Inspiration for improvisers
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Jazz Advice and Tips, Playing Techniques
A significant part of practicing jazz improvisation consists of working on scales, chords, and patterns. Practicing them in a thorough manner will enable you to obtain the most benefit in the shortest amount of time. Unfortunately, we often get caught up in practicing this material in the same incomplete way everyday. For instance, we may …
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Learn tunes. Transcribe solos. The instructions for aspiring jazz musicians are pretty much the same everywhere you go. You want to play longer lines and master tricky chord progressions? “Learn tunes and transcribe solos.” Need more technique and better ears? You get the idea… We receive this advice from our teachers, friends, and from our …
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Composition, Ear Training, Playing Techniques
On this site we frequently write about the benefits of ear training for improvising, with good reason. Hearing and singing intervals, melodies, chord progressions, etc. is one area of daily practice that will directly affect your improvising for the better. However, ear training isn’t only limited to improving your harmonic sensitivity. Developing rhythmic awareness and …
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How to practice scales for speed is something every musician wants to know. What scale exercises can you practice to quickly attain a high level of speed and accuracy? Are there certain keys you should start with, or specific approaches you should try? Today we’re going to teach you some valuable tactics to practice all …
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Inspiration, Jazz Advice and Tips, Perspectives
Daily practice is the key to growing into the player you wish to become. Everyday, building upon the knowledge you learned the previous day, moving forward, getting closer and closer…that’s the goal. But what if with each day, you’re just more and more frustrated? What if you’re simply bored with your sound and most everything …
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Keep your eyes on the stars but keep your feet on the ground – Theodore Roosevelt. The fundamentals of ear training are largely glossed over. Developing one’s ear is seen as a linear track: learn your intervals, then your triads…and so on… But developing your ear is not a linear pursuit. Like improvisation, it’s a …
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Ear Training, How to Practice Jazz, Jazz Advice and Tips, Perspectives, Playing Techniques, Transcribing
Practice is an essential part of your journey as a musician. We all do it every day…or at least we try our best to, however daily practice doesn’t always guarantee improvement. Why? Simply because not all practice is created equal. If you look at the big picture there are two basic types of practice: (1) …