Taming The Saxophone
Articles & Tutorials
Our other main saxophone site where you can find loads of information about saxophones, saxophone playing (and players), accessories, mouthpieces, tone exercises, fingering exercises, jazz, rock & blues improvisation and lots more.
Latest on Taming The Saxophone
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Reviews
Reviews on CafeSaxophone The po ...
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All About Copyright
Copyright in Music Compositions Copyright decision ...
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Modes in Composition
Modes in Modern Pop & Commercial Composition Befor ...
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Tension & Release in Composition
Unity and Variety, Tension & Release Two very impo ...
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Developing Melody with Motifs
Very often a large part of composition involves ex ...
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Composition: Hints & Tips
Useful Composition Tips Know when to use rules of ...
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Recording
Most of our recording pages have moved to our oth ...
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Orchestrating for Brass
The Wonderful World of Composing for Brass Brass i ...
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Orchestrating for Woodwinds
What You Need to Know about Woodwinds Woodwinds ar ...
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Writing for Strings
Ensemble Sizes The string section consists of viol ...
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Orchestration: Score Layout
What’s The Score? First things first – the tit ...
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Become a TV/Film Composer
How do You Actually get Work as Composer? I wish I ...
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The Rhythm Section
Arranging for Rhythm Section Piano and guitar part ...
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Jazz Arranging: Backings
Chordal accompaniment (aka pad) When writing susta ...
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Block Voicing
What is Voicing? Voicing means harmonising a melod ...
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Jazz Reharmonising
Reharmonising – Changing the Chords Often you ma ...
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Ranges & Transposition
Jazz Arranging – Chart of Instrument Ranges You ...
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Arranging & Composing
Why learn arranging & composing? Jazz composition ...
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Free Tunes & Backing Tracks
Loads of free stuff on the site: fingering charts, ...
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Jazz Repertoire
Jazz Tunes & Standards Jazz and pop musicians lear ...
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Jazz Resources
Recommended Jazz Reading This is not a comprehensi ...
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Let The Good Timing Roll
Timing in music means different things to differen ...
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Why You Shouldn’t transcribe
OK, that sounds a bit radical. Transcribing is of ...
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Blues Riffs & Licks
Riffs or Licks – What’s the Difference? Licks ...
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Jazz Patterns for Tonic Chords
Tonic Patterns and Cadences These are often more r ...
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Jazz Patterns & Licks
How many jazz improvisers construct a completely o ...
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Dorian Mode in Jazz Improvisation
One Chord Jazz and Funk Grooves These are usually ...
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Jazz Scalechart
I always hesitate before recommending the study of ...
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Jazz Scales for Improvising
About Scales & Chords When you are starting learn ...
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I Got Rhythm Chord Changes
Standards that are used for jazz often have a 32 b ...
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12 Bar Blues Chords
Chords in the 12 bar blues sequence Blues breaks t ...
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Jazz Passing Chords
Passing Chords and Turnarounds We have already see ...
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Modal Interchange & Altered Chords
Using Modal Interchange to Alter Chords Modal inte ...
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Modes in Improvisation
Thinking of modes as relative or parallel When mus ...
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Minor Harmony in Jazz Theory
Major vs Minor The defining difference between a m ...
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Tritone (Flat 5) Substitute Chords
How Tritone Substitutes Work A dominant 7th chord ...
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Jazz Chords – Upper Extensions
Chords with five or more notes As we saw in Chord ...
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Cycle of 5ths in Jazz
In the previous tutorial I mentioned that diatonic ...
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Analysis with Roman Numerals
Analysis of Jazz Harmony Harmonic analysis of tune ...
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Chord Progressions
Basic Chords Before we look at more complex jazz c ...
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Jazz Chord Symbols
Chord Symbols Over the years there have been vario ...
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Jazz Theory & Impro
The course is not a complete on-line tutor for b ...
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Jumpin Blues
This is a blues in a “jump” style. As with Sli ...
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Doreen a là Mode
This is as close as we get to jazz in this section ...
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Slinky
This is a nice comfortable tempo simple jazz blues ...
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The Saints
Oh When the Saints Go Marching In is a famous tune ...
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Sand Dance
Every now and again a friend of mine brings their ...
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Ooh Ah Ooh (2 Chords)
This tune is a typical two chord tune that uses ch ...
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Gorilla
The chords here should be familiar, they are the s ...
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Beginners Tunes + Impro
Full sheet music (PDF), Audio files and more in Vo ...
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Beginners Tunes >>>
Full sheet music (PDF), Audio files and more in Vo ...
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Voicing & Inversions
A quick recap about chords We learned in the book ...
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Special Chords
Beyond Triads We will call these “special chords ...
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Chords and Numerals
Why assign numbers to chords? If you have read par ...
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Rock & Blues
SOTW Blues has moved here Rock & Roll (& Blues) fo ...
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Chords For Beginners
Here is a very simple lesson in the beginnings of ...
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Beginners Scales
The 12 Step Scale Chart Use this chart to visualis ...
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Beginners’ Impro TTS Vol 2
About Beginners’ Impro In this section of the si ...
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Flick-tonguing
Flick tonguing involves flicking your tongue very ...
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Saxophone Laugh
First try to laugh This means laughing for real ...
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Saxophone Dooden Tonguing
AKA “Ghost Tonguing”, “La-la Tonguing” or ...
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Slaptongue & Smacktongue
Smacktongue (non-pitched) Example: Smacktongue The ...
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Multiphonics
Multiphonics (Playing more than one note at once) ...
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False Fingerings
AKA. Fake Fingerings or Double Densities Example 1 ...
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The Adderley Trill
The Adderley Trill The Adderley Trill I’m not su ...
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Flutter Tongue
What is it Flutter Tongue? Flutter tongue has be ...
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Saxophone Wobble
AKA Bb Wobble or Texas Shake This is a stunning e ...
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Bending notes
How do you bend a note on the saxophone? There are ...
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Saxophone Growl
How to Growl on the saxophone and get that really ...
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Saxophone Effects
Special Effects on the Saxophone The saxophone is ...
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Tips 3: Low Bb to B Trill
Easy! Go ahead and finger bottom Bb, then with you ...
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Tips 2: F to G altissimo trill
Altissimo Trill – F to G This is part of a new s ...
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Tips 1 : Auxiliary F without the aux key
Auxiliary F key (aka aux F or front F) The top F a ...
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Alternate Saxophone Fingerings
Alternate or Alternative? The fingerings we are l ...
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Whole Tone Scale Exercises
Like diminished scales, whole tone scales fit very ...
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Diminished Patterns and Licks
The diminished scale can be very useful. When appl ...
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Studies in 4ths
Using the interval of a 4th The interval of a four ...
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Chromatic Scale Exercises
Exercises involving the Chromatic Scale These exer ...
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2 5 1 Progressions
IIm7-V7-I progressions (“2 5 1”) “Why is the ...
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Cycle of Fifths
Before practising these, make sure you are familia ...
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Dexterity & Technique
Saxophone Fingering Exercises for a Fast Playing T ...
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Saxophone Warmup
Why is it important to warm up first? This first o ...
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Fingering Exercises Vol 3
Warming up, playing faster and playing more creati ...
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Bright Sound or Dark Sound
Definitions There seems to be a lot of confusion a ...
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Saxophone Circular Breathing
What is circular breathing? It means breathing in ...
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Visualising the Sound
Bored practice is wasted practice There’s no dou ...
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Subtone
We show you how to play subtone on saxophone. get ...
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Altissimo on saxophone
The altissimo range of the saxophone consists of m ...
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Harmonics (Overtones)
Why is practising overtones so useful? In order to ...
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NEW! Combining Tone & Fingering
Why combine tone & fingering exercises? I have fou ...
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Intonation & Tuning
Which of these is more “in tune”? First of all ...
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Mouthpiece Exercises
Improve your saxophone tone and expression with mo ...
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Saxophone Vibrato
The aim of this exercise is for you to be able to ...
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Articulation & Tonguing
How to tongue quickly or slowly and evenly. High r ...
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Diaphragm Breathing
Breathing Exercises Diaphragm Breathing What is Di ...
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Breathing Exercises & Breath Control
Breathing Exercises Diaphragm Breathing Good breat ...
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Tone Control Exercises
How to get the best sound out of your saxophone, w ...
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Saxophone Embouchure
How to improve and strengthen your saxophone embou ...
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Saxophone Tone & Sound
Tone & Sound are not the same thing Obviously we o ...
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Vol 1 Improve Your Tone
Tone Without Tears : improve your saxophone tone G ...
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Memorising Music
Memorisation, whether it’s totally committing so ...
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Saxophone Video Lessons
Pete’s video lessons To leave comments on the Yo ...
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Stage Fright & Performance Nerves
Scared To Go On Stage? There’s Nothing Wrong wit ...
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How to Organise Your Practice Schedule
Best Practice! As a teacher I used to devise a dif ...
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Rock & Roll Saxophone
How to Play a Great Rockin’ Solo Many jazz saxop ...
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Rhythm & Blues Saxophone
Defining Rhythm & Blues As with so many genres, R ...
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Find a Saxophone Teacher
The best one for you Is the teacher a great player ...
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Fingering Charts
Basic Fingering charts (no sharps or flats) First ...
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Saxophone Transposition
Why am I in a different key to the rest of the ban ...
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First Notes on the Saxophone
For Absolute Beginners In this section on beginner ...
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Learn to Play Saxophone
How to assemble your saxophone – making a sound ...
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Saxophone Studies
The Taming The Saxophone Series of Studies Taming ...
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Beginners Instruction DVD
In this program, Pete introduces beginners to the ...
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Beginners FAQs
You Ask the Questions If you have any questions, p ...
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Adding Mass to improve Sound
The Effect of mass on saxophone sound This experim ...
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Mixing Saxophone in Audacity
Who is this for and what do you need? This is for ...
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Recording a Saxophone
This article is based on my experience playing the ...
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Saxophone Material
Science vs Common Sense Saxophones are mostly made ...
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Leaking G#
How to easily fix a very common problem. The G# on ...
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Saxophone Repairs
Leaks A leak happens when something on the saxopho ...
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Saxophone Maintenance
Cleaning Inside the Body of the Saxophone 1. The P ...
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Technical
In the technical section The post Technical appear ...
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Saxophone Stands
Keep Your Horn in One Piece! Saxophone stands are ...
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The Sound Snake
Over the last few years we have seen a multitude o ...
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leFreque Sound Bridge
Make your saxophone sound better? We know that apa ...
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Deflector (Review)
The Deflector This is an amazingly simple concept ...
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DIY Saxophone Clipon Microphone
Not just cheap, but a great sounding mic too! We ...
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Review: Saxophone Straps
Keep Your Saxophone Round Your Neck! Disclaimer: a ...
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Saxophone Ligatures
The Best Way to Hold a Reed On What do saxophone l ...
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Reed maintenance & care
Care & Storage I find that reeds play best when we ...
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When to Change a Reed
When should you change a reed? Cane Reeds are extr ...
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We compare synthetic reeds to cane
Synthetic mouthpieces, so why not synthetic reeds? ...
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Cane Reeds for Saxophone
The 5 Best Cane Reed Tips: Don’t be afraid of us ...
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Accessories
In the accessories section The post Accessories ...
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Reviews & Testimonials
Soprano Alto Tenor Baritone Testimonials It’s al ...
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PPT Baritone
As with the tenor mouthpiece, I was looking for so ...
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PPT Tenor
My concept behind the sound is a mouthpiece that c ...
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PPT Alto
Due to overwhelming demand we have now introduced ...
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PPT Soprano
As with the tenor and baritone mouthpieces, my rea ...
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PPT Mouthpieces
The Concept Behind PPT Mouthpieces Soprano Alto Te ...
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Saxophone Mouthpiece Cleaning
How to Look After Your Mouthpiece Mouthpiece clean ...
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Mouthpiece for a big loud sound
Mouthpiece and reed for a big fat loud sound In th ...
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Mouthpiece Material
Mouthpiece Material: Does it make a Difference to ...
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Alto Mouthpiece Comparisons
Comparing Mouthpieces I have gathered together som ...
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Mouthpiece Charts
Saxophone Facing Comparisons There are quite a few ...
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How to Choose a Mouthpiece
Choosing your Mouthpiece It sometimes takes me abo ...
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Mouthpieces
In the mouthpieces section The post Mouthpieces ...
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Protected: Sax On The Web Blues
There is no excerpt because this is a protected po ...
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Saxophone Blues Transcriptions
How do you learn to play good blues solos? Some pe ...
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King Curtis
This is a transcription of the King Curtis track H ...
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Lee Allen
by Pete Thomas Lee gave me my biggest break when h ...
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R & B Saxophone Players
These biographies, photos and soundclips include a ...
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Jazz Tenor
Biographies of some of the best and most significa ...
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Saxophone Players
In the players section The post Saxophone Players ...
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Saxophone Humour
Saxophone Humour Most saxophone players seem to ha ...
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Saxophones For Sale
Saxes for Sale – 5 things to watch out for: 1 ...
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Instrument Petting Zoo
Here are a few of the strange and unusual instrume ...
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Vintage Saxophones
Are vintage saxophones better than modern ones? Ye ...
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Serial Numbers
What Can Serial Numbers Tell Me? The main thing yo ...
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Saxophone History
The Early Years of Saxophone History Here we will ...
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Saxophone Comparisons
The Tenor Saxophone Comparisons aka “The Shootou ...
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Saxophone Insurance
Insuring a valuable instrument While there are no ...
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Saxophone Recommendations
What’s a Good Saxophone? I am often asked to giv ...
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Saxophone Reviews
Disclaimer: Unlike with many saxophone reviews I d ...
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Saxophone Buying Advice
How to get the Best Buying Advice Don’t just lis ...
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Saxophone Myths & Fake News
The internet is a wonderful thing but can bear dou ...
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Saxophone Info
In the miscellaneous saxophone info section The ...
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Lessons/Consultancy
I will soon be able to offer single consultancies ...
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Promo Videos
All of these videos are produced by Pete Thomas. A ...
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Equipment
Pete's saxophones & studio equipment The post Equi ...
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CDs & Audio
To date Pete has recorded four of his own CDs, inc ...
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Biography, Press, Credits
Quite a remarkable statement on its own, but the f ...