Every musician knows the feeling...You've picked out a tune to learn in the practice room. You've figured out the melody and memorized the chord progression. And you're ready to start improvising your solo. Then it...Read More
Every musician knows the feeling...You've picked out a tune to learn in the practice room. You've figured out the melody and memorized the chord progression. And you're ready to start...Read More
Blues is the backbone of so much in jazz. The melancholic feeling. The soul. The call-and-response phrasing, walking groove, and clearly defined melodic statements…blues is ingrained in jazz at its very roots. And every jazz...Read More
Blues is the backbone of so much in jazz. The melancholic feeling. The soul. The call-and-response phrasing, walking groove, and clearly defined melodic statements…blues is ingrained in jazz at its...Read More
Remember the first time you played a modal tune like Impressions and how fun it was to wail over a minor chord? Maybe you’ve had this experience, or maybe it’s in your near future, but...Read More
Remember the first time you played a modal tune like Impressions and how fun it was to wail over a minor chord? Maybe you’ve had this experience, or maybe it’s...Read More
Every musician wants to sound hip and modern...To play complex lines that move outside of the harmony and above the time. Solos that'll make your fellow musicians shake their heads in disbelief and leave the...Read More
Every musician wants to sound hip and modern...To play complex lines that move outside of the harmony and above the time. Solos that'll make your fellow musicians shake their heads...Read More
You're a trumpet player. You play the piano or the guitar. Maybe you’ve taken up the saxophone. Out of a dozen different instruments, this is the one that you’ve chosen to amplify your musical voice....Read More
You're a trumpet player. You play the piano or the guitar. Maybe you’ve taken up the saxophone. Out of a dozen different instruments, this is the one that you’ve chosen...Read More
Learning jazz standards is a crucial part of every jazz musician's practice routine. After all, as a jazz musician, the entire goal is to perform tunes, so it totally makes sense that they should be...Read More
Learning jazz standards is a crucial part of every jazz musician's practice routine. After all, as a jazz musician, the entire goal is to perform tunes, so it totally makes...Read More
Uggh…ouch...Have you ever made these sounds when you’ve listened to a solo? You know, one of those solos where you hear a couple of unsavory phrases and that’s it...no more! For the love of God,...Read More
Uggh…ouch...Have you ever made these sounds when you’ve listened to a solo? You know, one of those solos where you hear a couple of unsavory phrases and that’s it...no more!...Read More
You’re searching for the perfect sound. You want to play long improvised lines with ease. You want to have effortless high range, to play swinging phrases with a stellar tone, and to sound great on...Read More
You’re searching for the perfect sound. You want to play long improvised lines with ease. You want to have effortless high range, to play swinging phrases with a stellar tone,...Read More
Transcription can be a real struggle sometimes. Some days it feels like you can spend an hour trying to learn a few measures, and after a dozen frustrating attempts, you end up in exactly the...Read More
Transcription can be a real struggle sometimes. Some days it feels like you can spend an hour trying to learn a few measures, and after a dozen frustrating attempts, you...Read More
Repetition. It's one part of learning to improvise that's par for the course. We practice scales over and over again until the technique is securely in our fingers, we spend hours repeatedly working out ii-V7...Read More
Repetition. It's one part of learning to improvise that's par for the course. We practice scales over and over again until the technique is securely in our fingers, we spend...Read More
Oftentimes, we get pushed down a very narrow, prescribed path when it comes to learning and performing jazz. Without question, we get complacent with the established rules of others whether it's the guidelines of an...Read More
Oftentimes, we get pushed down a very narrow, prescribed path when it comes to learning and performing jazz. Without question, we get complacent with the established rules of others whether...Read More
At a certain point in your development as an improviser it becomes necessary to evolve beyond just playing "right notes" and using your favorite licks and move onto playing longer coherent musical phrases that develop...Read More
At a certain point in your development as an improviser it becomes necessary to evolve beyond just playing "right notes" and using your favorite licks and move onto playing longer...Read More
Rhythm is often thrown to the wayside, in favor of working on harmony and melody. Perhaps this disregard is caused by a lack of understanding about how to approach this aspect of improvisation. Here's...Read More
Rhythm is often thrown to the wayside, in favor of working on harmony and melody. Perhaps this disregard is caused by a lack of understanding about how to approach this...Read More
Learning how to improvise is not nearly as clear as people think. And what makes it worse is that there are quite a few myths about it. Today, in no particular order, we're going to...Read More
Learning how to improvise is not nearly as clear as people think. And what makes it worse is that there are quite a few myths about it. Today, in no...Read More
We receive countless emails expressing gratitude for Jazzadvice.com and we greatly appreciate the thousands of people that visit each and every week. It's because of you (our awesome readers) that we continue to write and...Read More
We receive countless emails expressing gratitude for Jazzadvice.com and we greatly appreciate the thousands of people that visit each and every week. It's because of you (our awesome readers) that...Read More
Things are not always what they appear to be. Sometimes the standard advice does not get you where you want to go. Here's an idea: approach what you're trying to achieve by doing the opposite....Read More
Things are not always what they appear to be. Sometimes the standard advice does not get you where you want to go. Here's an idea: approach what you're trying to...Read More