Inspiration for improvisers
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Inspiration, Jazz Advice and Tips
Here’s a collection of some of the best jazz improvisation educational video clips I’ve found. They include: Pat Martino, Jerry Bergonzi, Joe Lovano, Michael Brecker, Hal Galper, Joshua Redman, Bill Evans, John Scofield, Chris Potter, Billy Taylor, Joe Henderson, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Mulgrew Miller, Oscar Peterson, Terence Blanchard, Walter Bishop Jr., and Kenny Werner. Enjoy! Pat …
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How to Practice Jazz, Inspiration, Jazz Musicians
Clark Terry is one of the legends of this music. He’s played with every big name in jazz over the last half-century from the likes of Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Thelonious Monk, Oscar Peterson, to Ella Fitzgerald…the list could go on forever. With such a rich performing career spanning over six decades, he continues to play …
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Inspiration, Jazz Education, Perspectives
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 not get too discouraged and press on… Today we’ll look into some tactics for how to deal with frustration in …
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How to Practice Jazz, Inspiration, Jazz Advice and Tips
You’re constantly practicing, listening, and striving to improve your ability to improvise…yet for some strange reason, the next level of playing somehow seems to elude you. Etudes aren’t doing the trick. Scale patterns have become boring and predictable. And memorized lines simply won’t translate into amazing musical phrases. Despite all of your time and effort, …
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Inspiration, Jazz Advice and Tips, Perspectives
So you want to change the way you play? To improve your sound and your solos. To become more effortless in your technique. To finally get rid of those bad habits and creative roadblocks in your playing… Every aspiring musician can relate to these feelings and frustrations. But what does the process of getting better …
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Inspiration, Jazz Advice and Tips, Perspectives
There aren’t many things that we can all agree on when it comes to discussing the history of jazz, but one thing that we can come to a consensus on is that all the masters of this music had their own voice. Each and every one sounded unique and accomplished in their own way. Every …
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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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Inspiration, Jazz Advice and Tips
When I was younger, my father constantly cut out articles from Investor’s Business Daily that he found interesting or inspiring, and casually placed them throughout the house where I would stumble upon them. Not wanting to take parental advice, just like any other kid, most of these articles ended up in the circular file cabinet, …
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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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How to Practice Jazz, Inspiration, Perspectives, Visualization
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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When I think about what it means to “let go,” detailed scenes from Hollywood hits come to mind. Scenes like Neo in The Matrix learning that “there is no spoon,” and Tom Cruise in the Last Samurai being taught to think “No mind.” There’s a good reason these type of scenes take place in so …