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tenor sax

Phil-tone JZ Series Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece Review

November 5, 2016 by Steve 8 Comments

Today, I am reviewing another great mouthpiece by Phil Engleman at Phil-Tone mouthpieces.    Phil Engleman is the founder of Phil-Tone mouthpieces and I have reviewed a number of his excellent mouthpieces in the past.  The Equinox, the Eclipse, the Solstice, the Tribute, the Sapphire, the Mosaic, the Rift etc…………… Phil has even more models that […]

Filed Under: Tenor Low Baffle Reviews Tagged With: hard rubber, Phil Engleman, Phil-tone, review, saxophone mouthpiece, tenor sax

Wes Montgomery’s Round Midnight Transcription for Tenor Sax

May 12, 2016 by Steve 2 Comments

A friend of mine emailed me a link to the youtube video below and I have been listening to it all week long.  I love the way Wes Montgomery plays the melody on Round Midnight by Thelonious Monk. It’s got a great bluesy feel to it that I don’t hear with any of the sax […]

Filed Under: Transcriptions Tagged With: guitar, Monk, Round Midnight, saxophone, tenor sax, Thelonious, Wes Montgomery

Saxquest “The Bridge” Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece Review

March 4, 2016 by Steve 12 Comments

Today, I am reviewing the new “The Bridge” hard rubber tenor saxophone mouthpiece from Saxquest. Mark Overton over at Saxquest came out with two new hard rubber tenor sax mouthpieces a few months ago called “The Bridge” and “The Core”. Mark said that the purpose  behind making these two mouthpieces was to try to recapture the sound and […]

Filed Under: Tenor Medium Baffle Reviews, Tenor Mouthpiece Reviews Tagged With: Bridge, early babbitt, EB Link, saxophone mouthpiece, Saxquest, tenor sax

Chris Potter Transcription of Cherokee in 10 Keys

February 4, 2016 by Steve 9 Comments

So check this out!  About 10 days ago,  I was on SOTW (Sax on the Web)  looking through various posts about saxophone stuff when I ran across a post by a recent member from Spain I didn’t know named”ffjay” that read: Hi all! Guess you’d listen one of the stunning Chris Potter’s solo playing Cherokee in […]

Filed Under: Transcriptions Tagged With: Cherokee, chris potter, masterclass, sax solo, tenor sax, transcription

Great Lesson Package Deals on Mastering the Blues Scale Vol. 1 Lessons

November 7, 2015 by Steve 2 Comments

I created two more great lesson package deals that compliment my book Mastering the Blues Scale-Vol. 1 One is a 3 lesson deal for alto sax in a smooth jazz style and the other is a 5 lesson deal for tenor sax in the same smooth jazz style.  Here are the details and links to check them out: […]

Filed Under: NeffMusic News Tagged With: alto sax, blues scales, funk, smooth jazz, tenor sax, video lessons

Bob Mintzer Tenor Saxophone Solo Transcription-My Romance

August 28, 2015 by Steve 4 Comments

Here’s another great solo transcription from John Blevins.  John has graciously sent me a number of his transcriptions and given me permission to share them with the sax world on my site here. This is another great sax solo by Bob Mintzer.   The tune is My Romance from the 1988 album “Spectrum”.  My Romance […]

Filed Under: Transcriptions Tagged With: Bob Mintzer, jazz saxophone, My Romance, solo transcription, tenor sax

Bob Mintzer Solo Transcription – You and the Night and the Music

July 17, 2015 by Steve 1 Comment

Here’s a solo transcription I started working on this week.   This is another solo from one of my favorite tenor sax players, Bob Mintzer.   I love Bob’s playing because it is so melodic and thematic.   He always plays ideas that you can grasp on to and that are catchy, yet he mixes in some pretty hip and […]

Filed Under: Transcriptions Tagged With: Bob Mintzer, jazz saxophone, solo, tenor sax, transcription, You and the Night and the Music

Chad Lefkowitz-Brown transcription of Tenor Sax Dexterity Solo

June 8, 2015 by Steve Leave a Comment

Today I am sharing a transposed part to a solo transcription done by Joey Lieber (pianist).  Joey shared this tenor saxophone transcription on Facebook in C last week and I wanted to transpose it to Bb for tenor saxophone ASAP as this was a very cool solo…….. This transcription is of a solo that Chad Lefkowitz-Brown […]

Filed Under: Transcriptions Tagged With: Chad Lefkowitz-Brown, Dexterity Solo, saxophone, tenor sax, transcription

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

RS Berkeley Chris Potter Legends Series Tenor Sax Mouthpiece

April 10, 2015 by Steve 30 Comments

Today, I am reviewing another RS Berkeley Legends Series tenor saxophone mouthpiece that was sent to me by Les Silver at RS Berkeley.  RS Berkeley has come up with the revolutionary idea of trying to find mouthpieces that were played and loved by jazz legends (deceased and still living)………and then copying them exactly so that […]

Filed Under: Tenor Low Baffle Reviews, Tenor Mouthpiece Reviews Tagged With: chris potter, legends series, review, rs berkeley, saxophone mouthpiece, tenor sax

Transcriptions of Chris Potter On Rhythm Changes

January 30, 2015 by Steve 23 Comments

Here are two short transcriptions of solos Chris Potter did on a March 8, 2008 Masterclass. The bootleg was floating around the internet (www.dimeadozen.org) and I was lucky enough to grab it. In these two examples Chris is showing the differences in his playing style from when he was younger to now. The first solo […]

Filed Under: Jazz Education, Transcriptions Tagged With: chris potter, rhythm changes, solo, tenor sax

Donny McCaslin Blues Solo in 6ths Tenor Sax Transcription

January 30, 2015 by Steve Leave a Comment

Here’s another solo transcriptions I started working on yesterday. This is from a clinic recording of Donny McCaslin demonstrating using sixth intervals while improvising over a standard blues on the tenor saxophone.  I have no idea what this is from or even where I got it but it must have been on the internet somewhere.  I tried […]

Filed Under: Transcriptions Tagged With: blues solo, Donny McCaslin, Jazz Improvisation, jazz saxophone, sixths, tenor sax, transcription

Benjamin Allen 10E .135 Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece

December 8, 2014 by Steve 6 Comments

Today, I am reviewing another hard rubber tenor saxophone mouthpiece from Benjamin Allen. It is another 10E model but this one is at a huge .135 tip opening. I have to admit that I have never played a .135 tip opening before.  I usually start complaining that a tip opening is too wide when I hit […]

Filed Under: Tenor Low Baffle Reviews, Tenor Mouthpiece Reviews Tagged With: 10E+, Benjamin Allen, Doc Tenney, review, saxophone mouthpiece, tenor sax

Viking M58 and M60 Valkyrie Cognac Tenor Saxophone Review

November 7, 2014 by Steve 36 Comments

Today, I am reviewing the Viking M58 and M60 tenor saxophones. This is another great saxophone that is manufactured in Taiwan. I had been hearing about the Viking tenor saxophones for a few years now and have been very curious to try them out.  Rich Maraday is the owner of Viking instruments and he was happy to […]

Filed Under: Sax Reviews Tagged With: LOR neck, M58, M60, tenor sax, tenor saxophone, Valkyrie, Viking instruments

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Testimonials

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.
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
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
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 have been a member of Neffmusic for more than a year now and have enjoyed every minute of it! I have not only been going thru the Dominant Bebop Scale lessons and book (OUTSTANDING!) but the mouthpiece reviews, solo clips and transcriptions are very interesting. Steve approach to beginning and intermediate improv have given me many new pathways to teach my high school jazz ensemble students. Congratulations Steve, great product!
Craig
I have found your videos and publications inspiring and your contribution to the world of saxophone playing is immense. Paul
Paul
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
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

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 have not received my alto yet but have already gone through 14 lessons. I love your approach, style, knowledge and competence. I now regret so much to have stayed away from playing the sax for the past 45-50 years…(I am 65).  But It is never too late to get back to your first love. After 23 years in compuer sciences and 22 years in finances…I am now back to music for the rest of my life.

Doing some research on the net, I found this:

http://forum.saxontheweb.net/showthread.php?1… Read more

Claude

Steve, just a note to say thanks.

I’ve been playing a long time, but your material, laid out in such a thoughtful way, helps me to understand concepts in a new and deeper way.

You are a true gift to the jazz community.

60 lessons and going strong,

Kevin Ledbetter

Kevin Ledbetter
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

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
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 like so many other subscribers feel so encouraged by Steve’s learning techniques; you will enjoy reading the comments of praise others have left as you too will feel that you share a common view and path. I feel very lucky to have come across Neffmusic and that feeling will remain with you as you search through a treasure trove of learning materials on offer, you will quickly find the lessons that you are suited to. You will instantly recognize the unparalleled quality of Steve’s teaching … Read more
Stephen
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
I have NEVER seen material like yours.  Amazing!!
Jerry
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
Deric
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
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
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 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
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

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