You walk into your practice room. You sit back in your favorite chair and mentally prepare to play your first note of the day. You glance at your stack of etude books, the half transcribed...Read More
You walk into your practice room. You sit back in your favorite chair and mentally prepare to play your first note of the day. You glance at your stack of...Read More
Learning how to improvise can be overwhelming. There's an enormous gap in knowledge to overcome as soon as you decide that you want to play jazz. Before you even improvise a single note, you have...Read More
Learning how to improvise can be overwhelming. There's an enormous gap in knowledge to overcome as soon as you decide that you want to play jazz. Before you even improvise...Read More
Every musician has spent time in the practice room working on etudes. Diligently running through exercises that cover various techniques like articulation, the altissimo range, or diminished arpeggios. This is a good start for most...Read More
Every musician has spent time in the practice room working on etudes. Diligently running through exercises that cover various techniques like articulation, the altissimo range, or diminished arpeggios. This is...Read More
It's the subtleties of articulation that make melodies come alive. But, being so subtle, articulation is one of those concepts that's difficult to grasp, or for that matter, even teach. And it's personal. Nearly every...Read More
It's the subtleties of articulation that make melodies come alive. But, being so subtle, articulation is one of those concepts that's difficult to grasp, or for that matter, even teach....Read More
The commonly known Pareto Principle states that 80% of the effects of something, come from 20% of the causes. In terms of learning, this means: figure out where the largest gains can be made and...Read More
The commonly known Pareto Principle states that 80% of the effects of something, come from 20% of the causes. In terms of learning, this means: figure out where the largest...Read More
Creativity in its most basic form is simply the act of taking something old and making it new. Whether you're a novelist, an architect, an engineer or an improviser, artistic creation stems from a desire...Read More
Creativity in its most basic form is simply the act of taking something old and making it new. Whether you're a novelist, an architect, an engineer or an improviser, artistic...Read More
When exactly do I become good at improvising? Is there a single point that occurs where I can finally play like I want to? These are questions that inevitably pop up and hover at the...Read More
When exactly do I become good at improvising? Is there a single point that occurs where I can finally play like I want to? These are questions that inevitably pop...Read More
Learning to improvise is a life long pursuit. Constantly, we're bombarded with information on how to improve. From the teachers that give us private lessons, to friends who recommend their personal practice routines, it seems...Read More
Learning to improvise is a life long pursuit. Constantly, we're bombarded with information on how to improve. From the teachers that give us private lessons, to friends who recommend their...Read More
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...Read More
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...Read More
When your goal is to improve at a skill like improvisation, you will stop at nothing to gather as much information as you can. Your search leads you in every direction: out of print books,...Read More
When your goal is to improve at a skill like improvisation, you will stop at nothing to gather as much information as you can. Your search leads you in every...Read More
Ican't understand why people are frightened of new ideas. I'm frightened of the old ones - John Cage. At some point as an improviser, whether you welcome it with open arms or avoid it like...Read More
Ican't understand why people are frightened of new ideas. I'm frightened of the old ones - John Cage. At some point as an improviser, whether you welcome it with open...Read More
Sometimes a change in perspective is all you need. Jazz improvisation is a demanding pursuit, one that combines intellect, feeling and expression. It's easy to grasp the music theory side of things, but it's much...Read More
Sometimes a change in perspective is all you need. Jazz improvisation is a demanding pursuit, one that combines intellect, feeling and expression. It's easy to grasp the music theory side...Read More
In my article on Monday I talked about why you're not getting the results you want from transcribing whole solos. For the most part, that article was written with respect to language: how to make...Read More
In my article on Monday I talked about why you're not getting the results you want from transcribing whole solos. For the most part, that article was written with respect...Read More
One of the most frustrating things about learning to improvise is the expectation that you can simply jump in and start creating a great solo right away... The belief that you can learn a single...Read More
One of the most frustrating things about learning to improvise is the expectation that you can simply jump in and start creating a great solo right away... The belief that...Read More
When I think about what it means to "let go," detailed scenes from Hollywood hits come to mind. Scenes like Neo in The Matrix learning that "there is no spoon," and Tom Cruise in the...Read More
When I think about what it means to "let go," detailed scenes from Hollywood hits come to mind. Scenes like Neo in The Matrix learning that "there is no spoon,"...Read More
Let me guess...You’re smart. You know your stuff. And you have a sparkle in your eyes when you talk about music. You take lessons and you play in a band, and when you find a...Read More
Let me guess...You’re smart. You know your stuff. And you have a sparkle in your eyes when you talk about music. You take lessons and you play in a band,...Read More