Great Video . I play piano since i was 9 ( i'm 55 now ! ) , then i studied trombone ( so hard instrument ) and now i've been playing saxophone for 5 years. And you are so right : warming is so important and your exercice is so good to do. I really love also your " 7 chromatic workouts ": really good and really hard too. Keep going ; you're a great teacher. From France
I just try this exercise and seems very useful. Thank you so much for help i'll def gonna check other lessons.. Have a good day. thanks for good energy.
I just upgraded to an Otto Link Vintage mouthpiece, and I absolutely love it. It improves my sound tenfold I've performed in a select band and an honor band and my school's jazz band, and I've also been nominated for this college music thing that I have to audition for. This is all after just half a year of playing, and you've definitely helped a lot Nigel so thanks.
McGill Music Sax School I'm also look at upgrading my sax too, as I feel I've grown out of my student model instrument. Have you ever heard of Phil Barone? They seem too good to be true
I think my sound across most of the notes is ok, my biggest problem is crossing the bridge middle D, D# and E sounds stuffy. I'll be using this exercise to improve my tone, great info.Thanks Nigel
nice video, thanks. I do quite a bit of scales with intervals, but it never occurred to me to do them with such big jumps, but it makes a lot of sense, I will be incorporating this into my daily practise.
Thank you Nigel. I have been going up and down the scale in steps as in one of your scales lessons using long notes intonation but not returning to the tonic each time. I do get quavery after an extended period of playing and was blaming my breathing, but maybe not so? I will surely try this out.
I have trouble going from D with the octave key down to a key that doesn't require the octave key. Seem like I am not releasing the octave key fast enough or my embouchure is off. I will try this tonight when I practice.
Hi George. It could be your finger coordination. Spending some time watching your fingers in a mirror will help to make sure all your fingers move together. Hope you get it sorted.
Cool. I have a bunch of “5 minute Warmup” lessons inside Sax School that are hugely popular. When you’re ready I think you’ll enjoy those too. Also check out my beginner improv course here: www.mcgillmusic.com/courses
thanx again, i never knew i am not the only one feeling most comfortable in the middle section , i thought i am just a bad player and will never learn to play in a better way, thanx thanx, every little thing helps, we;ll see how far i can get , thanx
All the exercises and long tones will help. If you don’t LISTEN and get a good sound in your head, you’ll struggle along. Listen to all of Dexter Gordon’s records, multiple times. Then listen to Stanley Turentine and Sonny Rollins. You’ll be glad you did.
Hey Nigel, I've been doing this exercise every day since I saw this video, which was in early may, and my sound has come a long way since then, total success. There's just one note that hasn't been working for me which is my "a" above the staff. (alto sax) Any tips to sort this note out?
Great to hear that Mo! Not sure why that A is an issue though. If it isn't sounding right, or not coming out clearly, it could be a mechanical issue which a repairer should be able to fix easily. First though, make sure you are keeping your throat open and relaxed and experiment with using a little more/less mouthpiece. Hope you get it sorted.
