Jazz Concepts and Playing Techniques of the Masters • Jazzadvice

Back in September we released a free presentation walking you through What You Should Practice. And in that presentation, we showed you and discussed the 3 essential pieces to practicing jazz improvisation… Getting new language Developing language Working on tunes But they’re not the easiest concepts to grasp… So, we thought it might be helpful …

Tricks with approach notes in jazz improvisation

5 Easy Tricks With Approach Notes That Will Make You Sound Like a Pro (Premium)

Eric

Chords, Playing Techniques, Premium Only

Ever wonder how the best players seem to improvise brilliant lines without any effort? All while you’re struggling to make even the simplest chord tones sound good. If you’re like most players you know this frustration. However, the solution doesn’t lie with a hidden secret or advanced music theory – it all goes back to …

The Secret Behind Every Solo that You Can’t Afford to Miss

Eric

Inspiration, Jazz Advice and Tips, Jazz Musicians, Perspectives, Playing Techniques, Transcribing

There’s a secret hidden in every great solo. You’ll find it in those old records of Louis Armstrong and those videos of Bird and Diz that you watch on YouTube. You can even hear it in the players of today like Terence Blanchard, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Tom Harrell and dozens of others. It’s a secret that …

7 Free Jazz Lessons From History's Greatest Improvisers

7 Crucial Lessons from History’s Greatest Improvisers

Eric

Inspiration, Jazz Advice and Tips, Jazz Education, Jazz Musicians, Perspectives, Playing Techniques

I’m guessing you’ve heard of Miles Davis. That you know Louis Armstrong and have listened to Charlie Parker and John Coltrane. But have you ever stopped and wondered why you know these names? Some of these masters have been gone for 40 years and some of their records are nearly 80 years old. So why …

3 Essential Improvisation Tools that You Need to Know

Eric

Chords, How to Practice Jazz, Jazz Advice and Tips, Jazz Language, Jazz Standards, Playing Techniques, Scales, Transcribing

Imagine that you’re a construction worker. You’ve just pulled yourself out of bed at 4 a.m. and slipped on your steel-toed boots. As you stretch your tired legs you let out a sigh as another long day looms on the horizon. No worries, nothing you can’t do after a strong cup of coffee. You arrive …

3 Easy-to-Fix Mistakes that are Making Your Solos Suffer

Eric

Jazz Advice and Tips, Playing Techniques, Rhythm

Uggh…ouch…Have you ever made these sounds when you’ve listened to a solo? You know, one of those solos where you hear a couple of unsavory phrases and that’s it…no more! For the love of God, please make it stop! If you listen to a good amount of music, I’ll bet you have. But what exactly …

Why You Should Be Hearing Music in Your Mind

Eric

Composition, Ear Training, Perspectives, Playing Techniques

I have a vivid memory of the first time I tried to play in an early jazz group. I was in school and was asked to play the trumpet part in an ensemble that met each week studying the music of Louis Armstrong, Jelly Roll Morton, and other significant early players. Cool, building my jazz …

10 Easy Options for Expanding Your Dominant 7th Vocabulary

Eric

Chords, Composition, Jazz Language, Playing Techniques, Scales, Transcribing

What’s the most important chord progression that you need to know as a musician? Well that’s a good question…In the past we’ve explored some common chord relationships that you’ll encounter as an improviser, but there is one chord relationship that sticks out above the rest. Any guesses? It’s the relationship of the five chord to …

Happy New Year! 8 Musical Resolutions That Will Change Your Playing

Eric

Chords, Ear Training, How to Practice Jazz, Inspiration, Jazz Advice and Tips, Playing Techniques, Rhythm, Scales, Transcribing, Visualization

A new year is the perfect time to look back at what you’ve accomplished in the practice room and to look forward to what you still wish to achieve as a musician. It’s also a great time to make a fresh start, to realign yourself musically, and to set some new goals. So, Happy New …

Hitting the Target: How to Accomplish Your Goals in Music and Anything Else

Eric

How to Practice Jazz, Inspiration, Jazz Advice and Tips, Jazz Education, Playing Techniques

On this site, we often talk about the specifics of learning improvisation: ear training, transcribing, chord progressions, language… But what about the big picture? How do you accomplish what you want to as a musician? How do you get from the player you are today to the player that you want to become down the …

Overcoming Mental Limitations in Music

Eric

Ear Training, How to Practice Jazz, Inspiration, Jazz Advice and Tips, Jazz Education, Perspectives, Playing Techniques, Visualization

I can’t. We’ve all said these fateful words at one point or another. Fill in the blank for your own situation. “I can’t (____)”…draw, run long distances, wake up early, stop eating cheesecake. Every day there are literally dozens of things that we convince ourselves that we simply cannot do, and playing music and improvising …

The Philosophy of Learning Jazz Improvisation: Thinking like a Composer

Eric

Chords, Composition, How to Practice Jazz, Jazz Advice and Tips, Jazz Education, Jazz Language, Myths, Perspectives, Playing Techniques, Scales, Transcribing

Composition is selective improvisation – Igor Stravinsky. In 15 seconds the difference between composition and improvisation is that in composition you have all the time you want to decide what to say in 15 seconds, while in improvisation you have 15 seconds – Steve Lacy. Learning to improvise is a big undertaking. Not only must …

Playing Techniques

How to Practice: The 3 Essentials to Practicing Jazz Improvisation [Free Download Inside]

5 Easy Tricks With Approach Notes That Will Make You Sound Like a Pro (Premium)

The Secret Behind Every Solo that You Can’t Afford to Miss

7 Crucial Lessons from History’s Greatest Improvisers

3 Essential Improvisation Tools that You Need to Know

3 Easy-to-Fix Mistakes that are Making Your Solos Suffer

Why You Should Be Hearing Music in Your Mind

10 Easy Options for Expanding Your Dominant 7th Vocabulary

Happy New Year! 8 Musical Resolutions That Will Change Your Playing

Hitting the Target: How to Accomplish Your Goals in Music and Anything Else

Overcoming Mental Limitations in Music

The Philosophy of Learning Jazz Improvisation: Thinking like a Composer

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