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Hi! I am Steve Neff

I have been playing and teaching saxophone and jazz improvisation around the New England area for the last 30+ years. I love teaching and anything to do with the saxophone. I hope you find this website helpful in your musical journey. Thanks, Steve

Freddie Gregory Mark II 7* Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece

August 13, 2009 by Steve 14 Comments

Let me know what you think of this one. This is a Freddie Gregory Mark II 7* tenor saxophone mouthpiece. It is made of hard rubber and looks as perfect as you will ever find.  I traded my Freddie Gregory Mark II 8* tenor sax mouthpiece for this mouthpiece. I love this mouthpiece, but at […]

Filed Under: Tenor Low Baffle Reviews, Tenor Mouthpiece Reviews Tagged With: freddie gregory, hard rubber, mark II, review, sax mouthpiece, tenor saxophone

Lamberson J7 Tenor Mouthpiece

August 13, 2009 by Steve 13 Comments

This is a piece I got from the famous Dr. G on SOTW.  I have to say that this piece has mystical properties to it that I don’t understand.  It is made by Fred Lamberson and it has the least baffle of any piece I have ever owned but has a brightness and power to […]

Filed Under: Tenor Low Baffle Reviews, Tenor Mouthpiece Reviews Tagged With: Fred Lamberson, Lamberson J7, tenor mouthpiece

Florida/Early Babbitt HR Link 7* Tenor Mouthpiece

August 13, 2009 by Steve 2 Comments

This is a piece I bought about 4 years ago.  I got caught up in the whole “slant” hard rubber link thing and I emailed a guy who had a slant.   He had just sold it but said he had this piece that was as good or better than any slant he had ever played.  […]

Filed Under: Tenor Medium Baffle Reviews, Tenor Mouthpiece Reviews Tagged With: early babbitt, florida link, Jon Van Wie, tenor mouthpiece

Guardala Gold MB II Tenor Mouthpiece

August 13, 2009 by Steve 8 Comments

I received this from WWBW about 3 weeks ago.  This is not a handmade Guardala tenor mouthpiece but one of the CNC made mouthpieces by WWBW.  Yes, I couldn’t resist.  I’ve tried Guardala mouthpieces before and they were always too bright for me.  This one isn’t.  It has a nice balance to it.  On the […]

Filed Under: Tenor High Baffle Reviews, Tenor Mouthpiece Reviews Tagged With: Guardala MB, tenor mouthpiece

“Live” Lamberson 7DD Tenor Mouthpiece

August 13, 2009 by Steve 5 Comments

Here’s a “live” clip of my white acetal Lamberson 7DD tenor mouthpiece. This is the same piece that I play on the “Let’s Get it On” video on my website. I’ve always said that Fred Lamberson makes amazing mouthpieces. This 7DD mouthpiece is no exception. It’s on the brighter side of the spectrum but still […]

Filed Under: Live Recordings, Tenor High Baffle Reviews, Tenor Mouthpiece Reviews Tagged With: 7DD acetal, Fred Lamberson, tenor mouthpiece

“Live” Jon Van Wie Otto Link 8

August 13, 2009 by Steve 6 Comments

My Jon Van Wie refaced Super Tone Master Link is the tenor sax mouthpiece that I have played the most over the last 10 years. Jon Van Wie was an incredible mouthpiece refacer (sad to say that he died a number of years ago).  I had the good fortune to have him work on a […]

Filed Under: Live Recordings, Tenor High Baffle Reviews, Tenor Mouthpiece Reviews Tagged With: Jon Van Wie, otto link, reface, tenor mouthpiece

“Live” Lamberson J7 Tenor Mouthpiece

August 13, 2009 by Steve 10 Comments

This is an old clip i just found on my computer.  It’s one of those loud dance sets and the singer is making noise through most of the solo but you can get an idea of how the Lamberson J7 sounds through a mic in this type of setting. The cool thing about this clip […]

Filed Under: Live Recordings, Tenor Low Baffle Reviews, Tenor Mouthpiece Reviews Tagged With: Lamberson J7, tenor mouthpiece

Greg Wier GW 7M Alto Mouthpiece

August 13, 2009 by Steve 16 Comments

This is a great alto mouthpiece that I bought from Greg Wier.  I’ve seen all of his mouthpieces on ebay for quite some time now and have wondered how they are. I trialed one of his tenor mouthpieces awhile ago and was very impressed with it.  This alto mouthpiece is terrific also.  It’s got that […]

Filed Under: Alto Medium Baffle Reviews, Alto Mouthpiece Reviews Tagged With: alto mouthpiece, greg wier

Phil-Tone Aurora .078 Alto Mouthpiece

August 13, 2009 by Steve 4 Comments

I received my Phil-Tone Aurora alto mouthpiece from Philip Engleman.  Phil is known as Sigmund451 on SOTW (that’s Sax on the Web).  I was impressed with the mouthpiece just like I was with his tenor piece.  I just slapped a reed on it and it played great.  It has some nice volume to it and […]

Filed Under: Alto Medium Baffle Reviews, Alto Mouthpiece Reviews Tagged With: alto mouthpiece, aurora, Phil-tone, Phillip Engleman

Early Babbit Alto Mouthpiece 7

August 13, 2009 by Steve 2 Comments

This is the Freddie Gregory refaced HR link that I recorded on another clip. It played great but to be honest…..it was way to picky with reeds.  It would take me forever to find a good reed.  I sent it to Brian and had him work on it and set the tip at .080 which […]

Filed Under: Alto Low Baffle Reviews, Alto Mouthpiece Reviews Tagged With: alto mouthpiece, Brian Powell, Early Babbit

Vandoren V16 A5M Alto Mouthpiece

August 13, 2009 by Steve 18 Comments

This is a Vandoren V16 A5M that I bought from Dave Valdez in Portland. Dave had Brian Powell reface the mouthpiece to a .080 and put a very long facing curve on it (23mm) that matched a Slant Link that has been Dave’s main piece forever.  The reason I bought this piece was because I […]

Filed Under: Alto Low Baffle Reviews, Alto Mouthpiece Reviews Tagged With: alto mouthiece, dave valdez, vandoren V16

Hard Rubber Berg Larsen Alto Mouthpiece

August 13, 2009 by Steve 4 Comments

This is a Berg Larsen hard rubber mouthpiece that I won on ebay.  It was advertised as being worked on by Freddie Gregory.  I was not happy with it when I got it at all. I would be very surprised if Freddie Gregory had worked on this. It didn’t seem to play like most of […]

Filed Under: Alto High Baffle Reviews, Alto Mouthpiece Reviews Tagged With: alto mouthpiece, berg larsen, Brian Powell, freddie gregory

Florida Hard Rubber Otto Link Alto Mouthpiece

August 13, 2009 by Steve 4 Comments

This is a hard rubber otto link I bought on ebay.  It was advertised as being worked on by John Reilly and had a  5* facing on it.  It played well but was a little too closed for me.  I sent it to Brian Powell and had him reface it to a  .080 which is […]

Filed Under: Alto Low Baffle Reviews, Alto Mouthpiece Reviews Tagged With: Brian Powell, florida, john reilly, otto link

Meyer G Alto Mouthpiece

August 13, 2009 by Steve 11 Comments

This was a Meyer G with a 5 opening. It was way to small for my tastes. I sent it to Brian Powell to reface it and open it to a .076. It played nice before and had a lot of volume but it felt to closed for me.  This was the first piece I […]

Filed Under: Alto Medium Baffle Reviews, Alto Mouthpiece Reviews Tagged With: alto mouthpiece, Brian Powell, Meyer

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Testimonials

Hey Steve, My name is Jason Freese and I play keyboards and sax in the band Green Day.  I grew up taking sax lessons from Eric Marienthal when I was a kid and got out of it for a long time. I ran into you on youtube while searching for sax stuff. I bought a whole bunch of your lessons and have been loving it! Thanks! Here is my wikipedia so you can see the albums I’ve played on….Thanks again. It’s sparked my interest in practicing again.   Jason
Jason Freese (sax player for Green Day)
I’ve been downloading your lessons for 4 months now (20 lesson) and I have noticed tremendous growth in my playing thus far! I’m so happy that I stumbled upon your site!
Bob
Steve’s monthly lessons are entirely valuable. Without brow beating, he tells you all the stuff you deep down know you really should be working on, instead of just relying on the same old patterns. In spite of the fact that you’re taking a video lesson, Steve’s presentation is comfortable and “real”. In a little more than a year, he’s developed a library of lessons that seem to offer any player a lifetime’s worth of practice material. I’m just glad I stumbled upon it.… Read more
Grant
I want to say something about Steve Neff’s series of lessons, Beginner Jazz Improvisation. For a couple of years I tried many beginner lessons and my problem was that there was a gap between lessons that were fairly simple and ones that I was not quite ready for and my progress stalled out. That problem was solved with the series Beginner Jazz Improvisation. He guides you step by step along the way and builds a foundation for learning jazz and blues. He leaves no question about what to practice … Read more
Pete
Hi Steve, I live in a gorgeous but rural area of Oregon-no music store within 80 miles. Your lessons are my lifeline!  Truly the best there are anywhere online. Love your playing. Love your teaching.  Thanks again. Ed
Ed Woodmansee
I can see from your instructional videos that you are a fantastic teacher – one that can truly relate to all ages – humble yet very positive in approach – never coming across as superior and yet so totally capable of demonstrating the principles and techniques that you seek to impart to the students. I have gained so much confidence in my playing from “pouring over” time and again these invaluable lessons. Invaluable not only in musical content, but also in human interaction content. I am absolu… Read more
Ron

Thank You Steve. I think that I will be busy for years. Thank You for your great contribution to jazz music. Your books, more than teaching “how to play jazz”, actually teach “how to speak jazz”. I wish I found your methods years ago.  

Jean-Eric
Hi Steve, I have been shedding your materials for quite a while now and I love them! They are extremely well organized and presented and there are tons of ’em! I really appreciate your methodical approach and find myself referring students to your resources often.  Thanks so much!  
Kenyon Carter
I am enjoying your style of teaching, and you’ve done a great job with the videos….good sound quality and well constructed lessons.  Balances the more guitaristic material found on the majority of guitar based programs.  Jazz vocab is what I’m all about at this point in the journey.   I especially dig the fact that you’ve studied with Bergonzi…helps me see his voluminous output in a more  bite sized way.
Milton

Hello Steve,

I have not received my alto yet but have already gone through 14 lessons. I love your approach, style, knowledge and competence. I now regret so much to have stayed away from playing the sax for the past 45-50 years…(I am 65).  But It is never too late to get back to your first love. After 23 years in compuer sciences and 22 years in finances…I am now back to music for the rest of my life.

Doing some research on the net, I found this:

http://forum.saxontheweb.net/showthread.php?1… Read more

Claude
Thanks so much for putting all this great learning material out there. I don’t often have the time to take a lesson with a teacher, so the ability to download lessons is really invaluable. My playing has improved enormously (I think :)) – and the lessons are so varied there’s always something to be inspired by. Incredible value too!
Roger
I just joined Neff Music last month. I can’t tell you how excited I’ve been to be able to pick back up on lessons. I’ve been in a rut and you got me out! I’ve especially appreciated the Lesson Path section. It was so clear I knew exactly where to jump in and start. Many many thanks!
Karin
I bought Steve’s dominant bebop book and took a couple of online lesson from him. I really appreciated Steve’s careful listening of what I wanted to get done in a lesson and his clear, concise ideas on next steps to improve my playing and musical interpretation.  His mastering  the Dominant Bebop Scale has lots of exercises to use a scale that addresses the largest percentage of chords I come across in pop/blues music. The dominant V7.  Needless say it has improved my playing.  I teach and a… Read more
Keith
I like so many other subscribers feel so encouraged by Steve’s learning techniques; you will enjoy reading the comments of praise others have left as you too will feel that you share a common view and path. I feel very lucky to have come across Neffmusic and that feeling will remain with you as you search through a treasure trove of learning materials on offer, you will quickly find the lessons that you are suited to. You will instantly recognize the unparalleled quality of Steve’s teaching … Read more
Stephen
Hi Steve, I can’t express just how much I appreciate your teaching. My playing has improved so much over the past year since I have been studying and practicing with your lessons. It is possible to teach an old dog new tricks, these lessons are proof! Thanks, Michael Byington
Michael Byington

I must say again how much I appreciate all your material. Including the video tutorials. It help keep me focused and knowing what to aim for. And your laid back teaching style appeals to me too. 

Thanks

P

P
I’m an experienced player in the pop/soul/funk areas of music and, previously, classical.  Over the decades I’ve been playing, I’ve always felt that I could do what I needed in those styles of music.  However, recently I began to feel limited by my use of the same old licks. When I discovered Steve Neff’s website, and heard the audio examples based on the exercises in his books, I realized they were what I needed.  I purchased all of them and have been working on them since.  It’s very hard work… Read more
Paul
Steve really changed my way of practicing: I got a whole lot of new ideas for my playing the tenor.  His lessons are really helpful, give a lot stuff to practice and give clear answers to complicated stuff.  Steve has a lot of humor and I wish I had laughed so much in my former days with the horn.  All topics, from Blues to Approach note are dealt with clearness that wet ones appetite to play and practice that great ideas.
Uwe
Just a brief note to compliment you on your teaching skills and in particular for the honesty of your lessons.  I am a returning alto sax player in my 50’s and I was looking for a no nonsense, straight to the point kind of guidance. I had intended to email you with a few questions regarding the use of the bis key but then I noticed that there was a lesson on that specific topic and after viewing it,  all my questions were answered. I once took a group lesson with a well known professional sax … Read more
Patrick
First, I’m really excited about your materials! This site is a vast resource for any aspiring (and maybe already inspired) jazz musicians. I’m not a sax player, I play mandolin and fiddle, but have been learning jazz and playing weekly with a quintet for the past 6 months and have been struggling with all of the issues you get into in your lessons. I bought several books and lessons and plan to continue with some others as soon as I organize my practice routine. Thanks again for a great site … Read more
Tony Galfano

I want to thank you again, because, not only are you an inspiration to listen to, you are a fine teacher!

I have been teaching sax and other winds for over 20 years, and you give me that “push” to give my students more!

Mark Peotter

Mark Peotter

Mr. Neff,  I want to thank you for sharing your God-given talents through your on-line lessons.  My husband, Michael, is blind, but he is a great sax player and he has been enjoying your lessons for quite some time now.  It’s not unusual for me to hear “Hey, babe, listen to THIS!” – and he will cut loose on his sax, just thrilled at what he learned during his session with you.  His excitement warms my heart!  You have no idea how much you have poured into my husband.  You have opened musical … Read more

Carole B

I am enjoying your style of teaching, and you’ve done a great job with the videos….good sound quality and well constructed lessons.  Balances the more guitaristic material found on the majority of guitar based programs.  Jazz vocab is what I’m all about at this point in the journey.  I especially dig the fact that you’ve studied with Bergonzi…helps me see his voluminous output in a more bite sized way.

Milton
Hey Steve! I hope you and your family are well.  I’m just writing to say thank you so much for all the resources you have made available to the saxophone community. I have been using your material for many years and I always come back to it… in fact I just took a break from practicing to write this…( reviewing “CreatingModern II-V-I Lines with simple pentatonics”.) I am, and continue to be, one of your raving fans! Blessings to you and your family this holiday season! Wishing… Read more
Gerry Aylward

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