Inspiration for improvisers
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Chords, Jazz Language, Premium Only
There are certain things that you need to do if you want to improve your musical skills…Setting aside time each day to practice. Listening to important recordings. Seeking out teachers to guide you along the way. The same is true if you want to improve your jazz improvisation skills. You need to spend time listening, transcribing solos, building …
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Inspiration, Jazz Advice and Tips, Jazz Standards
With all the play-along sets and backing tracks available everywhere today, it’s becoming less and less common for people to learn tunes directly from recordings. I mean, why waste your time figuring out the changes when a simple search online can tell you what they are, what scales to play, and provide you with full …
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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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How to Practice Jazz, Inspiration, Jazz Advice and Tips, Jazz Standards, Perspectives
Why is learning how to play jazz so hard? Is it that there are a million tunes to know? Or the thousands of great jazz solos to transcribe? Or is it all that crazy music theory, the mental aspects behind a jazz standard that make it so difficult? All of these challenges make learning jazz …
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Inspiration, Jazz Advice and Tips
Scales, Chords, Progressions, and Tunes… These are the words we all use to define and think about music. It’s how we make sense of the songs we hear, how we talk about the solos we love, and how you tackle the nitty-gritty elements of music in the practice room. The same words are used in …
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How to Practice Jazz, Jazz Advice and Tips
Ahh the summer…a time to take a break from the daily grind and a moment to take stock of your progress. A few months to relax, reset, and refocus on the stuff you want to accomplish as a musician. As an improviser this time can be pivotal in your musical development…if you focus on the …
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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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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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Chords, Composition, Jazz Musicians, Jazz Standards
I can still remember the day I discovered how amazing the ii V7 chord progression could be. After struggling for years, It was as if a locked door finally opened and I was granted access to a secret society… I finally saw what all the fuss over ii Vs was about and why they mattered …
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Every musician knows the feeling…You’ve picked out a tune to learn in the practice room. You’ve figured out the melody and memorized the chord progression. And you’re ready to start improvising your solo. Then it happens…you hit a wall. All of a sudden you can’t seem to find the right notes to play, no matter …
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Composition, Jazz Musicians, Jazz Standards, Rhythm
Phrasing is one of those things that everyone talks about, but most cannot clearly define. Like the concept of “swing,” it’s something you can feel and hear, but as soon as you start trying to use words to describe it, things get pretty ambiguous. First, let’s talk about musical phrases… In music, a phrase is …
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Clifford Brown is one of those rare musicians that always seems to play the perfect solo. Every phrase is expertly crafted, every note is musical, and each idea is delivered with impeccable sound … If you’re sitting here like me, wishing you had even one of these qualites in your improvised solos, Clifford Brown is …