This is one of my favorite videos on Youtube. I have probably watched it 20 times at this point. Hal Galper is a legendary jazz pianist and educator and this video will make you rethink everything about approaching your instrument and your time feel. We were always taught to play with as much emotion as we possibly can, right? What Hal says about minimizing emotion in this lesson is astounding. We can still create a very real emotional connection to the music we are playing without letting … [Read more...]
Melissa Aldana: A Rare Talent on The Saxophone
Have you all checked out Melissa Aldana yet? If you haven't you should do yourself a favor and check out one of the most exciting young tenor players on the scene today. This is one of my favorite videos of her playing with her trio. Check out other videos of her and her fantastic bands. There are plenty of them! Her sound is so unique and refreshing, if this is the standard that younger players coming out of school are setting, we are in for some good years ahead in the jazz world! Check … [Read more...]
Episode 011: The Bebop Scale!
This week's episode brings you a lesson on the bebop scale. This device is a great way to quickly incorporate some chromaticism into your playing and get those snaky lines you always wanted. I have to warn you though, this might be the biggest amount of work I have given you in any episode so far. We start by learning the dominant and major bebop scales and then learn them starting on every chord tone available to us. This seems like a lot of work but isn't anything worth practicing a ton … [Read more...]
Episode 010: Hit Chord Tones Like A Pro!
In jazz, timing is everything. In this week's episode we will take a look at structuring our solos in such a way that the important notes fall in the right place. We want to make sure that we are putting chord tones on the strong beats of each measure. This gives our improvisation some direction and is the number one way to make you sound like you know what you're doing quickly! We come up with the skeleton of our solo and then build a complete melodic statement around that skeleton. With a … [Read more...]
A Josh Dion Performance And A Few Thoughts….
A performance that transcends genres and makes you genuinely happy and satisfied is a rare thing. Josh Dion is a new name to me and clearly I have been living under a rock for too long having not checked him out. A tremendous drummer and vocalist, this performance had me captivated from beginning to end and leaving me wanting to go out and find every second of music Josh has ever recorded. This guy clearly has some amazing jazz chops and I think that, currently, jazz is fighting an … [Read more...]
Episode 009: Master Motivic Development!
This week we discuss one of the most important concepts in building a good solo. Motivic development is the principle of taking a short idea and learning to manipulate it in many different ways. This gives our listeners something to grab onto in our solo and provides us with a launching point that can go in any direction we would like it to. We are going to start by taking a simple idea and base the rest of the episode off of it. In a way, the episode is an example of motivic … [Read more...]
A Micro-Lesson on Triad Pairs
Hey everyone! Wanted to share something from the practice room today. A quick little lesson on some preparatory exercises to get into triad pairs. This is an awesome concept that you can take as far as you want, but here I'm explaining just a little bit about what triad pairs are and why they are so effective. Shoot me any questions you might have about getting started with this awesome device for improvisation! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMmKSJ0Z3Xg … [Read more...]
Learning Another Instrument Is Guaranteed To Make You Better At Yours
You should learn another instrument. It’s not only important to have at least some skill on different instruments, one of the most fun things to do at the end of the day is to jump on an instrument you know you suck at and just have some no pressure, no expectation, time making music for the hell of it. You might even discover an instrument that you love almost as much as your main outlet for musical expression. Of course, as a saxophonist, I’m required to be somewhat of a … [Read more...]
Episode 008: Crush the ‘A’ Sections of Caravan!
Caravan is a tune that everyone who plays jazz must know. It also happens to be a really fun tune to improvise over if you know what you are doing. The 'A' sections of this tune only contain two chords so one must be able to stretch their ideas over a long period of time and not run out of things to say. This tune also happens to extensively use the diminished dominant scale which we have explored in previous episodes of the podcast. In this episode we learn to use this scale and particular … [Read more...]
Choosing The Right Teacher
Teachers are some of the most important people in our lives. They can make or break our hopes and dreams. They can support us or discourage us, point us in the right direction, or lead us down the wrong path. Some teachers we get stuck with like many of the teachers we had in school, but when it comes to choosing a teacher for your instrument, technology has made it so that we can choose almost anyone we want. Whether it’s hopping in your car or on a train to go and see a desirable teacher, or … [Read more...]
- Prev Page...
- 1
- …
- 61
- 62
- 63
- 64
- 65
- ...Next Page
