Inspiration for improvisers
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Chords, Ear Training, How to Practice Jazz, Jazz Advice and Tips, Playing Techniques, Premium Only, Scales
Can one note really change your ears and improve your creativity? Surprisingly, the answer is yes. But let me explain…A few years ago I took a lesson with the great trumpet player, improviser and composer Ingrid Jensen. As I hopped on the the N train and headed to the lesson I looked over my practice …
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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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Inspiration, Jazz Advice and Tips, Jazz Musicians, Perspectives, Playing Techniques, Transcribing
There’s a secret hidden in every great solo. You’ll find it in those old records of Louis Armstrong and those videos of Bird and Diz that you watch on YouTube. You can even hear it in the players of today like Terence Blanchard, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Tom Harrell and dozens of others. It’s a secret that …
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Jazz Advice and Tips, Jazz Standards
Some tunes seem to make absolutely no sense, like the chords changes are some random crazy collection of complex sounds…But with a little know-how, using the same tactics we showed you in our recent lesson on learning tunes quickly, even the most difficult tunes can be deciphered in just a few minutes. Today’s lesson comes …
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How to Practice Jazz, Jazz Advice and Tips, Perspectives
Setting goals is an essential part of improving at anything you do…whether it’s learning a language, getting in shape, or mastering an instrument and building your skills as an improviser. You see, your goals are those big targets that you’re aiming for out in the distance. The accomplishments you daydream about, the skills you wish …
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Ear Training, Jazz Advice and Tips, Jazz Standards, Premium Only
Everybody talks about learning tunes. I mean everybody. It’s the one common thread that pops up at jam sessions, on gigs, in music schools and in conversations with great players. Hey, what tune do you want to play next? Do you know this tune? What tunes are you working on? I really need to learn …
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The dominant chord is one of the most versatile chords in the jazz repertoire, and it’s your best bet for adding harmonic tension and melodic interest to your lines. The only problem is that many players approach this sound with the same old scales and licks every time. And this can get pretty boring… That’s …
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How to Practice Jazz, Jazz Advice and Tips, Perspectives
Great solos don’t come from nowhere. The ability to apply innovative harmonic concepts, flawless instrumental technique, and appropriate musical language doesn’t just materialize out of thin air. These prized aspects of excellent musicianship have to start somewhere. However when it comes to pondering our musical idols, for some reason we can’t help thinking in this …
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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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Jazz Advice and Tips, Jazz Musicians, Playing Techniques
Improvising over any chord progression can be a challenge. But the true test of your skills as an improviser comes in those moments when the band drops out and you’re forced to improvise alone, without any accompaniment. The solo break… All of a sudden the spotlight is on you and you’ve got a split second …
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How to Practice Jazz, Jazz Advice and Tips
Remember those times in school, where you were assigned a huge project and given a deadline to finish it by? You know, the ones where the teacher threw an enormous assignment at you as soon as you walked into the classroom: “Write a 15 page paper on the history of the French revolution and give …
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The harmonic and melodic aspects of practicing jazz improvisation take up the bulk of our time. Consequently, developing a strong sense of time falls by the wayside. I’m as guilty as anyone else, thinking that somehow, it would just take care of itself. Unfortunately, things don’t work that way… The people who have “great time” …