All The Things You Are is a timeless jazz standard...Charlie Parker, Stan Getz, Ella Fitzgerald, Sinatra...these are just some of the legends that recorded it. But with its traveling tonal centers and unfamiliar keys, this...Read More
All The Things You Are is a timeless jazz standard...Charlie Parker, Stan Getz, Ella Fitzgerald, Sinatra...these are just some of the legends that recorded it. But with its traveling tonal...Read More
Scales, Chords, Progressions, and Tunes... These are the words we all use to define and think about music. It's how we make sense of the songs we hear, how we talk about the solos we...Read More
Scales, Chords, Progressions, and Tunes... These are the words we all use to define and think about music. It's how we make sense of the songs we hear, how we...Read More
Minor harmony is everywhere in jazz. Whether you’re playing a tune in a minor key or a jazz standard that shifts to the relative minor for a section, you need a solid understanding of how...Read More
Minor harmony is everywhere in jazz. Whether you’re playing a tune in a minor key or a jazz standard that shifts to the relative minor for a section, you need...Read More
Think of a jazz standard that you often play. One that you've been working on in the practice room. Picture the chord progression in your mind and imagine yourself getting ready to play the first...Read More
Think of a jazz standard that you often play. One that you've been working on in the practice room. Picture the chord progression in your mind and imagine yourself getting...Read More
Despite what everyone thinks, being creative isn't easy. You don't just suddenly find yourself with talent one day and immediately start creating great works of art. It takes years of hard work to develop artistic...Read More
Despite what everyone thinks, being creative isn't easy. You don't just suddenly find yourself with talent one day and immediately start creating great works of art. It takes years of...Read More
Ican't understand why people are frightened of new ideas. I'm frightened of the old ones - John Cage. At some point as an improviser, whether you welcome it with open arms or avoid it like...Read More
Ican't understand why people are frightened of new ideas. I'm frightened of the old ones - John Cage. At some point as an improviser, whether you welcome it with open...Read More
A reader recently wrote us asking about what we think about while we improvise. He writes: "I'm a tenor saxophonist and still pretty new to the whole improvising scene. I was wondering what musicians "think"...Read More
A reader recently wrote us asking about what we think about while we improvise. He writes: "I'm a tenor saxophonist and still pretty new to the whole improvising scene. I...Read More
When we practice jazz improvisation, we zoom in on one area of study so much that we often lose sight of the whole. How do we practice in this truly focused way, while simultaneously train...Read More
When we practice jazz improvisation, we zoom in on one area of study so much that we often lose sight of the whole. How do we practice in this truly...Read More
Recently we received a question about non-standard progressions, specifically the type of progressions you see in Wayne Shorter and Joe Henderson tunes... These types of tunes are notoriously difficult, as they don't seem to use...Read More
Recently we received a question about non-standard progressions, specifically the type of progressions you see in Wayne Shorter and Joe Henderson tunes... These types of tunes are notoriously difficult, as...Read More
The altered scale allows access to the beautiful tensions of a dominant chord in a flash. The effective use of this scale, however, is not easy. In this article, I've assembled what I have found...Read More
The altered scale allows access to the beautiful tensions of a dominant chord in a flash. The effective use of this scale, however, is not easy. In this article, I've...Read More
Here's a recent question from a reader struggling with fast tempos: "Hi, I'm a saxophone player in Toronto. What might you recommend in terms of practice techniques to play on blistering fast tempos?" When it...Read More
Here's a recent question from a reader struggling with fast tempos: "Hi, I'm a saxophone player in Toronto. What might you recommend in terms of practice techniques to play on...Read More
The infamous ii V is everywhere in jazz chord progressions. In fact, the ii V defines a sense of tension and release that prevails throughout all western music... An essential key to understanding how to...Read More
The infamous ii V is everywhere in jazz chord progressions. In fact, the ii V defines a sense of tension and release that prevails throughout all western music... An essential...Read More
Areader recently asked: "I was wondering about how to play over altered dominant chords. What are some strategies for playing over Dominant 7 #9 chords, specifically." This question comes up frequently for many improvisers. It...Read More
Areader recently asked: "I was wondering about how to play over altered dominant chords. What are some strategies for playing over Dominant 7 #9 chords, specifically." This question comes up...Read More
Jazz musicians and educators constantly discuss the topic of jazz licks. It's always up for debate...Should you learn them? Is it okay to play them over and over in your jazz solos? Does it matter...Read More
Jazz musicians and educators constantly discuss the topic of jazz licks. It's always up for debate...Should you learn them? Is it okay to play them over and over in your...Read More
We often talk about jazz language and how a primary way to integrate it into your playing is by applying that language to specific parts of tunes. By forcing yourself to use some piece of...Read More
We often talk about jazz language and how a primary way to integrate it into your playing is by applying that language to specific parts of tunes. By forcing yourself...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