Inspiration for improvisers
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Chords, Composition, Jazz Education, Scales
Have you ever thrown your hands up in frustration trying to understand music theory? Have you ever found yourself lost and panicking in a solo as you search for the right scale or chord to play? Many frustrated musicians run into this wall every time they try to take a solo. From the outside improvising …
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Jazz Musicians, Playing Techniques, Premium Only
Michael Brecker is one of the greatest saxophonists to arise after John Coltrane. Like Trane, he took the instrument places it had never gone before, adding new fingerings, effects, and extended techniques that made him seem like more than a man…… Superhuman. That’s the word that comes to mind when I think of Michael Brecker. …
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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 a simple and effective process to find and incorporate new rhythms into your playing. Step 1: Choose a chorus You’ll need …
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Playing Techniques, Premium Only
You’ve heard solos with wrong notes. Unfortunate note choices that make you cringe, questionable scales that clash with the chords, and licks that sound forced and unnatural. But I’m guessing you’ve also heard players that can make any note sound good over any chord, as if they can simply improvise whatever they want. Here’s the …
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A reader writes: It seems like everyone is taught the standard “off beat” articulation of swing eighth notes, but I feel that swing is really much more complicated. Why is it that some players seem to swing so hard while others do not? What’s the secret to swinging hard? Yes, everyone is taught the standard …
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Chords, Composition, Ear Training
In the recent article Hearing in Color, we discussed how to develop the technique of hearing individual chord tones in the context of triads and 7th chords. Just as the individual chord tones in a chord have identifiable colors, the chords themselves have distinct sonorities that set them apart from one another. The key to …
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Welcome to Jazzadvice! The name says it all. Jazzadvice is a rapidly growing collection of the best advice we’ve picked up along the way on our never-ending path of musical devlopment. Whatever it may be, no matter how seemingly simple or complex, it’s advice based on experience that will make you a better musician, a …
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Chords, Perspectives, Playing Techniques
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” in their minds while improvising. Are you consciously focused on the scales and chord structures? Or do you just not …
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If I asked you to name a iii VI ii V in the key of F#, how quickly could you conjure up the answer? If the time it takes you to think through that progression in your mind takes more than a millisecond, chances are you’re going to have a hell of a time playing …
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Let’s face it. As improvising musicians, we’ve become obsessed with notes. Obsessed with harmony, chords, and scales. Which scales to use over which chord progressions, which diminished scales to play over dominant chords, how to play “outside,” how to play “inside,” which chords can be substituted for others…We even reduce entire sounds, full of infinite …
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The old maxim “A is for effort” does not apply when it comes to jazz improvisation or playing any style of music. Effort is the last thing you want. In fact, we seek effortlessness. When it comes to playing our instruments, the ultimate goal is to be as efficient as possible. No movement or mind-share …
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Amateurs phrase in a way that sounds boring and boxy. In contrast, professionals phrase in a way that gives excitement and forward motion to their playing. In this article I’ll explore some tendencies that I’ve observed in the recordings of my heroes. Of course, your personal observations would result in different conclusions, which is why …