John O'Neill is a jazz musician, teacher and author, whose instrumental methods for saxophone, clarinet, flute and trumpet are published by Schott.
26/09/2019
Practising scales and arpeggios over an extended range Practising scales and arpeggios over an extended range The problem of the traditional approach to scales and arpeggios Many woodwind players, even experienced ones, play scales and arpeggios from key note to key note (see example 1 in the PDF attachment at the bottom of this page). If you play scale...
15/05/2019
Paul Desmond's solo on 'Wave' Paul Desmond's solo on 'Wave' A masterpiece of melodic improvisation Some time in 1976 I discovered, in Oxford City Library, the LP 'Live' by the Paul Desmond Quartet. Paul Desmond is best known as the alto saxophonist in Dave Brubeck's group - it was he, not
14/05/2019
Sidney Bechet: 'I've Found A New Baby' Sidney Bechet: 'I've Found A New Baby' It's the birthday of Sidney Bechet, father of the soprano sax. This clip from 1958 shows that even at the age of 61 he was still on top of his game. There's a lot of Bechet in
10/03/2019
Tone development for sax and flute Tone development for sax and flute The foundation of good tone, on saxophone and flute, is the ability to play well in the low register. The exercise in the attached pdf will help you to develop this ability. I recommend it for all students who can play down to low 'C'. Points
05/03/2019
The Saxophone Method vol. 1 The Saxophone Method vol. 1 Learn to play saxophone with a great band! The Saxophone Method vol. 1 is the first part of a complete course for beginner to intermediate alto saxophonists. Free play-along and demonstration audio tracks for all the tunes are available from MusicGurus through Schott. The...