I just finished a brand new Neffmusic book that I am very excited about. The description is below:
An inside approach to outside playing using pentatonics, chromaticism, 3-tonic systems and intervallic patterns to produce modern lines in the style of Michael Brecker and Bob Berg. Devastating Minor Lines contains 100 16th note lines written out in all 12 keys that can be used over minor tonalities. These lines give the student functional ideas that weave in and out of the tonality to produce a modern and “outside” sound.
This PDF book is 162 pages long and is written out in all 12 minor keys.
Included with this book are:
13 tracks of me playing each line in the key of D minor- I am providing these mp3’s as a resource so that you can hear how each line sounds on the tenor sax. I play many of them at different speeds.
Here is a 2 minute sample from the lines in the book! Devastating Minor Sample Clip
A Play-Along in C Minor Concert-this is good sounding play along I created to get you started. I suggest marking the ones you really like in D minor and then working on your favorites in the other keys……
A 34 Minute Video Lesson-a video lesson about the book and how to best practice from it. I demonstrate the concepts using the tenor saxophone………..
This book is an excellent resource for intermediate to advanced students of jazz improvisation and will help you to develop some great modern lines that will amaze you friends and make your competition shudder………..
The lines in this book are not for the faint of heart, it will take a lot of practice and hard work to get them down. Don’t give up, stay focused and you too can master these modern devastating lines to amaze your friends, family and fellow musicians…………..
Remember, use the power and knowledge these lines give you for good, not evil. In the wrong hands these could cause severe damage and even brain trauma. Overused, and other musicians might become jealous of your “awesomeness” and you might never get called for the gig again. Used to the right degree though, and your future will be bright.
Have Fun, Steve
Also, for those of you that have my 40 Brecker licks……….I tried to use a lot of them within this book. I’ve gotten many emails over the years asking me how to use these licks so I thought it would be a good idea to work them into the book. you can get an idea of how to use them and also then resolve the lines…………..
Steve, you’ve done it again!! I just downloaded the “Devastating Minor Lines For Jazz and Funk Soloing” and saw your video. As always your video was clear and informative. I’m going to have many hours of fun internalizing these lines and incorporating them into my improv. This is the very concept and sound I’ve been striving for to take my improv to the next level. Thanks so much for publishing this book.
Frank Zona
Hi Steve,
great work again! Must have been a LOT of work to get this one ready…
Thank You very much!
Walter
Walt, No problem. I love this stuff. I have been working through the lines since writing them down. Great stuff……….
Hey Sir….can you do something on how to learn the art of circular breathing?
Peewee,
I can circular breath but to be honest, I don’t use it at all. I was obsessed with it in high school and spent hours, days and weeks trying to figure it out until finally I did………….but then I really didn’t see any use for it in my life. I haven’t done it since except in lessons where I teach a student how to do it. Like I said, I don’t use it much so I’m not the worlds utmost authority on holding a note for 56 minutes but I can teach you how to do it in a lesson……..I’ll work on it. Steve
Oh my god ! That would be so awesome !
5 stars!
Steve’s newest release “DevastatingMinorLines” is another great addition to that already incredibly extensive neffmusic-collection of the finest materials for playing and improvising – not only with the saxophone. This eBook could also be entitled as “shades of awesomeness” and will provide many ideas for really cool lines tailored to use with double-time-playing. Not only integrating these lines unchanged into somebody’s own vocabulary is the point here – the book delivers a shedload of distinct patterns as an addition to or origin for self-made licks and lines. It will also help less advanced players to join the field of double-time playing. The only downside: there is an obvious need for even more practising time now…
Walter
***** Is the rating I give Devastating Minor Lines for Jazz and Funk Soloing, Steve has really put together a must have of some of the hippest modern lines to immediately set you apart and ramp up your sound, I have many of Steve’s book but this one has become my favorite right from the first line I played.
Anderson Knoble
Hi Steve!
This was the book I was looking for. Challenging phrases that sound awesome when you speed them up and play them in every key. Your playing thru the lines is essential for me to understand them. Really good job Steve. Hope you come out with some video lessons with your thoughts of how to think about these lines.
More of this advanced stuff-please.
Roger
Really enjoying the book, not only is it full of killer lines but it also shows ways to take your playing out and bring it back. I find it so easy to go outside, but finding your way home is a little tricky sometimes and this book gives you a great way to practice getting back to the key. The lines are also challenging so they will definitely help build technique which is great. I give this book the full 5 stars!
Jason Asimakis
Hi Steve
It’s a little early to write a review as I’ve only had the book a couple of days, that said I’ve already memorized three of the lines and although I don’t quite have them up to speed yet they sound great.
I’ve had a lot of “pattern” and “lick” books over the years and I have only memorized a handful as I usually learn the patterns I like off of recordings. This is the first time I’ve liked the lines enough to memorize them straight away, I’ll probably mix and match them a bit as well.
I’ve got a gig tomorrow and I’ll see if I can slip in the lines during my solos.
I’m only on page one (E minor) but it’s a 5 out of 5 so far!
Great job Steve, Thanks
I really appreciate this new book. As an experienced player it will freshen up my playing considerably. I have used Jerry Cokers. patterns for jazz for my students for years, not as a group of licks to iterate but as a tool to learn how to move ideas around the horn. Even though one can certainly whip out any one or more of these devastating lines and sound great , I feel that the greatest benefit of this book is how it will get the player familiar and comfortable with starting a note anywhere on the instrument that your muse directs at the moment and have interesting ways to weave that beginning into the tapestry containing consonance and logic. Having that confidence will really get the player flying. I look forward to more of that flying through study of this book. Steve is a gift to the saxophone community. John ZANGRANDO
Thanks! My mind is just blown from what I’m learning for 14 dollars. Seems like you’ve cloned Charlie Parker and John Coltrane together. Awesome! And you’re saving me a fortune; thank you thank you thank you
I have purchased many of Steve’s books and video lessons in the past and have enjoyed them immensely. Steve consistently offers pragmatic coaching and a path to improvement that the average player can relate to, unlike most published and Internet offerings that teach “over the head” of students and thus are ineffective. I had purchased Steve’s books on Mastering the Blues Scales (major and minor keys) some time back and have played through them many dozens of times, getting the riffs “under my fingers” as Steve says. They are rather complete blues phrases with closure that lend themselves to combination, revision and construction of blues solos for a wide variety of styles and tempos. It had occurred to me several times that a companion book that offered the same kinds of options but based on a more modern jazz, funk like style would be a great addition to the Neff Library. In my estimation, Steve’s other book offerings don’t quite match that goal. Then I saw this latest book and supplemental material. It appeared to match my hopes. I knew that I had to get it and see. Well, I’ve spent several days with it now. Wow!! This is amazing stuff. These lines are really out there … the kind of sound that seems to me to be almost impossible to achieve on you own, unless you are a prodigy. Not only is there a very large collection of truly awesome modern sounding riffs (100 to be exact) but they are played beautifully on supplemental tracks so that you can hear the possibilities when played properly. There is also included, a full video lesson on how to practice these lines. Well, I have never seen sophisticated material quite like this offered elsewhere at any price, much less at these bargain prices. Given the countless hours that must have gone into this work, I don’t see how Steve is offering it at such a low price. It seems to me that any student who has real aspirations to play really awesome jazz, needs this material.
Having said that, I must admit that this stuff is very challenging. The licks are considerably more difficult to master than the blues riffs were. In fact, I have spent two days on just the first several lines on page one and have found them very tough to get down, at practical speeds. If you don’t really have discipline and a strong desire to succeed, you will not get far with this material. I expect to be working on this book for months, and even years, but I can already sense the improvements that are possible for me with adequate work. Without the book it would be so much harder that I doubt that I would succeed. Thanks Steve! You have created something special.
Honestly at first I underestimated the book. Maybe I had too many outside expectations. Reading through it first in Em (to fit one of my afro modal tunes) I thought it was OK, but then, I listened to steve’s demo. (only wish it had been done to the provided backing track to hear the lines in context) and was totally impressed. Steve’s awesome technique really bring the ideas to life. There is far more here than I’d at first been able to hear myself. Now I jam these lines to a backing track and after a while I’m hearing my own lines emerge. For me this is a winning formula! Thank you very much indeed Steve. The whole package is well worth the price paid!
Sincerely,
Joe Nickerson
Hi Steve
I bought this “devastating minor lines for Jazz and Funk soloing”, and i would like to thank you for this incredible work….I think it’s the thing that i need… it’s an untiring book and i work these lines wih a great interest. It’s awesome. But this… is for those who work harder.
Thank you
Kareem
I received my hard copy yesterday in the mail, I would use just one word to describe this book: Addictive. Not only do the lines sound killer, but they’re great finger busters as well. I haven’t taken them for a ride on the sax yet, but I didn’t want to put my flute down yesterday. Steve you’ve done it again with another great book of material to add to my vocabulary.
I’m so excited about this new book! I’ve been slowly working my way through your Bebop lessons, learning volumes as I go. It’s improved my playing vastly. Then again I’ve put in the work that you so highly recommend and it’s paid dividends.
Lately I’ve been struggling with playing solos over minor chords and then your monthly newsletter came out announcing this book. I could hear the angels singing, I couldn’t buy it fast enough.
What I love about Devastating Minor Lines, is that you have laid out the ground work of something very complex and yet in the lesson you provide an entry point for a player of practically any level to know where to start. I know that if I put in the time and effort, as you so wisely suggest, that I will see another jump in my playing. Thank you for breaking down the lines and explaining the content. I’m looking forward to many, many hours of practice!