In this issue: 
Hi,
The
SaxTips Newsletter will now produced in a new format in order to give you more information on what's happening on the SaxTips Podcast, jazz aids, and more. These issues will also have practice and/or improvisation tips.
So, I do hope you enjoy your newsletter and please feel free to contact me at anytime for any suggestions, criticism, kudos, questions, whatever! ;-)
The new SaxTips VidcastI've just begun expanding the way to present saxophone tips to the SaxTips Podcast audience. It's been great to have over 1.000 listeners per month download these podcasts and even more just listening to it in their web browsers. Some techniques are not always easy to explain, that is why I've decided to finally bring more tips to you per video in the new
SaxTips Vidcast. The first episode "One Note Theory" is already out. Check it out and tell me what you think.
Coltrane ChangesHave you played on John Coltrane's "Giant Steps", "Countdown" or even his composition "26-2"? If so, you know how difficult that can be, and how humiliating that is if you can barely make it through the changes. If you haven't played on those tunes yet, maybe it was because you
knew it was difficult and didn't dare to try. Well, I'd like to offer some help here.
Starting in December 2008, I'll be offering my new book
"Coltrane Changes" at a special introductory price, and maybe even
free print copies for the first 10 responders.
Included in
Coltrane Changes will be exercises over the chord progression to "Giant Steps" and "Countdown" - in ALL KEYS! Included will also be patterns using
alternate changes on Giant Steps as well! Then there will "Improv Etudes" over "Giant Steps", "Countdown" and "26-2" for Eb and Bb saxophones.
To sweeten it all, new play-along tracks have been created by Bill Harrison of
"PlayJazzNow.com". Bill Harrison is a jazz bassist and teacher in Chicago and has created some great play-alongs. A lot hipper than the Jamey Aebersold tracks in my opinion. I will be providing links to those tracks along with my book offering. So watch out for it in the upcoming newsletter.
Get exciting new play-alongs for Rhythm Changes in All Keys!
Playing in DuoPlaying in duo, whether it be with a pianist, a guitarist or a bassist is an art form. It is not an easy thing to do and can be very tiring for a saxophonist. The challenge is not only to keep it interesting in the choice of tunes to play, keeping the energy up, but also being able to "speak" the chords clearly within your improvisation, along with keeping excellent timing (especially if you don't have a drummer playing with you).
How playing in duo ever started in jazz, no one knows. It may have been for economical reasons. Less guys to pay for a gig. Or, the venue owner didn't want to spend his money hiring a big band, or any band with more than 4 people. I remember quite well back in New York City, there was the "Carabet Law". That was a law that prevented clubs that were present in residentials areas from having more than three musicians perform on stage at a time (and drums were forbidden!). For the longest time, this law was not enforced, until
the official that was preventing this law to be enforced was involved in a scandal, and he eventually commited suicide. After that, the doors were open and the law was enforced - hard! That put a lot of musicians out of work. So what did musicians have to do? Get creative. Do the best with what they had.
In the next issue, I'll get into this topic, especially improvising in duo, a little further. Stay tuned!
Improv EtudesYou're listening to your favorite players and you're wishing that you can play at least nearly as good as they are and do a lot of practice to get there. But your efforts don't seem to get you any closer. I know how you feel. When I was a kid just starting out in jazz improvisation, I listened to jazz, tried to learn the melodies to tunes, tried to learn to improvise per the "Chord/Scale" method, played transcribed solos, imitate players from records - everything I could possibly think of.
At one point, while I was practicing Charlie Parker solos, I realized that I really didn't understand what he was doing. It all sounded great, but the notes he was playing to the chords, theoretically, didn't make sense. But it must somehow be right, right? So, I continued to practice in blind faith. Trusting that one day I'll be able to understand.
Finally, after 2 years of practicing and playing, I began to understand what was going on! "Oh, man! THAT'S what he's doing!" After that, everything seemed so simple and my improvising improved 100%, almost overnight!
Later, when I was in college, while I studied with Joe Allard at the Manhattan School of Music in New York, I was studying with saxophonist Steve Grossman privately to improve my improvising. Steve turned me on to the concept of what I call
Improv Etudes. He said, just as there are etudes in classical music to learn the language of that music, there should be no reason why we should create etudes to learn the language of jazz improvisation. After starting using this method, my improvising improve dramatically within a short period of time!
In my books
"250 Jazz Patterns",
"Blues & Rhythm Changes in All Keys", and in my upcoming "Coltrane Changes", Improv Etudes are used to learn chord progressions and to intensify concentration to learn to play exactly the way you wish. In the future I will creating instructional materials so that you may learn this method in greater detail. So, stay tuned!
Labels: News
