This week we talk about an absolute must-learn exercise for anyone who wants to increase their knowledge of chords and gain the kind of technique that will have you flying all over your instrument with ease. These exercises are a mix of knowledge you need in your head and dexterity that you need under your fingers to feel more free when improvising. We start by learning a great chord sequence over a major-seventh chord that requires you to work on your chromatic approaches. We then move into … [Read more...]

This week we bring back our poular 'Lick Of The Month' series with a bang! Coltrane is one of my favorite jazz musicians of all time. His playing on the most famous jazz recording of all time, "Kind of Blue," is second to none. This week we are going to look at a great two measure, double time line he played over "So What." I find that one of the hardest things to do is play over a static chord progression where there aren't many changes. In this lick, Coltrane shows us how he handles playing … [Read more...]

This week we talk about some of the chords that we dread seeing when we are playing and improvising. We all have them, we all hate them. The good news is, we can learn to play over them just like the easy chords that we feel most free over. The key to this is being as familiar with tough keys as we are with easy ones. This requires more time and effort because they don't come as easily to us as we would like. As always in jazz, learning all 12 keys of something is important. But what if we … [Read more...]

This is part 2 of our diminished chord series. Last week we looked at learning the chord tones and how to build a diminished chord. This week we are getting a little bit more complicated and talking scales. The good news is, just like last week, there are only three sets of different scales. Our job is to associate them with the different chord changes and be able to use them in action. The scale that is associated with diminished chords is the whole-half scale and is exactly what it sounds … [Read more...]

We're back after a brief hiatus! This week we are going to start a 2 part series on one of the most confusing and difficult chords in jazz for most people; the diminished chord. We see this chord in so many tunes but I think for many beginner and intermediate jazz players, this chord can be a mystery. That's why I have decided to break it down first with the chord tones and next week we will talk about the scales. At the end of the episode we will apply the diminished chord tones to the blues … [Read more...]

This week we are talking about one of the most important concepts for any jazz musician. Having good time is not just for rhythm section players, each and every one of us needs to have great time and be able to swing. Not to mention drummers and bass players will love you if you have great time! In order to develop good time we need to use the correct tool. This tool is the metronome and it's impossible to have good time without using this extremely important device. There are countless ways … [Read more...]

They say that in life timing is everything. Did you know that it's the same for playing jazz? You might not think about which notes happen when, when you're improvising but it's very important and in this week's episode I'll explain why and help you get better at timing the most important notes that you play in each measure to make you sound like a pro. In this episode we talk about what strong beats are and how we can utilize them, along with chord tones to give our solos amazing structure and … [Read more...]

This week is a real treat for the listeners of the 10 Minute Jazz Lesson Podcast. We welcome our first guest host to the show and what a great host he is! I'd like to welcome Jeff Schneider to the podcast and he has a fantastic lesson on triads over dominant chords. Composer and multi-instrumentalist Jeff Schneider is a DownBeat Magazine award winner and three-time recipient of the ASCAP Young Jazz Composer Award. His music is featured in films and advertisements by CNN, NASA, Visa, Intel, … [Read more...]

I have to apologize to the piano players this week. This episode is not for you unless you're a true beginner. Instead, this week is for all of the instrumentalists who need to de-mystify the piano and be able to play very simple chord progressions. Every great musician needs to be able to play some piano. Especially in jazz, being able to sit down and plunk out a simple chord progression, or accompany one of your students is a must. The good news is, with some of the knowledge you've gained … [Read more...]

This month we take a look at a couple of licks from one of my favorite trumpet players, Tom Harrell. Tom has a way of playing some of the clearest lines I have ever heard while still being totally creative and melodic throughout. Clarity is something that we all strive for in our lines and is one of the most important aspects you can work on. These two lines are a great place to start. By dissecting these lines and learning what makes them tick, you stand a great chance of being able to bring … [Read more...]