online lessons

Learn to Improvise on Sax: Chord II – Chord V

online lessons, saxophone lessons

Join me on my quest to help you learn to improvise on the sax! This is the 5th lesson in my series on improvising on the saxophone and you’ll find all on my other videos on my YouTube channel.

In this video we’ll be looking at another hugely important chord progression in Jazz. That of the chord II to chord V movement.

For this exercise we’ll be improvising over 2 bars of a minor 7th chord followed by 2 bars of dominant 7th chord.

Again, I want to work on the progression in two different ways with you. Firstly, I want you to improvise using purely chord tones, as this is great for your ear and accuracy. Then secondly, improvise using the associated modes modes, as this will give you more colours to play with and help you build a better sense of flow into your soloing.

Ultimately, when we improvise we use a combination of both scales and arpeggios to express our ideas!

Let’s get to it!

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Learn to Improvise on Sax: Chord I – Chord IV

online lessons, saxophone lessons

Join me on my quest to help you learn to improvise on the sax! This is the 4th lesson in my series on improvising on the saxophone and you find the other videos on my YouTube channel.

In this video we’ll be looking at the hugely important chord progression in Jazz. That of the chord I to chord IV movement.

For this exercise we’ll be improvising over 2 dominant 7th chords, with 2 bars on each chord.

This time I want to work on the progression in two different ways with you. Firstly, I want you to improvise using purely chord tones, as this is great for your ear and accuracy. Then secondly, I want you to improvise using mixolydian modes, as this will help you build a better sense of flow into your soloing. Ultimately, when we improvise we use a combination of both scales and arpeggios to express our ideas!

Let’s get to it!

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Learn to Improvise on Sax: First Chord Changes

online lessons, saxophone lessons

Learn to improvise on the sax with me!

As you may know, I’m now on a quest to help you learn to improvise and play jazz on the saxophone. I’m producing a collection of free video lessons on YouTube, just to start you off on your improvising journey.

This is the third video in the series where we take a look at improvising over a simple chord progression. Trade 4 bars with me, using two dorian modes.

Watch the video and download the materials below: –

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Charlie Parker: A Closer Look

online lessons, saxophone lessons

Analysing Charlie Parker’s Solo on “Au Privave”

Analysing Charlie Parker's solo on "Au Privave".
The Legendary Charlie Parker, Photo Credit: William P Gottlieb

It’s recently been the 100th birthday of the legendary saxophonist Charlie Parker. Most musicians, and jazz enthusiasts know that he was (and still is) a huge influence on the music, but don’t necessarily understand why. I therefore decided to not only post a transcription of one of his solos, but take a closer look at what he actually plays so we can try and understand his genius (even if it’s just a little bit)!

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What To Practise: Transcription II

online lessons, saxophone lessons

Sonny Stitt’s Solo On “Elora” (Take 2) by J. J. Johnson

Sonny Stitt
Sonny Stitt in 1971. Photo Credit: JPRoche

This is how I discovered the music of the great jazz saxophonist Sonny Stitt…

When I was fresh out of the Royal College, very young, and so very naive I arranged to have a sax lesson with the legendary American saxophonist Bob Mintzer whilst he was over in the UK on tour with his band the “Yellow Jackets”.

Back then I was still finding my feet with my jazz playing and if I think back to that lesson it makes me shudder! What on earth was I thinking?! Anyway, Bob was very kind to me in that lesson and actually he gave me some invaluable pointers.

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August Special Offer – Now Extended into September!

general, online lessons, saxophone lessons
Take saxophone lessons with Nathan! Professor of Saxophone at London College of Music

10% Off Blocks of 10 Lessons Booked In August (& Now September) 2020!

UPDATE – I’ve had an awesome response with this offer and I’m thrilled with just how popular it has been with new and existing students, so I’ve decided to keep it running for another month!

I’m offering a 10% discount for any student who books and starts a block of 10 lessons in August (or now September) 2020. That’s up to a £40 saving if taking 60 min lessons, or basically you’ll be receiving one lesson free!

The summer holidays are upon us and yet with most of us staying at home, there couldn’t be a better time to take up a new hobby, or get cracking on your new goal for your saxophone playing.

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What To Practise: Transcription

online lessons, saxophone lessons

Dexter Gordon’s Solo on “Blue Bossa” by Kenny Dorham

Dexter Gordon - Master Jazz Tenor Saxophone Player
Dexter Gordon in Amsterdam. Photo Credit: Albert Kok

Dexter Gordon is undoubtedly one of the all time great jazz tenor saxophonists. His performing and recording career spanned some 40+ years, winning a Grammy, and even earning an Oscar nomination in the Best Lead Actor category for his role in the 1986 film “Round Midnight”.

From a learning perspective his solos can be a dream to transcribe thanks to their clarity, therefore making them ideal for the intermediate player. Dexter’s phrasing, use of space, and sense of time often give his playing an unhurried feel, and so his solos are great examples to try and emulate.

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How Can I Improve My Saxophone Technique?

general, online lessons, saxophone lessons
How Can I Improve My Saxophone Technique?
Working on exercises and etudes can be a great way to improve your technique!

Having a good technique on the saxophone is vital in so many ways whether we play in a jazz, pop or classical context. For example, when we improvise a jazz solo we want the freedom to express what we want to say through the saxophone at that very moment. It’s having command of our instrument that allows us to do this. I’ll therefore try and answer how you can improve your saxophone technique in this article below with some useful tips and advice.

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How To Add Licks Into Solos

online lessons, saxophone lessons

In this post I’m going to go over the key area of how to add licks to your improvised jazz solos. It’s a great way to start building your jazz vocabulary for improvisation, plus it’s great ear training too!

For this I’m going to be using my “Top 5 Bebop Licks” introduced in one of my earlier posts. Please check that out or just grab the PDF download from the resources section below.

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Which Saxophone Is Best For Me?

general, online lessons, Uncategorized
Nathan performing on his Selmer MKVI Alto Saxophone

Are you new to the sax? Unsure of which saxophone you should be learning on? I’m here to help…

The short answer is I always recommend that people start learning on an Alto Saxophone.

“Why?” you might ask…

So, as you might have gathered I’ve been teaching for quite a few years now and during that time I have literally taught hundreds of saxophone students. I’ve taught complete beginners (both adults and children) right the way through to advanced level students studying for their performance based degrees at the London College of Music.

I’ve seen how a lot of people handle and can cope with the various types of saxophone at different stages of their advancement and have drawn some conclusions.

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