freedom in all keys for musicians

3 Steps to Freedom In All 12 Keys

By

Eric

How to Practice Jazz, Scales

The ability to play fluently in all 12 keys is essential for every improviser. Initially, it may seem like you rarely play in certain keys or even that it’s just not necessary to play in every key. So why bother with twelve keys, right? If you look carefully, however, many common standards that are in …

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playing longer lines in your jazz solos

Playing Longer Lines in Your Solos

By

Eric

Playing Techniques

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 over the length of your solo. This can be an especially frustrating stumbling block to overcome in that it takes …

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how to learn jazz tunes fast

Hey, Do You Know That Tune?

By

Eric

Jazz Standards

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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