The old maxim "A is for effort" does not apply when it comes to jazz improvisation or playing any style of music. Effort is the last thing you want. In fact, we seek effortlessness. When...Read More
The old maxim "A is for effort" does not apply when it comes to jazz improvisation or playing any style of music. Effort is the last thing you want. In...Read More
Anyone can improvise! - The phrase rolls off the tongue with the banality of many a late-night infomercial. "Anyone can get ripped abs! Anyone can make millions from home! Anyone can speak Navajo!" But when...Read More
Anyone can improvise! - The phrase rolls off the tongue with the banality of many a late-night infomercial. "Anyone can get ripped abs! Anyone can make millions from home! Anyone...Read More
We talk about jazz language a lot: what it is, what it isn't, how to get it, and what to do with it. We constantly strive to better communicate these aspects of learning language because...Read More
We talk about jazz language a lot: what it is, what it isn't, how to get it, and what to do with it. We constantly strive to better communicate these...Read More
We often get stuck in a rut when it comes to practicing technique. In the practice room we cover the same bases in our efforts to improve our overall technique. We run our major and...Read More
We often get stuck in a rut when it comes to practicing technique. In the practice room we cover the same bases in our efforts to improve our overall technique....Read More
Hearing larger intervals is difficult for most people. After a couple weeks of practicing your intervals, half-steps, whole steps, major and minor thirds, perfect fourths, perfect fifths, and major sixths fall into place, but the...Read More
Hearing larger intervals is difficult for most people. After a couple weeks of practicing your intervals, half-steps, whole steps, major and minor thirds, perfect fourths, perfect fifths, and major sixths...Read More
Every so often you'll make a musical discovery that will drastically change the way you approach improvisation. One day you're struggling over the same tunes, growing more and more frustrated with your own predictable patterns...Read More
Every so often you'll make a musical discovery that will drastically change the way you approach improvisation. One day you're struggling over the same tunes, growing more and more frustrated...Read More
When you're frustrated with your playing it's difficult to excel at all. It's difficult to make a coherent musical statement, let alone even listen to yourself. These bouts happen to everyone. The key is to...Read More
When you're frustrated with your playing it's difficult to excel at all. It's difficult to make a coherent musical statement, let alone even listen to yourself. These bouts happen to...Read More
In jazz education, one thing that you encounter right off the bat are rules. There seem to be rules for every aspect of the music: Which scales you're allowed to use over certain chords, which...Read More
In jazz education, one thing that you encounter right off the bat are rules. There seem to be rules for every aspect of the music: Which scales you're allowed to...Read More
IWe all have lines we use frequently. Some lines we use so much, that we can't stand them, criticizing ourselves for playing them over and over, thinking we're being unoriginal and uncreative... It's ok. Even...Read More
IWe all have lines we use frequently. Some lines we use so much, that we can't stand them, criticizing ourselves for playing them over and over, thinking we're being unoriginal...Read More
Play what you're hearing in your head! These are the instructions that numerous books, videos, and educators tell us as we struggle to figure out how to play over chord progressions. The only problem in...Read More
Play what you're hearing in your head! These are the instructions that numerous books, videos, and educators tell us as we struggle to figure out how to play over chord...Read More
Why is it so difficult to learn jazz standards even when we have access to so much information about each and every one? We can bring up recordings with a few clicks of mouse via...Read More
Why is it so difficult to learn jazz standards even when we have access to so much information about each and every one? We can bring up recordings with a...Read More
Learning to improvise is a path with many steps leading to many different levels. Contrary to the belief held by some that improvising is a talent, or even a skill allowed to only a special...Read More
Learning to improvise is a path with many steps leading to many different levels. Contrary to the belief held by some that improvising is a talent, or even a skill...Read More
We practice long tones. We work on two-five progressions until our fingers bleed. We work on new ideas and concepts. The work is mostly enjoyable, sometimes frustrating, and hopefully productive... But what is all this...Read More
We practice long tones. We work on two-five progressions until our fingers bleed. We work on new ideas and concepts. The work is mostly enjoyable, sometimes frustrating, and hopefully productive... ...Read More
There exists a hidden trap on the path of learning improvisation. One that you can fall into without even realizing it. In music school practice rooms, jam sessions, and even in the performance hall, the...Read More
There exists a hidden trap on the path of learning improvisation. One that you can fall into without even realizing it. In music school practice rooms, jam sessions, and even...Read More
In 6 Disastrous Mistakes You're Making In Learning To Improvise, we detailed some pitfalls that cause people to waste tons of time and cause years of frustration. Let's get right into it...here are six more...Read More
In 6 Disastrous Mistakes You're Making In Learning To Improvise, we detailed some pitfalls that cause people to waste tons of time and cause years of frustration. Let's get right...Read More
Ever feel like you sound mechanical, predictable, and boring, like a robot? Nobody wants to sound like a robot. We're human. We have thoughts, ideas, emotions...and we want to express these things in our music... ...Read More
Ever feel like you sound mechanical, predictable, and boring, like a robot? Nobody wants to sound like a robot. We're human. We have thoughts, ideas, emotions...and we want to express...Read More