Breath support is vital for all brass and woodwind musicians. In the following 2 video lessons, I share a few breathing exercises, and some resources to help build or maintain your breath support for playing saxophone, trumpet or any wind instrument. Even if you do not play a wind instrument, these exercises are great to […]
How to find target notes to improve your solos
March 23, 2021 By Leave a Comment
If you want to improve your solos, finding and connecting the target notes will make them flow more smoothly. What are target notes? These are notes that provide smooth, stepwise connections between the chords. Sometimes, connecting target notes can be referred to as voice leading. This is especially true when connecting the 3rd’s and 7th’s […]
How To Improvise Using Melodic Shapes
October 12, 2020 By Leave a Comment
One of the tools I use when teaching saxophone and trumpet is a very popular resource for trumpet players. In this resource, there’s a particular exercise that is a beautiful melody, and also a great lick. Recently, when I was teaching this exercise to a student, we decided to explore using melodic shapes from the […]
Gig Bag Essentials for Saxophone Players
August 4, 2020 By Leave a Comment
What’s in my gig bag? That was a question asked by one of my super-fans recently. I’ve been on gigs where I have forgotten something essential, and it can create extra worry and unnecessary stress. In this video lesson, I cover the “gig bag essentials” that saxophone players need to bring to gigs. Some of […]
Boost Your Saxophone Technique With This Saxophone Practice Routine
February 24, 2020 By Leave a Comment
If you’re stuck in a rut with your saxophone practice routine, and are feeling like you need to boost your saxophone technique, there is a popular routine that has helped many saxophone players get a better understanding of their scales and chords. It has also helped many musicians (all instrumentalists can use this routine) develop […]
Jamey Aebersold Volume 24; How to improvise
February 10, 2020 By 2 Comments
Just starting to improvise? Still learning scales on your instrument? Or maybe you want to improve your ability to improvise on the notes and chords from scales? Jamey Aebersold Volume 24, Major and Minor is a good resource for you to learn how to play your Major scales and Minor Dorian modes, and improvise over […]
How to Play Jamey Aebersold Volume 1; How to improvise
February 4, 2020 By Leave a Comment
So many musicians think that improvisation is a big secret…a mystery that only a select few know how to do. But if you think of improvising as carrying on a conversation, you can create your own solos…just using the language you already know. One of the time-tested resources for decades has been the Jamey Aebersold […]
How to Use Licks in Solos
August 5, 2019 By 3 Comments
Do you try to use licks in solos, but your mind goes blank when it’s your time to perform? Or maybe you’re not exactly sure what to play during a section of a tune, so you try to force a lick into that spot but it doesn’t quite work out? A common belief is that […]
How to Start a Solo; Three-part series to sound like a pro
July 22, 2019 By 2 Comments
One of the biggest challenges when improvising is how to start a solo. You may be thinking… What can I play that would sound hip? What notes should I start on? Should I do a whole bunch of fast notes or start off slow? Should I start on a high note or low note? …and […]
Five Music Practice Tips that Will Motivate You to Practice
April 15, 2019 By 8 Comments
This past week, I ran a 5-day music practice challenge with daily tips to get you inspired, excited and motivated to practice your instrument more. Each day was a different tip and a different topic. And I did something I had never done before…. I made each video under 2 minutes! This way, you could […]
