Tag Archives: how to practice

What is a Lydian Dominant Scale?

There are lots of Jazz Scales that have great names and the Lydian Dominant is one of them.

But what is a Lydian Dominant and how do you practice it?

Watch this video to find out how I work out on my Lydian Dominant Scales and what they have in common with a Melodic Minor and Altered Scale.

Elements of Music – Lesson 1

In this latest video I talk about the ‘elements of music’ as outlined in Victor Wooten’s excellent book The Music Lesson. You can buy it via the link below – I hope we’ll all read it in March and get some interesting discussion going via Google Hangouts. Don’t forget to register your availability for the next hangout here.

The worksheet for the lesson can be downloaded here.

Click on the link underneath to buy Victor’s book:


Enjoy the lesson and post any comments below.



Festive Practice Tips for the Saxophone

Christmas is coming …

And you can’t have escaped all the music, mulled wine and carol singing. Well, if you want to keep the carol singers away the best thing to do is to make sure you keep on practising, because if you’re deep ‘in the zone’ you won’t even hear the doorbell ring!

I find that practising and studying during the festive period can be hard work. These tips give you the chance to enjoy some seasonal spirit and continue to practise.

Click here for the book I mention in the video.

Riding along in my automobile (with Chris Potter beside me at the wheel) …

Well, Chris along with Paul Motion, Larry Grenadier and Rebecca Martin.

The most-often heard phrase I hear during my student consultations is ‘I just don’t have the time to practise …’

I feel your pain. It is difficult to find time. The secret is planning to practise and then doing your best to keep that date … Maybe that’s another video for me to do.

In the meantime here’s some practice you can do on the way to work, while travelling around or simply sat at home.

RICO Reeds Masterclass at Southport International Jazz Festival

Here’s a 10-minute video highlights package from my RICO masterclass at the 2013 Southport International Jazz festival.

Some of the questions are:

1. How can I follow the changes in a standard?

2. How do you improve playing by ear?

3. What is the best method to keep my reeds in working order?

and much more …

I hope you find this useful!

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