YouTube Video Blog Posts

Another Christmas Cracker! Nothing says Christmas like Winter Wonderland, and you're gonna learn the whole song, which you can play with the free backing track to impress your friends and family. If you love these festive songs, then make sure you check out my Christmas Playlist, which has a rapidly expanding library of Christmas classics. There's some really cool versions of songs that I'm sure you're familiar with.

Be sure to pick up your free PDF sheet music for Winter Wonderland here, which has got the melody written out for alto AND tenor, plus the chords for the solo section. Here are the Q&A topics covered in this lesson, with video time stamps (min:sec)....

It's Christmas again! A time for mulled wine, mince pies and your favourite Christmas songs played on sax! Each year I add to my Christmas Playlist, so make sure you go and check out the others. There's some really cool versions of songs that I'm sure you're familiar with. We're kicking off this years Christmas saxfest with one of my favourite songs of all time, "This Christmas", the 1970 classic by the one and only Donny Hathaway. You'll learn how to play the whole song, and I'll even show you how to take a great solo in the middle.

Be sure to pick up your free PDF sheet music transcription of This Christmas here, which has got the melody written out for alto AND tenor,...

In this week's free online saxophone lesson you'll be learning how to understand chord symbols, and quickly work out the notes for ANY chord. Too many of my students are still flummoxed by simple chord symbols, so I thought it was time we got it sorted! 

Be sure to pick up your free chord symbols PDF cheat sheet, which has got the formula for working out ANY chord symbol, in two different ways. Here are the Q&A topics covered in this lesson, with video time stamps (min:sec). Clicking on the time stamp will take you straight to that portion of the video on YouTube (in a separate tab). Full Time stamps for the video and a complete transcript are available at the bottom...

In this week's free online saxophone lesson you'll be learning the funkiest sax riff I've ever heard - Quincy Jones' The Dude, which features the killer tenor sax of LA session legend Ernie Watts. The song was originally released on Quincy's 1981 album "The Dude" and features a whole host of famous session musicians. This one should be quite manageable if you're a beginner on sax, although the high F# might be a bit high on tenor! 

Be sure to pick up your free PDF sheet music transcription for The Dude here, which has got the sax hook written out for alto AND tenor. Here are the Q&A topics covered in this lesson, with video time stamps...

In this week's free online saxophone lesson you'll be learning a real rock/pop classic from Men At Work, and that's the iconic 1981 sax hook from Who Can It Be Now, featuring the gravelly tenor sax of band member Greg Ham. This was originally released on Men At Work's 1981 album "Business As Usual". This one should be quite manageable if you're a beginner on sax, although the high F# might be a bit high on tenor! 

Be sure to pick up your free PDF sheet music transcription for Who Can It Be Now here, which has got the sax hook written out for alto AND tenor. Here are the Q&A topics covered in this lesson, with video time stamps...

There are so many good inexpensive Chinese saxes available on YouTube these days - why would you risk buying a second hand instrument that might be faulty? Well, I did exactly that, and bought myself a second hand Yamaha YTS-23 tenor off eBay for £400. I'm going to share my experience with you to help you make up your mind about buying second hand.

Clicking on the time stamps for this blog will take you straight to the relevant bit of the video on YouTube (in a separate tab). Full Time stamps for the video and a complete transcript are available at the bottom of the blog.

Why have a second sax anyway? (1:22)

For me, as a pro, it's always useful to have two saxes in case...

On this week's free online saxophone lesson you'll be learning a real smoochy classic from Grover Washington Jr, and that's his iconic 1980 sax hook from Just The Two Of Us featuring Bill Withers. This was originally released on Grover's album Winelight. Whereas last week's Native New Yorker Brecker solo was a real killer, this one should be much more manageable if you're a beginner on sax. 

Be sure to pick up your free PDF sheet music transcription for Just The Two Of Us here, which has got the sax hook written out for alto AND tenor. Here are the Q&A topics covered in this lesson, with video time stamps (min:sec). Clicking on the time stamp will take you...

This week you'll be learning one of my favourite sax solos of all time, and that's Michael Brecker's awesome 1977 tenor solo on Native New Yorker by disco legends Odyssey. Make no bones about it though - this is a really hard solo! If you need help with your high notes, check out my Ultimate Guide To Altissimo.

Be sure to pick up your free PDF sheet music transcription of Native New Yorker here, which has got the sax solo written out for alto AND tenor, plus the scales that Brecker uses. Here are the Q&A topics covered in this lesson, with video time stamps (min:sec). Clicking on the time stamp will take you straight to that portion of the video on YouTube (in a...

We all know that a Reed Geek Tool is excellent for adjusting your reeds and making the rubbish ones play better, but how about if you could get a comparable result with a product 23 TIMES cheaper? Is that too good to be true? In this video, I compare the $69 Reed Geek Universal Classic with a generic $3 High Speed Steel Lathe Tool from eBay to find out!

Be sure to pick up your free How To Use A Reed Geek PDF Cheatsheet, which you can print off and keep as a reference guide. Also, check out my lesson on how to make reeds work using a Reed Geek. Clicking on the time stamps for this blog will take you straight to the relevant bit of the video on YouTube (in a separate tab). Full...

Ever wondered what fingerings to use when you play in the altissimo register on tenor sax? Well, I've saved you a lot of hard work by sifting through hundreds of fingerings from videos, websites and books to bring you the top six for every altissimo note up to double F. I also demonstrate every fingering just so that you know they all work (although it's pretty pretty challenging listening!)

Before you even attempt any of these fingerings you should watch my Ultimate Guide To Altissimo video, which explains, in detail, the mechanism of the instrument in terms of the high notes, and what you have to do with your vocal tract to get the high notes working. If you don't, it's quite likely...