Inspiration for improvisers
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It’s been a while since you’ve picked up your horn, sat down to the piano, or even thought about practicing. As time goes by, it gets more and more difficult to get that spark going again. Ok, time to get out of this rut and do something about it. Here are 27 ideas to get …
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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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Ear Training, Jazz Advice and Tips, Perspectives
There are really two areas of musicianship, aside from technique on an instrument, that a jazz musician requires to be a complete improviser. One is developing great ears and the other is an intellectual understanding of harmony. These two qualities can especially be found among the countless innovators of the music. Take the musicians of …
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Ear Training, Jazz Advice and Tips, Jazz Language, Perspectives, Visualization
You’ve heard it time and time again…PLAY WHAT YOU HEAR!! But when it comes to improvising jazz, how do you actually go about playing what you’re hearing? And how do you mentally hear the beautiful jazz lines that you want to play? Playing what you hear sounds so easy in theory, but it’s much more …
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How to Practice Jazz, Inspiration, Jazz Advice and Tips
Time is the only thing we really have in life and there never seems to be enough of it. But whether your goals are to just play for fun or to become a professional musician, there are techniques you can start using today to make use of your time more effectively to become the musician …
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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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Composition, How to Practice Jazz, Jazz Advice and Tips
As musicians, we find ourselves in an interesting time. No concerts, no gigs, no rehearsals, and no one else to play with. However, there is one thing we all have more than enough of – practice time. On one hand, this can be a great opportunity to focus on the areas of your playing that …
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Contrary to what many people think, great solos don’t just happen by chance. They aren’t a lucky run of notes that happen to sound good or a sudden stroke of divine inspiration that hits once you walk on stage. If only it were that easy! The ability to get up and improvise in front of …
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There is a secret that all great musicians have in common. You won’t hear it on their recordings or even in their live performances. And some may even deny it that it ever happened at all. But look back even further and you’ll find it… The truth is that every great musician started out as …
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Ear Training, How to Practice Jazz, Inspiration, Jazz Advice and Tips, Jazz Standards, Premium Only, Rhythm, Scales, Transcribing
We often get a ton of great questions from our readers about what to practice. These inquiries range from players that are stuck in a daily musical rut to aspiring improvisers that simply don’t know the next step to take in the practice room. The truth is, every musician encounters frustrating days on their instrument …
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Jazz Advice and Tips, Jazz Education, Myths, Perspectives
Mastering jazz improvisation seems simple in theory. At least every great player makes it sound that way. And on paper it all looks pretty straight forward. Memorize the chords, learn a few scales, and listen to the masters. With a little practice and transcription you’re good to go – you can almost hear the dazzling …
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Ear Training, Perspectives, Transcribing
Tran•scribe – transitive verb. A: to make a written copy of, B: to make a copy of (dictated or recorded matter) in longhand or on a machine, C: to paraphrase or summarize in writing, D: to represent (sound) by means of phonetic symbols This is the definition I found for the word transcribe when I …