone Stuff Tagged With: alto mouthpiece, mouthpiece stand, Pat Slater, review, sax, saxophone, soprano mouthpiece, tenor mouthpiece, Vermont Wooden Toy Factory, vtwoodtoy, wooden

Macsax Jalapeño ATX Gold Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece Review

October 14, 2021 by Steve 3 Comments

Today, I am reviewing a beautifully crafted Macsax Jalapeño 8* tenor saxophone mouthpiece.  I was contacted by Jeff Gjertsen at Macsax earlier this year and asked if I would be willing to review the brand new Macsax Jalapeño tenor saxophone mouthpiece.  Of course, I was super excited to try this beautiful tenor sax mouthpiece as […]

Filed Under: Mouthpiece Reviews, Tenor High Baffle Reviews, Tenor Mouthpiece Reviews Tagged With: gold, Jalapeno, MacSax, mouthpiece, review, sax, tenor saxophone

How to Spot a Fake Vintage Saxophone Mouthpiece

April 6, 2021 by Steve 1 Comment

Many of you might remember that I wrote an in-depth article about a year and a half ago on counterfeit vintage saxophone mouthpieces entitled “Buyer Beware! Counterfeit Vintage Saxophone Mouthpieces Galore“. In that article, I included as much information and photo evidence of counterfeit vintage sax mouthpieces that were (and still are) flooding the saxophone […]

Filed Under: Mouthpiece Reviews, NeffMusic News, Saxophone Stuff Tagged With: counterfeit, fake, mouthpiece, rip-off, sax, saxophone, scam, Stephan Kammerer, Vintage

Sakshama Branford Marsalis Model Delrin Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece Review

December 3, 2020 by Steve 28 Comments

Today, I am reviewing a Sakshama Branford Marsalis model Delrin tenor saxophone mouthpiece that I bought used online because I was curious about this tenor sax mouthpiece.  I have read that Branford Marsalis played a Guardala tenor sax mouthpiece in the 80’s and 90’s (not sure when he switched to something else) and I have […]

Filed Under: Mouthpiece Reviews, Tenor High Baffle Reviews, Tenor Mouthpiece Reviews Tagged With: Branford Marsalis, delrin, mouthpiece, review, Sakshama, sax, tenor saxophone

Saxscape Arizona Slim Profile Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece Review

November 19, 2020 by Steve 16 Comments

Today, I am reviewing a Saxscape Arizona slim profile 7* (.104 tip opening) tenor saxophone mouthpiece that Ken Barry at Saxscape mouthpieces recently sent me to try out and perhaps review. Within the last year, I reviewed a Saxscape Live model tenor sax mouthpiece as well as a Saxscape Fat Cat Classic and Downtown MB1 […]

Filed Under: Mouthpiece Reviews, Tenor Medium Baffle Reviews, Tenor Mouthpiece Reviews Tagged With: Arizona, Ken Barry, mouthpiece, review, sax, Saxscape, slim profile, tenor saxophone

The Best Saxophone Embouchure: Where’s that Bottom Lip?

June 30, 2020 by Steve 114 Comments

I just completed a new saxophone video lesson entitled “The Best Embouchure for Tone, Intonation and Endurance Lesson” in which I teach my approach to the saxophone playing embouchure and playing the saxophone.  While working on the sax lesson, I thought it would be a cool idea to search the internet for good photos of […]

Filed Under: Learning at Neffmusic, Saxophone Stuff Tagged With: best, bottom lip, embouchure, mouthpiece, perfect, playing, sax, saxophone

Saxscape Florida Slim Profile Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece Review

December 31, 2019 by Steve 13 Comments

Today, I am reviewing a Saxscape Florida Slim Profile 7** (.108 tip opening) tenor saxophone mouthpiece that Ken Barry at Saxscape mouthpieces recently sent me to try out and perhaps review.  Earlier this year, I reviewed a Saxscape Live model tenor sax mouthpiece as well as a Saxscape Fat Cat Classic and Downtown MB1 tenor […]

Filed Under: Mouthpiece Reviews, Tenor Medium Baffle Reviews, Tenor Mouthpiece Reviews Tagged With: florida, Ken Barry, mouthpiece, review, sax, Saxscape, slim profile, tenor saxophone

Saxscape Downtown MB1 Slim Profile Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece Review

December 28, 2019 by Steve 18 Comments

Today, I am reviewing a Saxscape Downtown MB1 8* (.115) slim profile tenor saxophone mouthpiece that Ken Barry at Saxscape mouthpieces recently sent me to try out and perhaps review.  Earlier this year, I reviewed a Saxscape Live model tenor sax mouthpiece as well as a Saxscape Fat Cat model tenor saxophone mouthpiece that I […]

Filed Under: Mouthpiece Reviews, Tenor High Baffle Reviews, Tenor Mouthpiece Reviews Tagged With: downtown, Ken Barry, MB1, Michael Brecker, mouthpiece, review, sax, Saxscape, slim profile, tenor saxophone

Macsax Queso Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece Review

December 19, 2019 by Steve 9 Comments

Today, I am reviewing a Macsax Queso 8* tenor saxophone mouthpiece (formerly the FJ IV model).  I was contacted by Jeff Gjertsen at Macsax earlier this year and asked if I would be willing to review the brand new line of Macsax tenor saxophone mouthpieces.  Of course, I was excited to try these beautiful mouthpieces […]

Filed Under: Mouthpiece Reviews, Tenor Medium Baffle Reviews, Tenor Mouthpiece Reviews Tagged With: FJ IV Tenor, MacSax, mouthpiece, Queso, review, sax, tenor saxophone

Macsax Soco Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece Review

December 17, 2019 by Steve 4 Comments

Today, I am reviewing a Macsax Soco 8 tenor saxophone mouthpiece (formerly the FJ III model, I reviewed an original FJ III 8 years ago!).  I was contacted by Jeff Gjertsen at Macsax earlier this year and asked if I would be willing to review the brand new line of Macsax tenor saxophone mouthpieces.  Of […]

Filed Under: Mouthpiece Reviews, Tenor Medium Baffle Reviews, Tenor Mouthpiece Reviews Tagged With: FJIII, MacSax, mouthpiece, review, sax, Soco, tenor saxophone

Saxscape Fat Cat Classic Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece Review

December 11, 2019 by Steve 13 Comments

Today, I am reviewing a Saxscape Fat Cat Classic 7* tenor saxophone mouthpiece that Ken Barry at Saxscape mouthpieces recently sent me to try out and perhaps review.  Earlier this year, I reviewed a Saxscape Live model tenor sax mouthpiece that I thought was superb and when Ken asked if I would like to review […]

Filed Under: Mouthpiece Reviews, Tenor Low Baffle Reviews, Tenor Mouthpiece Reviews Tagged With: Fat Cat Classic, Ken Barry, mouthpiece, review, sax, Saxscape, slim profile, tenor saxophone

Morgan Excalibur Indiana Model Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece Review

November 19, 2019 by Steve 11 Comments

Today, I am reviewing a Morgan Excalibur Indiana model tenor saxophone mouthpiece made by Erik Greiffenhagen, at Morgan mouthpieces.  Morgan mouthpieces used to be owned by Ralph Morgan who sadly passed away in 2007.  Ralph worked designing instruments and mouthpieces for Selmer for many decades and in the early 80’s started his own mouthpiece company […]

Filed Under: Mouthpiece Reviews, Tenor Medium Baffle Reviews, Tenor Mouthpiece Reviews Tagged With: excalibur, hard rubber, Indiana, morgan, review, sax, saxophone, tenor mouthpiece

Saxscape Live Slim Profile Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece Review

January 10, 2019 by Steve 31 Comments

Ken Barry, at Saxscape mouthpieces has been making mouthpiece since before I started  my website at neffmusic.com.  About 4 years ago, I saw a clip of one of my favorite tenor sax players (Danny Walsh) on Youtube playing a prototype Saxscape “Live” tenor sax mouthpiece and I thought he sounded amazing on it.  Here is […]

Filed Under: Mouthpiece Reviews, Tenor Medium Baffle Reviews, Tenor Mouthpiece Reviews Tagged With: Ken Barry, Live, mouthpiece, review, sax, Saxscape, slim profile, tenor saxophone

Just Joe’s Sax Gel Strap Review

August 11, 2016 by Steve 11 Comments

I want to start this review out with a big apology to Joe Rohrbacher of Just Joe’s Music in Bend, Oregon.  Joe sent me a couple of complimentary Just Joe’s Sax Gel Straps to try out and perhaps review almost 5 YEARS AGO!!  This was around the fall of 2011 and at the time I was having a […]

Filed Under: Saxophone Stuff Tagged With: gel strap, Just Joe, leather, neck strap, review, sax, saxophone

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Testimonials

Absolutely the best learning experience in my 40 years of playing.These books are awesome!!
Alfred LaBella
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
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

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!

Julia

I must say again how much I appreciate all your material. Including the video tutorials. It help keep me focused and knowing what to aim for. And your laid back teaching style appeals to me too. 

Thanks

P

P
I just started looking at my lessons and I have to say, dude you are awesome.  I ABSOLUTELY will learn from you!  I started the tenor about 1 ½ yrs ago and have since picked up an alto, and more recently a soprano.  I spend most of the time on the tenor, followed by soprano, and have only gotten to the alto a few times.  I think I’ll be sticking with tenor.  I’m having a great time and hope one day to play well enough to get regular gigs.  I’ve been playing keys for about 35 years (… Read more
Wil
Just a brief note to compliment you on your teaching skills and in particular for the honesty of your lessons.  I am a returning alto sax player in my 50’s and I was looking for a no nonsense, straight to the point kind of guidance. I had intended to email you with a few questions regarding the use of the bis key but then I noticed that there was a lesson on that specific topic and after viewing it,  all my questions were answered. I once took a group lesson with a well known professional sax … Read more
Patrick

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

Hi Steve,

First, I want to thank you for all of your great lessons. They are like a “For Dummies” version of all the books on my shelf. The lessons break things down into manageable pieces, and give me the confidence that I’m practicing the right pieces. I’m starting to make progress.   Thank You,   Kim

Kim
By the way, BIG COMPLIMENTS to you, Steve! Not only are you a great player, you are also a great teacher! I, too, am a woodwinds player/teacher. I have new inspiration to play and teach because of you. The concepts and “thinking” is similar to what I already learned in College, but hearing you explain and PLAY the concepts REALLY MAKES THE DIFFERENCE! Also, your written patterns are more interesting than other books I have seen! Keep up the good work. I will be recommending your sit… Read more
I will be recommending your site to others!
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’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
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
It is so refreshing to have a great player, who can provide lessons and examples in a manner which is understandable to most any enthusiastic saxophonist who is ready to improve. not just the, do this, do that, memorize this, memorize that… while all that is absolutely necessary, you go on to give reasons and examples to explain and validate why you have to do all of these things, the benefits, if you will… that is the key for me, you tell, explain, demonstrate, explain some more, you give perso… Read more
Cedric

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

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

Hello Steve, I’m getting so much out of your lessons and books, amazing how much one may think one knows, there is always a new frontier or new way to view something you think you had somewhat down. You have taken it all to a new level and am so grateful. Your lessons are so down to earth and understandable and clear!  Thanks so much Steve! Cheers, Eddie

Eddie Parente
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

Hello Steve,

I just want to say thank you so much for your unbelievable work, it is just mind opening, thanks for sharing it.

Wolfgang from Berlin

Wolfgang from Berlin
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- I joined your site this month and have downloaded 4 lessons and also purchased your new book and video on diatonic patterns. I just want to say I am very pleased with your approach and teaching techniques. I am getting back into playing after laying off for some time. The information you offer on your site is of great value and I am enjoying being a member. Thank you for what you are doing for the saxophone community.
Tony
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
Your lessons on playing the blues is so clear . I have been through many books on blues playing and not one of them explains as clear as your lessons . Most of them say “Play the same blues scale over all three chords of a 12 bar blues ” Its very misleading .     Thanks
Martin
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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