This week continues our series on steps to a great practice routine. This time we put one foot in the practice room and think about our mindset! Would you like to support the creators of this podcast? If so, please head over to our Patreon page and show your love by donating $3 or more each month. You get incredible benefits and this keeps the podcast coming at you regularly. Thanks so much! … [Read more...]

This week is all about using your natural instrument to start learning and hearing some concepts that we all need in our tool kit. You will be singing this week and for the next few episodes so get your voice tuned up and ready to go! This will eventually lead us to some great ways of coming up with our own vocabulary organically and not forcing ourselves to learn and memorize tons of vocabulary. While the former is still something we should be doing on a regular basis, some folks (like myself), … [Read more...]

This month we cover one of my favorite Thelonious Monk tunes, Well You Needn't. This tune is unique in many ways. It uses almost exclusively half-step motion in the chord changes which provides us a unique challenge when improvising. In this episode we talk about using motivic development yet again to gain some facility and knowledge of the chord changes. This is a great way to approach this tune when you're starting out and develop fluency before trying more complicated devices. Enjoy the … [Read more...]

This weeks starts a series of Motivation Monday episodes on having the best practice routine that you possibly can. In this first episode, we talk about planning the week in a way that will lead you to success! Would you like to support the creators of this podcast? If so, please head over to our Patreon page and show your love by donating $3 or more each month. You get incredible benefits and this keeps the podcast coming at you regularly. Thanks so much! … [Read more...]

This episode continues our Lick of the Month series utilizing a line from Dexter Gordon's solo on Three O'clock in the Morning. We talked about the melody to this tune on a previous episode, but now it's time to take a look at part of his solo and learn from it. We feature an 8 bar phrase that moves from pure melodic joy into a more bebop approach. We talk about the evolution of the phrase and how you can inject this type of thing into your own playing. Enjoy the episode! WANT THE PDF THAT GOES … [Read more...]

Can't believe I forgot to mention this one! Would you like to support the creators of this podcast? If so, please head over to our Patreon page and show your love by donating $3 or more each month. You get incredible benefits and this keeps the podcast coming at you regularly. Thanks so much! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kx-QuVszOk&t=1591s … [Read more...]

This episode is in response to a question from one of my students, Mike. His concern was those tunes with fast tempos and dense chord changes. Something we all struggle with. This episode is all about turning those tunes into an opportunity instead of a section to be feared. By turning them into a ballad or a set of cadenzas, we can free ourselves up to try new things and develop new pathways through tunes and keys. When we look at things like this as learning tools, we suddenly change our view … [Read more...]

Just got back from a relaxing vacation and I thought I'd subject you to a rambling podcast on what I was thinking about! Would you like to support the creators of this podcast? If so, please head over to our Patreon page and show your love by donating $3 or more each month. You get incredible benefits and this keeps the podcast coming at you regularly. Thanks so much! … [Read more...]

This week continues our discussion on stylizing a melody. This time, we take a look at a great jazz standard, I Remember You, and talk about some concrete techniques we can use to make it more interesting than what is written in the book. David, one of our loyal listeners should be credited with bringing these ideas up and suggesting this tune. Thanks, David, and I hope you all get something out of this episode! WANT THE PDF THAT GOES ALONG WITH THIS EPISODE?? Head over to our Patreon … [Read more...]

This week I respond to many questions I've been getting about the great Barry Harris and his methods. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwS4aPW0QGp5TbRhVnKNNShvblBMENi_n Would you like to support the creators of this podcast? If so, please head over to our Patreon page and show your love by donating $3 or more each month. You get incredible benefits and this keeps the podcast coming at you regularly. Thanks so much! … [Read more...]