3 Tricks to Learning Tunes From Recordings That Have Nothing to Do With Practicing
With all the play-along sets and backing tracks available everywhere today, it’s becoming less and less common for people to learn tunes directly from recordings. I mean, why waste your time figuring out the changes when a simple search online can tell you what they are, what scales to play, and provide you with full ...
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Why The Fastest Way To Build Your Jazz Skills Doesn’t Require Scales or Chords
When you think about the things that’ll make you a better improviser, your mind probably goes right to music theory…The scales, the chords, the diminished patterns & the ii-V licks. If only you knew more of this stuff you’d finally sound great. You’re not alone in thinking this. Take a peek inside any modern jazz method ...
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10 Things Every Comeback Player Needs to Know
You’re a musician. Or at least you used to be one…You played an instrument in high school, faithfully took private lessons, and performed at dozens of recitals and concerts. Maybe you even went on to study in college. There’s a guitar sitting in your closet, a piano in the spare room gathering dust, and a ...
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Make 2017 Your Best Musical Year – Use These 3 Simple Steps to Reach Your Goals
Let’s be real. New Year’s Resolutions don’t work. Every year, January 1st comes and people act as if they’re going to entirely reinvent themselves, that this is the year. The year that’s different than all other years. The year of making things happen and achieving goals. But just after a few weeks, the smoke from ...
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The Ultimate Guide to Overcoming Frustration in Jazz Improvisation
Believe me. I know how frustrating jazz improvisation can be. There have been many periods where I’ve wanted to quit for good. Never play again. Times when I’ve seriously considered putting my horn on Ebay, no reserve, shipping it off to an international buyer, somewhere far far away, and hanging it up for good… But ...
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The Inconvenient Truth About Becoming a Better Improviser…
Making progress as an improviser is tricky business. I’m not talking about the baby steps along the way like learning a new tune, transcribing a solo, or even practicing a few scales. I’m talking about finding musical breakthroughs. Arriving at creative revelations and actually playing the ideas you’re hearing in your head. But I’m guessing ...
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The Talent Myth: Why Exceptional Musical Ability Is Within Your Reach
Talent. It’s a word that’s thrown around in all professions and all parts of life. From sports and academics to art and music. And nowhere is it more prevalent than in jazz improvisation. We listen to the musical masters of the past century, we look at our teachers, the musicians at jam sessions and the ...
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20 Practice Hacks for the Busy Musician
Time is the only thing we really have in life and there never seems to be enough of it. But whether your goals are to just play for fun or to become a professional musician, there are techniques you can start using today to make use of your time more effectively to become the musician ...
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How to Take the Guesswork Out of Jazz Improvisation…and Unlock Your Creativity
If you’re like me, you can picture it in your mind. Walking on stage in front of an audience and jumping right into a solo. Knowing exactly what you want to play and confident that any note you hear will simply flow out with ease. Sounds pretty good, right? The only problem is getting these ...
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How to Avoid the 4 Harmful Mindsets that are Sabotaging Your Practice Routine…
If you’re serious about reaching your musical potential or stepping up your jazz improvisation game then the majority of your time as a musician should be spent in one place: The practice room. It’s where you’ll do the dirty work of pursuing your musical goals and where you’ll build your foundation as a performer. It’s ...
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Goal Setting 101 for the Jazz Musician
Everyone sets goals, but only a handful of people actually achieve them. And out of these highly-motivated people that achieve their goals, only a fraction of them are truly satisfied with their accomplishments. So what is it that this group of awesome highly-motivated and satisfied achievers is doing differently than everybody else? When it comes ...
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7 Musical Devices That Will Give Your Solos Irresistible Style
Open up a music theory book and you’ll likely find pages and pages of definitions. Terms like apogituras, retograde inversions, mordents, hemiolas, turns…Good information, but not exactly stuff that you’d want to put into your next solo. I mean what did stuffy old composers know about improvising anyway? But before you dismiss all that tedious ...
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