Inspiration for improvisers
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How to Practice Jazz, Jazz Advice and Tips, Perspectives
Despite what everyone thinks, being creative isn’t easy. You don’t just suddenly find yourself with talent one day and immediately start creating great works of art. It takes years of hard work to develop artistic skills and once you have these skills, it’s no guarantee that your artistic vision will always find a way to …
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Ear Training, Jazz Advice and Tips, Perspectives
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 there is improvement information coming from every direction! We’ll even purchase expensive books and videos, searching for “the secret” (that …
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Chords, Composition, Jazz Language, Transcribing
You hear it over and over. Just transcribe. You want to get better? Transcribe. You want to have a better sound. Transcribe. Can’t seem to play over Rhythm Changes? Transcribe. And yes, when people tell you this, they’re correct. You can learn pretty much anything you want from transcribing. But, what they don’t tell you …
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Jazz Advice and Tips, Perspectives
Being successful as a jazz musician isn’t all about practice routines, ii-V licks, or memorizing tunes. Sometimes getting to the next level as a player is all about having the right perspective. Here are 20 things every improviser should know… 1. Nobody’s checking for your music degree Just because you graduated with a degree in …
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Chords, Composition, Jazz Advice and Tips, Jazz Musicians, Tunes
There are a lot of skills you need in jazz improvisation…Developing great ears, a knowledge of tunes, instrumental technique, and a mastery of jazz language… But there’s one question that gets to the heart of the matter for any soloist… Can you come up with interesting musical ideas over a single chord? Without the aid …
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Blues, Composition, Jazz Advice and Tips, Jazz Standards, Tunes
You know the routine…You pick out a new tune, read through the melody, and start to work on a solo. You’ve got a few ideas, throw in a couple of your favorite licks, and follow the guide tone lines. And then it happens…you’re stuck playing the same old scales and patterns that you use in every …
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In practicing improvisation, one common pitfall that we run into is expecting to find the secrets of jazz all by ourselves. We gather our books and recordings and head into the practice room determined to overcome the difficulties of improvisation with an army of one. What’s the big deal, you taught yourself Spanish, so how …
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How to Practice Jazz, Jazz Advice and Tips
As an aspiring musician today, you should consider yourself lucky. What I mean is, right now, you have access to more information, more resources, and more answers than any musician to come before you… Think about it…in a few seconds you can find a recording and the sheet music to any jazz standard ever written. …
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How to Practice Jazz, Inspiration, Jazz Advice and Tips, Jazz Education, Jazz Musicians, Jazz Standards, Perspectives
On this site we’ve frequently written about learning tunes. This is no coincidence – learning tunes goes hand in hand with improving as an improviser. Whether you’re practicing, performing, or simply listening to a few records with some friends you’re dealing directly with tunes. Keeping this in mind, building a solid repertoire of tunes should …
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How to Practice Jazz, Inspiration, Perspectives
When you begin something new, there’s so much to learn. Improvement is quick and often, practice is exploratory and fun. But after doing anything for a while, you settle into a routine and your once explosive improvement tapers off. Wherever this may leave you, you can’t seem to get beyond this plateau. Why are you …
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Ear Training, How to Practice Jazz, Jazz Advice and Tips
There is one important part of practicing and learning any musical instrument or musical style that many players are unintentionally missing. A necessary skill that’s so obvious it often remains hidden in plain sight. It seems to be the same across the board from absolute beginners to college music majors. It doesn’t matter if you …
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Composition, Jazz Language, Jazz Musicians, Playing Techniques, Rhythm
With his unique improvisational style and innovative approach, Charlie Parker not only revolutionized how to play alto saxophone, but how to play jazz as a whole. He had a concept all his own that transcended what came before him and elevated the music to new heights! It’s no wonder that nearly every jazz musician since …