Inspiration for improvisers
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Ear Training, Jazz Advice and Tips, Jazz Education, Perspectives
You’re a trumpet player. You play the piano or the guitar. Maybe you’ve taken up the saxophone. Out of a dozen different instruments, this is the one that you’ve chosen to amplify your musical voice. You identify with it, you wield it with pride, and you strive to follow in the tradition of the fine …
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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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Ear Training, Playing Techniques
Being able to quickly hear, sing, and accurately identify intervals is essential to developing your improvisational ear. In this article, we’ve put together a plan for you to master your intervals in 28 days… For beginners, this will give you a much needed foundation. And for more advanced players, it will give you a chance …
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How to Practice Jazz, Jazz Advice and Tips
Do you ever get the sneaking suspicion that you’re playing the same solo over and over again? As if you’re traveling down a familiar well-worn path in every single tune, regardless of the key, the tempo, or even the chord progression… Minor chords get your favorite minor lines, major chords get major scales, ii-V’s get …
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Inspiration, Jazz Advice and Tips
You’re a musician. Or at least you used to be one…You played an instrument in high school, faithfully took private lessons, and performed at dozens of recitals and concerts. Maybe you even went on to study in college. There’s a guitar sitting in your closet, a piano in the spare room gathering dust, and a …
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Chords, Composition, Ear Training, Jazz Standards
Chord function is a confusing topic that is intricately tied to other just as confusing topics like voice leading, harmonic tension and resolution, intervallic content, chord voicings, chord families and more! Today we’ll unravel the slew of questions that arise from exploring chord function. Questions like, how do you build chords within a key? Why …
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Doxy is one of those classic Sonny Rollins tunes that gradually made its way into the jazz standard repertoire. Originally recorded in 1954 and released on the album Miles Davis with Sonny Rollins, its compact form and changes make for a great improvisational vehicle. And today, Doxy has become one of the most recommended tunes …
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Composition, Jazz Advice and Tips, Perspectives, Tunes
As a musician, you often find yourself listening to the best improvisers you can. Searching for inspiration, guidance, and answers to the challenges you’re facing. Especially when it comes to those records that include the same jazz standards you’re trying to learn… You want to figure out exactly what your favorite players are doing over …
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Blues, Chords, Composition, Jazz Standards, Music Theory, Perspectives, Tunes
Have you ever noticed how there’s a special group of improvisers that seem to know EXACTLY what to play over any tune at any time – no matter what it is? The key doesn’t matter, the tempo doesn’t matter, even the style of music doesn’t matter… You could blindfold them, fly them to a jam …
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Transcribing is the single most effective method of learning how to improvise…or so everyone says. The only problem is it can be a mystery figuring out what the transcription process actually entails. You have your instrument and a collection of your favorite recordings – now what? The standard jazz resources are good at teaching the …
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Chords, Composition, Jazz Language, Jazz Standards, Playing Techniques
How do I connect chords when I’m soloing? You’re asking yourself this question in the practice room and you’re frustrated when there doesn’t seem to be an easy answer. But you’re not alone. This is a question that every improviser struggles with as they create solos over tunes. Improvising over one chord is simple enough, …
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Chords, Composition, Jazz Advice and Tips, Premium Only, Scales
After you’ve been improvising jazz for a while, most chords are pretty familiar. You’re used to major, minor, dominant, and half diminished…but just as you thought you were getting a handle on things, a chord comes out of nowhere that makes you go “What is that?!?!” And not only do you have to figure out what …