Saxophonist, clarinettist, composer, arranger and educator Frank Griffith knows a thing or two about the Jazz scene both in London and New York. Having been active on the New York scene from 1980 – 1996 and played with the likes of Ron Carter, Jon Hendricks and Jack McDuff he knows a few things about the jazz capital of the world.
Modes are simply just extensions to our usual scales. In this lesson I show you how to apply modes in your practice and build up the technique to be able to play them in pieces.
Digital Patterns are an exercise which I learnt from Chris Potter – you simply take a 2 or 4 note grouping and move it around the instrument. In this video my student Matthew Nixon joins us and demonstrates how he has practiced (or not) Digital Patterns in his practice routine.
Using slow melodies is a great way to work on your tone.
Gaining control over overtones is critical in establishing a good tone on the saxophone. Your tonal palette is the like the brushes and paint which a painter uses – the greater the subtleties you can bring out in your playing.
This lesson works through the opening of ‘Work Song’ which shows you a great way to use the blues scale on a head.