Inspiration for improvisers
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Jazz Advice and Tips, Music Theory, Perspectives
Let’s face it, improvisation is hard enough as it is, even when we do spend the time in the practice room. But however much we study or practice, there are some key factors that can destroy our creativity and ability to improvise in seconds. We’ve all experienced this feeling before in performance. You hear an …
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Chords, How to Practice Jazz, Jazz Language
Just learn a few ii V licks in all keys, learn how to use them, and that’s jazz, right? Unfortunately not. ii Vs make up the bulk of chord progressions found in all western music from classical to pop music, hence, ii Vs are necessary to master. However, a common result from working on ii …
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Jazz Advice and Tips, Jazz Education, Jazz Standards, Perspectives
It’s Saturday. You’ve got plenty of time. You’re excited to spend some quality time practicing. You meander into your practice room, peruse your jazz standard play alongs and grab the first volume that sparks your interest, pop it in, and off you go. Sound familiar? As fun as it is to “just play” over a …
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Chords, Composition, Jazz Advice and Tips, Tunes
Here’s something that you’ve probably realized by now on your musical journey…that jazz improvisation can get very complicated, very quickly. In the blink of an eye your enjoyable musical hobby can transform into something that feels a little bit like homework – a tricky exercise with right and wrong answers. Suddenly the simple act of …
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Blues, Chords, Jazz Advice and Tips
One thing that gets lost in the day to day mentality of practicing jazz improvisation is this simple fact – you don’t have to solve EVERY musical problem each time you walk into the practice room… Contrary to all the stories you hear or the pressure you might feel, you don’t have to conquer huge …
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Blues, Jazz Standards, Playing Techniques
Have you ever tried to play over a so-called easy tune, only to find that it’s not actually that easy? All Blues, one of the most incredible tracks from the legendary Miles Davis album Kind of Blue, is commonly referred to as an easy tune throughout jazz education, yet this seemingly simple composition contains more …
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Ear Training, How to Practice Jazz, Jazz Advice and Tips, Jazz Education, Jazz Language
Jazz is smart people music! I first heard these words from the great pianist Harold Mabern. Walking through the practice rooms at school one day, as was usually the case, a group of eager students was huddled around him as he told a story. An impromptu musical lesson that didn’t involve scales or chords, but …
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We often talk about jazz language and how a primary way to integrate it into your playing is by applying that language to specific parts of tunes. By forcing yourself to use some piece of language over a tune in predetermined spots, your ear and your fingers learn how to put that piece of language …
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Here’s a recent question from a reader struggling with fast tempos: “Hi, I’m a saxophone player in Toronto. What might you recommend in terms of practice techniques to play on blistering fast tempos?” When it comes to fast tempos, we could all be better. Want to play fast? Start slow. Slow over fast tempos No …
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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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If jazz is all about being in the moment, but all our practice time is dedicated to figuring out what we want to play when we perform, then how are we supposed to be in the moment when we perform? There’s this strange dichotomy… On one side, jazz improvisation is very rehearsed. And on the …
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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 …