Jake Dester
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Take Lessons with Jake Dester

Hey,  Jake Dester here.
Just wanted to share a bit about myself and what I can teach you!

I'm a NYC-based musician with a degree in Jazz Saxophone Performance from the world-renowned University of North Texas.

And with over 20 years of diverse experience performing, composing, arranging, and teaching music, I help
 students of all levels improve their playing. My focus is on five main things:

1. Tone and Intonation
• exercises to refine your sound including...
    - Mouthpiece Exercises
    - Long Tones
    - Undertones
    - Overtones
• how to use recordings of your favorite players as Tonal Models for building a sound that is true to both the jazz tradition and your personal taste


2. Tunes
• which ones to learn
• tools and methods for learning tunes faster with less effort
• gain long-lasting memory and recall of both melodies and chord changes
• ultimately be able to hear and learn tunes, in real time on gigs and at sessions

3. Transcription
• learn solos and licks by ear, matching articulation and tone
• make your own detailed transcriptions and get the most out of them

4. Technique
• diatonic (modal), pentatonic, and synthetic scales and patterns and using them in real-life situations
• playing faster and more accurately
• articulate your instrument in a way that is true to the jazz art form, and instinctively know how and when to articulate when reading sheet music with a big band or combo


5. Jazz Vocabulary
• study, compose, practice, and apply licks and patterns over grooves, tunes, and common chord changes
• develop your own unique, authentic style
• understand Harmonic Substitutions, Alterations, and Extensions and when and how to use them in your playing and composition


If you are interested in lessons, please feel free to send me a message here: CONTACT

Available for lessons in New York City or though Zoom, Skype, and Google Hangouts.

• Saxophone
• Jazz Improvisation
• Composition
• Arranging
• Transcription
* Notation
• Saxophone Articulation
• Music Theory

CONTACT
  • Work
    • Commissions
    • Appears On...
    • Original Music
  • Lessons
  • Transcriptions
  • Donate
  • Contact
  • NYC Lessons