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How to Play Tequila on Tenor Saxophone

Tequila, composed by Daniel Flores.  First note for tenor sax and soprano sax is D.  First note for alto sax/bari sax is A. Adding some growl in there seems to work pretty well.  If you play tenor sax, I think this one is a good tune to know. It’s about more than knowing the notes, [...]

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How to Play the Pink Panther Theme on Tenor Sax (First Line)

Here’s how to play the Pink Panther Theme (first line) by Henry Mancini. Talk a little about how I saw Plas Johnson, the sax man who originally recorded it.  Starts on a Db concert.  That’s Eb (or D#) for tenor/soprano sax and Bb for alto/bari sax.  If you would like the sheet music for the [...]

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Salsa Sax Solo – How to approach soloing in salsa?

Clip from a show we played a few weeks back at Agenda.  That was a fun night!  As I have played more salsa, I started simplifying my note choices and getting into the groove more.  I think, especially in a setting like this for dancers, the groove is more important than complex harmony, but as [...]

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Saxophone Lesson – How to Sound Like Bagpipes on Saxophone!

Sax lesson dedicated to Paul Contos who taught us how to sound like bagpipes on sax. The song is ‘Scotland the Brave’. Starts on concert Bb – C for tenor/soprano, G for alto/bari. Let me know if you like the song and/or would like to see a lesson teaching it for the Eb saxophones! CharlieRutan [...]

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How to Play Tetris Theme on Saxophone – Korobeyniki – Tenor Sax

How to play the Tetris Theme on saxophone. The real name is Korobeyniki, it’s a Russian melody. Decided to figure out how to play this one day. It’s a piece of music I heard a long time ago. Turns out it’s not too hard to play harmonically. The first part is a range of five [...]

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Happy Birthday John Coltrane! September 23, 1926

One of the greatest saxophone players. He influenced many musicians and helped pioneer bebop. In 1958, jazz critic Ira Gitle, coined the phrase ‘sheets of sound’ to describe his music. He played a lot of fast music, but also some beautiful ballads. “Naimia” is a great song by Coltrane, named after Juanita Naima Grubbs – [...]

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Monterey Jazz Festival – 54th Year! September 16 – 18, 2011

It’s back!  The Monterey Jazz Festival.  The longest running in the world.  And the site of world class music returning every September. At the fair grounds in Monterey. Been going to this festival every year I can.  For a good part of my life and planning on continuing that tradition. www.montereyjazzfestival.org/ The great Sonny Rollins [...]

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What Does ‘Playing Over a Chord’ Mean? Beginning Saxophone Improvisation Question

Got a question from Robert the other day about sax and improvisation. Hey Neal, what do they mean ” playing over a chord”…I sound thick and i am, but what’s that..”playing over a chord”..?? Thanks -Robert Neal: Hey Robert, that’s a pretty good question actually. It’s not something you learn in a beginning sax method [...]

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Happy Birthday Sonny Rollins! September 7

Happy Birthday to great tenor sax man Sonny Rollins!  Turning 81 today.  I have had the fortune of seeing him live and he still puts on a great show!  Here he plays ‘Tenor Madness’.

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Sax Lesson – How to Play ‘Jamaica Farewell’ on Tenor Saxophone

Not too long ago I was asked if I could play Jamaica Farewell.  At that point, I thought I might have recognized the title, but didn’t really know the song. Went and listened to it and liked the tune, so I learned it.  It’s a traditional song from Jamaica.  I was listening to the Harry [...]

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Happy Birthday Wayne Shorter! August 25, 1933

Great tenor sax man Wayne Shorter was born August 25, 1933.  Performed with some amazing musicians and wrote some enduring jazz standards. Shorter wrote Footprints, Speak No Evil, Fee Fi Fo Fum.  That third one I played at Santa Clara, a little bit less known than the first tune, but I like it a lot.  [...]

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Do You Have the Power to Play Bari Sax?

The baritone saxophone is a beast! It’s larger than many children and the biggest saxophone that many people have seen.  (despite the rare existence of bass saxophones and contrabass saxophones) I didn’t even try playing one for a while. My first instrument was clarinet and I picked up tenor saxophone a few months into that [...]

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Fireflies on Sax – How to Play Fireflies on Alto Saxophone

Fireflies by Owl City. How to play it on alto saxophone. My friend Ruchi told me about this song last summer and I thought it was catchy. Not too hard to learn either. Song was released July 14, 2009 First note on alto sax is a G so that’s a concert Bb. Therefore the first [...]

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Why is Middle D on Saxophone so Stuffy? And What Can You Do About It?

Got a question about the middle D on saxophone and stuffiness.  How the note seems to be harder to get out than notes around it and doesn’t quite sound the same, with the same tone & power you want to be able to get.  Thought it was a great question that many saxophone players have [...]

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RIP Frank Foster September 23, 1928 – July 26, 2011

Frank Foster played a mean saxophone.  He also composed and arranged great music.  He’s known for working with Count Basie and did some amazing music on his own. Here’s a song played by Foster and quartet: “The Leaving New York On a Rainy Friday And Arriving at 5:15at Logan Airport in Boston On a Rainy Friday [...]

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