Here are some useful links for all you budding saxophonists: –
Nathan’s Jazz Etudes & Licks Books (PDF Downloads)
Jazz Etudes for Saxophone, Vol. 1 – 12 great jazz studies written for the intermediate to advanced level saxophonist. Each etude is packed full of invaluable jazz language to develop your technique, and make your solos more authentic and stylistic. Take your sax playing to the next level!
Jazz Licks for Saxophone, Vol. 1 – 100 Interchangeable Licks for the “Long” Major II-V-I chord progression in all 12 Keys. Learn a more authentic way to use licks in your solos with this core language for any jazz saxophonist!
Online Resources
Nathan’s Sax Teaching YouTube Channel – Check out a growing collection of videos, ranging from piece and book recommendations, through to advice on technique and improvisation.
Great Saxophone Shops
Sax.co.uk – London’s biggest saxophone shop, near Blackfriars Bridge. Practically saxophone heaven!
Howarths of London – Another very good saxophone shop near Baker Street, with a good selection of sheet music.
Dawkes Music – If you are looking to hire a saxophone, this shop has a great deal on a very decent Yamaha YAS-280 saxophone (the instrument I recommend for beginners to learn on).
Online Lesson Platforms
Zoom – This is the platform that I recommend for online saxophone lessons. If you use a laptop, the audio settings options available are to my knowledge the best available.
Thanks to Zoom, I’ve now had students taking lessons with me across 4 continents!
Sheet Music Suppliers
June Emerson Wind Music – arguably the best shop for buying sheet music regardless of the instrument
Musicroom – another useful music shop with a good supply of music from American publishers
Advance Music – European publishers with a great selection of interesting jazz and classical sheet music
Saxtet Publications – A small publishing company based in Birmingham, but with a fun selection of saxophone music for solo, duos and ensembles.
Reeds & Accessories
Reeds Direct Cambridge – Quite frankly the easiest and best place to order your saxophone reeds from and useful for a lot of accessories too.
Saxophone Grade Exams
ABRSM – The most popular music exam provider with traditional instrumental, theory, diploma and some ensemble examinations available.
Trinity College London – A great alternative to the more traditional ABRSM exams with jazz grades available from 1-8 as well as jazz diplomas.
Where Nathan Works
London College of Music – Nathan has been Professor of Saxophone at LCM since 2011 where he teaches advanced level undergraduate and postgraduate saxophone students on the performance course.
Royal College of Music – Nathan is a Visiting Lecturer in entrepreneurialism within the music industry on the BMus(Hons) course, and was also an awards panel member for RCM Accelerate from 2021-2024, all in conjunction with RCM’s Creative Careers Centre.
Nathan Hassall Music – Nathan’s very own music agency, providing some of the best Musicians and DJs to weddings, private parties and corporate events in London; South East UK; and when we are lucky Europe.
My Friends
UK-Korea Education Hub – My wife is from South Korea and so I have an active interest in all things Korean, spending as much time as possible out there (it’s a really amazing country!). If you enjoy Korean cuisine, music, film or drama why don’t you consider learning the language from superb language teacher Miseon Kim, and understand more about this wonderful country, its culture, and its people.