Comment on Sightreading Jazz by Bob Taylor by ericdano

In reply to <a href="https://www.jazz-sax.com/2007/09/sightreading-jazz-by-bob-taylor/comment-page-1/#comment-3525">hsnclk</a>. Appears the website does not exist anymore. You can get it through Aebersold though. https://www.jazzbooks.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_code=VJ-PLAY

Comment on Sightreading Jazz by Bob Taylor by hsnclk

In reply to <a href="https://www.jazz-sax.com/2007/09/sightreading-jazz-by-bob-taylor/comment-page-1/#comment-3482">ericdano</a>. The link you shared is not working. Could you share another one?

Comment on Sheet Of The Week – Better Now (Post Malone) by Eric Dannewitz

… reposted this!

Sheet Of The Week – Better Now (Post Malone)

One by Post Malone.

Sheet of the Week – APT. by ROSÉ and Bruno Mars

Not quite sure what the appeal of this song is…..but here it is……

Comment on California Suite by Claude Bolling by Eric Dannewitz

… reposted this!

California Suite by Claude Bolling

Here is a version of the California Suite by Claude Bolling I modified for Soprano Saxophone. Enjoy!

Comment on Sheet Of The Week – From The Start (Laufey) by Eric Dannewitz

… reposted this!

Sheet Of The Week – From The Start (Laufey)

Great little latin jazz type tune.

2024 Year In Review

Things I liked and/or bought: I switched to Boston Sax Shop Silver Label Tenor Reeds. They play great. I used to use Rico Plasticovered reeds. Not any more. I think I got several of these this year? Or maybe last year. Anyhow, these are great. Boston Sax Shop Voyager Saxophone Multi-Tool. I sort of started...

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Comment on How 14 Expensive Instruments Are Crafted by Masters by Eric Dannewitz

… reposted this!

How 14 Expensive Instruments Are Crafted by Masters

Saxophone is in there.

Sheet Of The Week – Pink Pony Club (Chappell Roan)

Honestly, I first heard the Bard-code version of this song and LOVED it.

Murder and Saxophones: Adolphe Sax

This was very fascinating.

Count Bubba – Dan Higgins Solo

I still think Dan Higgins is the best lead alto player that the Gordon Goodwin band has had. He’s amazing.

Sho’ Nuff Did – Michael Brecker Solo

I think this was up here at one point. Here it is again. I love this solo.

Michael Brecker Intro Solo from David Letterman

This is one of solos I remember hearing/seeing as a kid and going…..yeah…..that is awesome.

A Jazz Composer’s Journey with Dorico

So, I was initially sad and angry that MakeMusic decided to kill off Finale. They are “focusing” on their cloud shit. Ok, fine. So the option was either Musescore, Sibelius, or Dorico. Now, I’ve used Musescore off and on. It’s ok. I’ve never liked Sibelius. I’ve tried several times to get into it. It has...

Read More “A Jazz Composer’s Journey with Dorico” »

Sheet Of The Week – Snowman (Sia)

Holiday one by Sia.

Sheet Of The Week – Good Luck (Chappell Roan)

Been hearing this on the radio quite a bit.

Bolling Suite for Flute and Jazz Piano Trio No. 2

A while ago, I had redone the Claude Bolling Suite for Flute and Jazz Piano Trio. Mainly for Oboe, but since you just have to transpose up a 1/2 step, Soprano is easy enough to make. You know what, there are more of these that Claude Bolling did. Here is Suite No. 2. Paper versions...

Read More “Bolling Suite for Flute and Jazz Piano Trio No. 2” »

Sheet Of The Week – Human Nature (Michael Jackson)

One by MJ!

Sheet Of The Week – Please, Please, Please (Sabrina Carpenter)

Another one.

Zinn Practice Regimen – 2025

The Zinn Practice regimen start way way back. In the 90s. I had a version way back then, but it seems to be lost in time. The various versions are here. With the untimely death of Finale, my notation program since……forever…..as a learning exercise I decided to convert the Regimen to Dorico. And the results...

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Lenny Pickett Is A Sax Machine

Great article on Lenny Pickett. I think he doesn’t get enough press for how awesome he is. https://www.vulture.com/article/lenny-pickett-snl-saxophone-tower-of-power.html If you’re making an annual pie chart to determine which Saturday Night Live cast members receive the most screen time each season, you may as well add Lenny Pickett to the mix. Nearly 40 years into his tenure, Pickett’s sounds have become as...

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Sheet Of The Week – Taste (Sabrina Carpenter)

Another by Sabrina.

Sheet Of The Week – Die With A Smile (Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars)

Nice song. These two sound great together.

Sheet Of The Week – Feather (Sabrina Carpenter)

First lead sheet using Dorico. A good tune by Sabrina.

Your Favorite Musician’s Favorite App Is About to Disappear

Last month, nothing short of an earthquake-level upheaval struck the professional music industry. On Aug. 26, the president of the Colorado-based tech company MakeMusic announced that the firm would be making “no further updates” to Finale, the pioneering and popular music-notation app that the firm had been selling and updating for 35 years. “Technology stacks change, Mac...

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Comment on Michael Brecker’s Funky Cha-Cha Solo by ericdano

In reply to <a href="https://www.jazz-sax.com/2024/09/michael-breckers-funky-cha-cha-solo/comment-page-1/#comment-3519">crosbyfan14</a>. I originally did it in Finale. I did export it via xml and imported it into Dorico. Maybe 5 minutes of cleanup. The first page title stuff, and second page title/page number stuff mostly.

Comment on Michael Brecker’s Funky Cha-Cha Solo by crosbyfan14

Did you just do the whole MusicXML export/import nonsense? Or did you do extra cleanup/processing in Dorico?

Michael Brecker’s Funky Cha-Cha Solo

So, seems like my decades run with Finale is coming to an end. So I’ve been dabbling in Dorico to do some notation. Here is a Finale version of Brecker’s Funky Cha-Cha solo on Finale and Dorico. While I consider myself an extreme Finale power user (like, I know that program in and out), Dorico...

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Why Musicians pay over $15k for John Coltrane’s favorite saxophone

Yes. Except I’d never pay for a new one. Used is the way to go.

Comment on End of Finale, Start of….? by Dan Adams

<p><a href="https://www.jazz-sax.com/author/admin/" rel="ugc">@ericdano</a> Ironically, I’d just gotten to the point where <a href="https://musician.social/tags/Finale" rel="nofollow ugc">#Finale</a> was working smoothly and reliably for me after all these years. Go figure. I did go ahead and purchase the Dorico crossgrade and have been sticking my toe in. Bonus is that I can use Noteperformer with it. Not looking forward to all the conversion that awaits…</p>

End of Finale, Start of….?

If you haven’t heard, the LONG TIME notation software (which I use), Finale, is going to be sunset. I think it is a terrible business decision. It would have been like Apple deciding to stop doing the Mac when it was in it’s iPod phase. Or it’s iPhone phase. Finale has been a stable, reliable...

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Ranking The Epic White House Saxophone Battle

Great video. Michael Brecker is the GOAT.

Sheet of the Week – Austin (Dasha)

Sheet Of The Week – Adventure of a Lifetime (Coldplay)

Oh yes, that song.

Something’s Coming – Michael Brecker Solo

One of my Favorite solos

Sheet Of The Week – Shape Of You (Ed Sheeran)

One of Ed’s major hits.

Sheet Of The Week – I’m Just Ken (Mark Ronson)

From Barbie…..great song.

Sheet Of The Week – Flowers (Miley Cyrus)

Good song by Miley.

Musician.Social – Take 2

Over a year ago, Twitter sorta…….shitted itself. Elon Musk F’d it up big time. It is now paid, and basically a bastion of hate and misogyny and all other sorts of bad behavior. So, I started a Mastodon site, Musician.Social……and it was thriving really well……until the Hosting startup failed. Big time failed. As in they...

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Sheet Of The Week – Ghost City Tokyo (Ayase)

Interesting song here…..

Sheet Of The Week – How I’m Feeling Now (Lewis Capaldi)

One by Lewis.

Two Items to add to your Gig Bag

Found two great little items to add to your gig bag. First item are these SEFONE Keychain Work Lights. They are small, have magnets, and are way bright. So useful for packing up stuff on the stage. They are replacing the Lmaytech lights I previously recommended (I still love those though, but these lights are...

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So…..we crashed

Well, yesterday, Monday December 4th was interesting. The computer that was sitting around and serving up all my jazz- sites decided that it’s SSD drive was going to die. Completely. Not even enough for me to clone it off to another one. So it was decision time. Keep hosting it at home, or perhaps do...

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Comment on Sheet Of The Week – Sugar We’re Going Down (Fallout Boy) by ericdano

In reply to <a href="https://musician.social/@ehler/111467086778747990">Matt Ehler</a>. I am a long long term Finale user.

Comment on Sheet Of The Week – Sugar We’re Going Down (Fallout Boy) by Matt Ehler

<a href="https://www.jazz-sax.com/author/admin/" rel="ugc">@ericdano@www.jazz-sax.com</a> <a href="https://musician.social/@ericdano" rel="nofollow ugc">@ericdano</a> What notation softwawre do you use for these?

Sheet Of The Week – Sugar We’re Going Down (Fallout Boy)

Old school. That’s how we roll.

Comment on Rush by ericdano

In reply to <a href="https://www.jazz-sax.com/2012/09/rush/comment-page-1/#comment-3512">jamesmesarosh</a>. Download it and play it.

Comment on Rush by jamesmesarosh

This score and Tank! I'd love to see if my jazz band director would let us play but I'm unsure how all the copyright things work and don't want to infringe on your amazing piece

Gig Bag 2023

Since 2022, gigging has been picking up. This year, I revamped my “Gig Bag” to reflect better what I am doing now. The “OLD” Gig Bag was a Landsend Canvas laptop bag I got in the late 90s. I believe I had two of these, a black one and a blue one. The black one...

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Comment on Pedalboard 5.0 by ericdano

In reply to <a href="https://www.jazz-sax.com/2020/12/pedalboard-5-0/comment-page-1/#comment-3508">jmarcus</a>. Pedalboard 5.5 is coming......The GigRig thing sounds interesting. What mics are you using for this?

Comment on Pedalboard 5.0 by jmarcus

Hi Eric, Just discovered your site and am happy I did. Lots to look at... I have a pedalboard similar to yours. I don't have the H9 (yet) but am settling into two input (with eq) solution (TheGigRig 3to1, my sax and flute mics have 1/4" connectors) into Stomp with exp pedal. I am liking the idea of a reverb pedal outside the Stomp. Anyway, would you be willing to "share" a basic Stomp preset of yours for sax? Understand if not. Thanks, JRM

Comment on Christmas Gifts 2021 (Hardware) by ericdano

In reply to <a href="https://www.jazz-sax.com/2021/11/christmas-gifts-2021-hardware/comment-page-1/#comment-3506">JerryQ</a>. iPad is a game changer. Every musician should own one.....or two.......or three..... I haven't ever used an app to write music on an iPad. I generally in a rehearsal write down notes on songs or sketches I have, and then make changes or create something with Finale. I'm a hardcore Finale user.

Comment on Christmas Gifts 2021 (Hardware) by JerryQ

re: iPad. I love my iPad. I have the first generation iPad Pro and I'm getting ready to upgrade to the latest generation. I find that the large screen of the Pro is about the same size as a piece of paper; my aging eyes don't need the stress of reading small fonts. It holds tons of my Real/Fake books and more apps than I could hope to use in a day. I found the Apple Pencil was a huge benefit when I started to use the iPad for writing music. Currently I'm using Touch Notation. It's a great app, made by Kawai. It's very helpful for lead sheets and exercises for my students, but not useful for scores. And suggestions as to what other Music writing app to use on the iPad?

Comment on Sheet Of The Week – Say So (Doja Cat) by 2jc1970

Good song to practice ii-V7-I with V7/II.......

Comment on What Ever Happened to Eric Kloss? by Jen Matthews

Hello! Eric Kloss is living back in Pittsburgh, Pa. I am working toward helping him get an online presence. I created a FB fan page for him. https://www.facebook.com/ericklossmusic He and his wife are in their 70's and can really use some support from his fans. I also want to introduce his music to new generations.

Comment on Sheet Of The Week – Mandalorian Theme by angelnydr

My fourth grader is super excited, THANKS!!!!!!!

Comment on Sheet Of The Week – Mandalorian Theme by thesandman

Thank you for posting this, my 13 daughter was super excited when I showed it to her. She has been trying to play it be ear, she was darn close, just an octave off.

Comment on Holiday Software Recommendations by ericdano

In reply to <a href="https://www.jazz-sax.com/2019/12/holiday-software-recommendations/comment-page-1/#comment-3496">vasikgreif</a>. You can? Never seen where to do that in the program. I also find Amazing Slowdowner to have an excellent algorithm to making it's slowed audio sound really good.

Comment on Holiday Software Recommendations by vasikgreif

Thanks for the list, using most of these... One note here - you actually can easily export slow-downed audio file from Transcribe!. No need for Amazing slowdowner.. ?

Comment on The Best Internet Thing For Musicians by ericdano

In reply to <a href="https://www.jazz-sax.com/2019/05/the-best-internet-thing-for-musicians/comment-page-1/#comment-3493">crosbyfan14</a>. Yup. Regardless, I have 7 TB worth of stuff on Google now. I can access my PDFs whenever and where ever I want. I have a cloud backup of stuff I care about. I sleep well at night.

Comment on The Best Internet Thing For Musicians by crosbyfan14

In reply to <a href="https://www.jazz-sax.com/2019/05/the-best-internet-thing-for-musicians/comment-page-1/#comment-3492">ericdano</a>. Typical, indeed...

Comment on The Best Internet Thing For Musicians by ericdano

In reply to <a href="https://www.jazz-sax.com/2019/05/the-best-internet-thing-for-musicians/comment-page-1/#comment-3491">crosbyfan14</a>. Typical of Google, they haven't updated their documentation. If you refer to <a href="https://cloud.google.com/blog/products/g-suite/new-pricing-for-g-suite-basic-and-business-editions" rel="nofollow">this announcement they made in January</a>, when they announced the price increase to $12 a month (from $10), they also refer you to <a href="https://gsuite.google.com/compare-editions/?_ga=2.58184874.-1298268805.1558248408" rel="nofollow">this guide</a>, which indicates we now have UNLIMITED storage. My Drive storage says UNLIMITED and I have only one user.

Comment on The Best Internet Thing For Musicians by crosbyfan14

Awesome advice; I use G Suite Business for exactly this! Doesn't the unlimited Google Drive storage require five users, though? IMO, the $60/mo is still worth it!

Comment on SmartMusic – FAIL! by ericdano

In reply to <a href="https://www.jazz-sax.com/2009/04/smartmusic-fail/comment-page-1/#comment-3487">Lehnherr</a>. Oh, there is going to be a follow up article.......since MakeMusic is now killing off the stand-alone version of SmartMusic and forcing people to the "New" Smartmusic.

Comment on SmartMusic – FAIL! by Lehnherr

I agree with you. I use SmartMusic daily with my 5th-12th grade musicians, but I never use the gradebook or assignments part of the program. It's a lot of money ($140) that I don't need to spend.

Comment on Pedal Board 1.1 by ericdano

In reply to <a href="https://www.jazz-sax.com/2017/11/pedal-board-1-1/comment-page-1/#comment-3485">tcsaxtc</a>. Yes, I had a LOT of issues with feedback. I suppose I could have put a limiter or a gate pedal (do they have such things) on BEFORE hitting the Q-Tron, but what I ultimately did was to take the Q-Tron out in <a href="http://www.jazz-sax.com/2019/01/pedalboard-3-1/">Pedalboard 3.1</a>. The H9 has an effect that is pretty much a Q-Tron, plus I can use a footpedal to tweak it. More importantly, it does NOT feedback.

Comment on Pedal Board 1.1 by tcsaxtc

Hi! You have issues with and qtron about feedback? if yes how do you solve them? Thanks

Comment on Tank! by Gregory Haller

Thank you!!!! I'm trying to make a chiptune cover of this, and you saved me from pulling my hair out. -Cerulean Tsundere

Comment on Age Test by chives536

I have nothing but chalkboards in my classrooms, I need one of these

Comment on Sightreading Jazz by Bob Taylor by ericdano

In reply to <a href="https://www.jazz-sax.com/2007/09/sightreading-jazz-by-bob-taylor/comment-page-1/#comment-3481">dheaton</a>. <a href="http://www.visual-jazz.com/download/" rel="nofollow">Visual Jazz</a> is where you should go.

Comment on Sightreading Jazz by Bob Taylor by dheaton

I am looking for a copy of this book you reviewed on Sept 30th 2007, Sight Reading Jazz by Bob Taylor, and came across Jazz-Sax.com and your review. This book was recommended to my son by his college jazz director. I am striking out finding a copy but I hoped you may still have the copy you reviewed and would be willing to sell it to me. Thank you for your honest review.

Comment on West Side Story Medley by janekroll

This is really great work, wow! There's just a couple of rhythmical details that stand out (some hits notated on the beat when they're the offbeat before, some triplet notation etc.) I'm in a student big band and would really like to use some of this, would that be possible? Do you still have the Finale-file? If so, would that be possible to send so I can brush up on the rhythms? I don't want to point at flaws, this is great work, I just want to take it from 99% to a hundred :)

Comment on How To Audition for Cirque du Soleil as a Musician by ericdano

In reply to <a href="https://www.jazz-sax.com/2012/05/how-to-audition-for-cirque-du-soleil-as-a-musician/comment-page-1/#comment-3478">scottycollinson</a>. Seems like the original site is gone. Oh well....

Comment on How To Audition for Cirque du Soleil as a Musician by scottycollinson

Hi there, the link for this appears to be broken and I would VERY MUCH like to read it. Can you please put it up again? Would be much appreciated.

Comment on Rush by ericdano

In reply to <a href="https://www.jazz-sax.com/2012/09/rush/comment-page-1/#comment-3476">JZ Saxophone</a>. Sorry, I don't give out the source files.

Comment on Rush by JZ Saxophone

This is a really great score! I have an unconventional group of musicians who would like to play this but we would need to modify some of the parts to fit our instrumentation. I am fully capable at doing this but I was wondering if I could get a finale or XML file to speed up the process, for a price of course.