YouTube Video Blog Posts

Ever wondered what fingerings to use when you play in the altissimo register on alto 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...

I'm all about the classic, famous sax breaks on Get Your Sax Together, but this week we're going right up to date with Tivon Pennicott's lyrical tenor solo on the Gregory Porter track "Hey Laura" from his 2013 album Liquid Spirit. For me, this is the perfect blend of jazz and soulful pop.

Be sure to pick up your free PDF for Hey Laura here, which has got the sax solo 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 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...

Never let it be said that I'm "saxist" on this channel - this week it's your time to shine if you're a bari player! Moanin' by Charles Mingus (not to be confused with Bobby Timmons' Moanin') has one of the most iconic sax riffs of all time, belted out by the irrepressible Pepper Adams on his Selmer Balanced Action baritone. Of course, you don't have to play bari to enjoy this one - it's just as great on alto or tenor. Well...maybe not quite as great ;-)

Be sure to pick up your free PDF sheet music for Moanin', which has got the full theme written out for bari (or alto) AND tenor. Here are the Q&A topics covered in this lesson, with video time...

My favourite sax saying of all time is "you're better to be sharp than out of tune"! This is SO true for saxophonists I'm afraid to say. However, as you'll learn today, the odds are against you and it's vital to be aware of this and know how to adjust your tuning on a note to note basis to sound better.

Be sure to pick up your free PDF cheatsheet for this lesson, which has got all the main points from the lesson, plus the examples I demonstrate. 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...

I'm so excited about bringing you this week's lesson on Pick Up The Pieces by the Average White Band! Firstly, it's one of my favourite tracks of all time, but on top of that I've got three fantastic musicians to record the rhythm track this week. It's helluva funky folks! At 10:08 you can hear us play the whole song from start to finish.

Be sure to pick up your free PDF sheet music for Pick Up The Pieces, which has got the whole song written out, for alto AND tenor. You'll also get the harmony parts, a transcription of my tenor solo and a structure sheet to print off. Here are the Q&A topics covered in this lesson, with video time stamps (min:sec)....

Got a bit of fun for you guys this week - it doesn't always have to be technique and hard solos! I'm all about bringing you the world's most iconic sax lines, and what could be more iconic than the "Epic Sax Guy" riff, taken from the song "Run Away", which was The SunStroke Project's 2010 Moldova Eurovision Song Contest entry.

Be sure to pick up your free PDF sheet music for Epic Sax Guy, which has got a fingering chart for every note, for alto AND tenor. Boom! If you want to play along you can use the backing track here. 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...

Greetings saxers! This lesson on Jazz Articulation is part 2 in my articulation series, so be sure to go and check out the Articulation Part 1 lesson which lays the foundation for this one. In this week's free online saxophone lesson for alto or tenor sax I teach you the basics of jazz articulation and show you how to tongue to get a good jazz feel.

Don't forget to get your free PDF cheat sheet for this lesson and remember there's loads more easy to follow sax technique videos here. If you want to enjoy the funny story of how I didn't tongue at all for the first two years of my playing click here!

Here are some of the Q&A topics covered in this lesson, with video time...

Instead of the usual free online sax lesson, I've got something a bit different for you this week. I'm often asked where people can hear me perform (it's nice to hear your teacher actually play I guess), and as nobody can perform anywhere right now in this Covid world pandemic I've brought a performance to you right here on the channel instead!

I used play in a saxophone ensemble called Saxtet - a five saxophone group playing original compositions and arrangements. Recently, Karen Street emailed me to see if I had some missing parts for some of the tunes and I had a good rifle through my old Saxtet folder. This made me remember some of the original compositions I had done for the group...

Nothing says smoochy, romantic saxophone quite like Sade's Smooth Operator. The track was released on Sade's debut 1984 album Diamond Life, and features the tenor saxophone of multi-instrumentalist band member Stuart Mathewman (aka Cottonbelly). For this video, which is Smooth Operator part two, we'll be learning the famous solo section in the middle. If you want to learn the recurring melody section go and check out Smooth Operator Part 1.

Be sure to pick up the free PDF sheet music for Smooth Operator and if you want to play along you can get the backing track here. Here are the Q&A topics covered in this lesson, with video time stamps (min:sec). Clicking on the time...

On this week's lesson you'll learn how to play high altissimo notes on saxophone. But this isn't the typical video. I go deep into the reasons why you might not be able to get the high notes out and what to do about it. In the process we'll delve into the very DNA of the instrument and find out how it works!

Be sure to pick up the free PDF here, which has my fingerings for altissimo notes on alto and tenor up to double F. 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 at the...