Inspiration for improvisers
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Jazz Advice and Tips, Music Theory, Perspectives
Let’s face it, improvisation is hard enough as it is, even when we do spend the time in the practice room. But however much we study or practice, there are some key factors that can destroy our creativity and ability to improvise in seconds. We’ve all experienced this feeling before in performance. You hear an …
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Half-diminished chords are difficult, but they don’t have to be. In How to Not Suck At Half-diminished Chords, I presented a simple way to start to improve at these often neglected chords and if you practiced the exercise in that article, you will without a doubt have made progress. But even with some concentrated effort …
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Playing Techniques, Transcribing
A magical thing happens when you listen to a recording of your favorite player and begin to play along with the record. It’s almost as if an unconscious transformation takes place, an instant instruction through aural osmosis. Simply by sitting by the speakers with your instrument and taking in those sound waves, you can instantly …
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In a recent question from a reader, I was asked why in many examples on this site do I denote the iii chord in a iii Vi ii V as half-diminished? This is an excellent question. In many lead sheets you see the iii chord denoted as minor and many theory books claim that the …
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It’s a question that we get asked all the time on gigs, at jam sessions, and even in our weekly lessons. As you probably know, it’s not a lot of fun when you are put on the spot and don’t know a tune. In fact, it seems like a lot of the motivation for our …
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They say that time is money, but in jazz improvisation, it’s even more than that! Time is what’s passing by while you’re desperately trying to recall the next chord change in a tune, the notes to the melody, or what to play at any given moment of your solo… Everything in jazz improvisation happens in …
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How to Practice Jazz, Inspiration
It’s the time of year again when we make ambitious lists of resolutions and let me tell you, this year is shaping up to be different. Seriously…all those other years were just practice runs, this year we’re actually going to follow through on our resolutions. It’s very easy to make hopeful resolutions, and music is …
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Jazz Advice and Tips, Jazz Language, Perspectives
Learning language is arguably the most important aspect of learning to improvise. When you start to use the language you’ve worked on in your solos, you start to realize how powerful it truly is. You feel like a whole new perspective has been opened up to you – that you finally understand. But then, over …
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How to Practice Jazz, Jazz Advice and Tips, Playing Techniques
How creative are you each time you play your instrument? Think about it for a second…are you actually creating new musical ideas in your solos? Are you actually free when you improvise?? As a creative improvising musicians, this is one question that we should all ask ourselves from time to time. It’s well known that …
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In today’s world, it’s easy to be overwhelmed. We live in a time of excess information and much of it is misleading. But supposing you’ve separated the good stuff from the stack, it still feels like there’s so much to learn… Take this site for instance. I’d like to think that we have a ton …
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A recurring theme on this site seems to be language – acquiring, practicing, and applying the jazz language. There is a reason behind all the repetition, however. Language is a very powerful concept when it comes to improvisation and it’s an idea that can drastically change your mentality about the music. But, even before you …
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Inspiration, Perspectives, Playing Techniques
What if you could approach something in a completely new way than you’ve ever done before? What would happen? Perhaps an entire world of possibility exists from this new angle, but how do you get there? Trying completely outlandish, almost silly techniques can spawn immense creativity and improvement in one’s ability. In all art-forms, it’s …