master your intervals in ear training

Master Your Intervals in 28 Days

By Forrest

Being able to quickly hear, sing, and accurately identify intervals is essential to developing your improvisational ear. In this article, we’ve put together a plan for you to master your intervals in 28 days… For beginners, this will give you a much needed foundation. And for more advanced players, it will give you a chance …

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10 jazz improvisation tips

10 Jazz Improvisation Tips to Remember

By Forrest

There are countless tips for jazz improvisation that you’ll want to remember, but these 10 are essential! 1.) Think quality over quantity Often we are in a hurry to ‘catch up.’ Wherever you are in your personal development as a jazz improviser, accept it. It’s okay if you only know a few tunes, or can …

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half diminished chord techniques

How to Not Suck at Half-Diminished Chords

By Forrest

For most people, half diminished chords remain a mystery. Also known as minor 7b5 chords, they seem to fall by the wayside, never getting as much attention as major, dominant, or minor chords… The result: nearly everyone sucks at them Think about it. Are you as comfortable on Bb half diminished as Bb major? if …

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stay sane while pursuing your art

How To Stay Sane While Pursuing Your Art

By Forrest

As a musician or any other creative individual, we get so wrapped up in what we are doing, that we often lose sight of everything else. Consequently, when something within our own little bubble is not going how we would like it to, our positivity plummets and our world comes crashing down. Here are some …

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Harold Mabern Gems

3 Gems Harold Mabern Told Me

By Forrest

If you don’t know who Harold Mabern is, it’s time you did. The legendary pianist has played with everyone and is on the records of Lee Morgan, Hank Mobley, and Freddie Hubbard, just to name a few. I had the great honor of studying privately with him for over a year. Not only is he …

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practicing in all four directions

The Four Directions

By Forrest

A significant part of practicing jazz improvisation consists of working on scales, chords, and patterns. Practicing them in a thorough manner will enable you to obtain the most benefit in the shortest amount of time. Unfortunately, we often get caught up in practicing this material in the same incomplete way everyday. For instance, we may …

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visualization for jazz improvisation

Visualization for Jazz Improvisation

By Forrest

Countless hours in the practice room and rhythm changes or a simple bridge to a tune still giving you a tough time? This is a familiar situation to everyone of all levels. I used to waste hours mindlessly practicing, thinking that there was some secret I was missing, or if I just kept improvising over …

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jazzadvice begins

Jazzadvice Begins

By Forrest

Welcome to Jazzadvice! The name says it all. Jazzadvice is a rapidly growing collection of the best advice we’ve picked up along the way on our never-ending path of musical devlopment. Whatever it may be, no matter how seemingly simple or complex, it’s advice based on experience that will make you a better musician, a …

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