Bob – Page 18

2020-03-21 By Bob 9 Comments

“What’s he doing there?!” – How to make use of Eric Alexander’s solo break on “Four”

It’s a killer “break,” and you can use it in a lot of places. Let’s examine the parts that make up this whole so you can shed it—and apply it.

2020-02-21 By Bob 17 Comments

Call and Response – Find New Material While Developing Your Improvisational Phrasing

This improv exercise will help develop your phrasing and help you break free of the same old licks and streams of eighth notes you’re stuck using.

2020-01-25 By Bob 8 Comments

Listening for the spark

Transcribing is more (to me) than only copying another player’s solo with your horn. It’s about listening for sparks. Lemme show ya what I mean.

2020-01-05 By Bob 1 Comment

Members Play “Ecaroh” (Hard Bop Classic)

Bob’s review and feedback plus a PDF breaking down the “nugget” and what to do about that one note. 😉

2020-01-04 By Bob 9 Comments

Soloing Over a Pop Tune: Finding Colors Beyond Basic Pentatonics

We’ll look at the modes inside the hit song “Happy” for some ways to build solos that fit the context of the tune but develop beyond just the “meat and potatoes” melody and root-based pentatonic scale.

2019-12-20 By Bob 20 Comments

Developing a Sound That Fills the Room

What should you do when you feel like your sound isn’t projecting the way you wish it would? Change mouthpieces? Reed strengths? Both? Here are some practices I use to develop a big sound—at any volume.

2019-12-06 By Bob 8 Comments

How Do You Accompany Another Soloist With Your Saxophone?

In this lesson I’ll walk you through what I’m thinking as I accompany trumpeter YAYennings in a chord-less band.

2019-11-23 By Bob 12 Comments

Half (Ghost) Tonguing: A 5-Note Exercise to Make Playing Fast Easier

Using half tonguing when playing faster lines can help keep articulation and time in check.

2019-11-03 By Bob

Snarky Puppy Lesson Roundup: 7 Lessons on Memorizing and Retaining Music, Improvising Over Modal and Non-traditional Progressions, and Developing Melodic Ideas

Learning (and retaining) music quickly, navigating non-traditional chord progressions and forms, and finding ways to expand your improvisations on modal and loop-based grooves, these are all things we do on a nightly basis with Snarky Puppy. I’m on tour with them and we just played Utrecht, NL—the city where we recorded “We Like It Here,” it seemed like a good opportunity to round up a few Snarky-related lessons, including one I made during that recording session.