Jazz 101
Clifford Brown Jazz Improvisation Lesson
I always tell my jazz students if they really want to learn jazz improvisation and master the bebop language then they need to go directly to the source. They need to learn from people like Charlie Parker, Clifford Brown, Bud Powell, and Sonny Stitt. So, in today’s jazz improvisation lesson we’re going to do just that!…
Read MoreHow To Add The Major Bebop Scale To Your Playing
Have you ever heard of the bebop scale? Do you wish knew more ways to bridge the gap between the scales you know and what real jazz musicians actually use in their jazz solos? One of the best ways to go about doing this is to learn the method behind the major bebop scale. When used…
Read MoreAltered Scale – A Simple How To Guide
Are you curious how to use the altered scale? Are your dominant chords getting a bit boring? Do you wish you knew some more interesting scales to use over them? Well, in today’s jazz scale lesson I’m going to teach you a very cool sounding scale you can play over your dominant chords. This scale…
Read More5 Recommended Recordings That Have Made Me A Better Jazz Musician
You’ve heard the common phrase, You are what you eat before right? Well, when you’re learning to play jazz you are what you listen to! If you want to learn this style of music you’ve got to listen to the right music! So, today I’m going to talk about some recommended jazz albums that helped me…
Read MoreHow to Play Jazz Piano – A Beginners Guide
Alright, so how do you really learn jazz piano? Since I started this site I’ve received numerous emails from readers asking me the best way to learn how to play jazz piano and how to get started learning jazz as a beginner. Let’s first start with my jazz piano journey to give you an example……
Read MoreTritone Substitution – The Ultimate Guide
Check out this cool tritone substitution tutorial: In this video I’m going to teach you how to play a tritone substitution. We all know how important the II-V-I chord progression is to jazz music. It’s used in thousands of jazz standards. Now, it a beautiful sounding chord progression but sometimes in order to not sound…
Read MoreWhat Do You Struggle With The Most When Playing Jazz?
Hello readers! For today’s jazz post I’d like to start a very important discussion with you guys. One that should have taken place along time ago. If you are reading this article you have no doubt a love and passion for learning jazz and improvised music. Playing jazz is an unbelievably rewarding journey. Learning such…
Read MoreAn Essential Tool To Help You Learn Jazz
What if you could take a jazz piano lesson with Bill Evans? How about a trumpet lesson with Miles Davis? What if we could study advanced jazz piano improvisation techniques with Chick Corea? Or imagine what it’d be like taking a piano for beginners class, taught by Duke Ellington. Unfortunately, these great masters have long…
Read MoreJazz Minor Scale Formulas And How To Solo With Them
In today’s jazz lesson you’re going to learn how to quickly add jazz minor scale techniques and modes into your playing. Whether you’re playing in a jazz rock band, a bebop band, a latin jazz band, or another jazz style, this jazz minor scale tutorial will be useful. I think you’ll enjoy this particular jazz…
Read MoreJazz Fake Book – 5 Recommended Books For Learning Jazz
Want a list of the best jazz fake books out there? You need music to play right? Do you have time to transcribe all your favorite jazz recordings and slowly build a library of your own personalized jazz charts? How can you learn music more quickly without investing hours and hours trying to learn songs…
Read MoreHow To Play A II-V-I-VI Chord Progression With Jazz Chords
Are you looking for information on the II-V-I-VI chord progression? Congratulations. You’ve come to the right place! There are tons of free lessons and articles on jazz and piano chords on this site. Make sure you bookmark this site and let’s get to learning! I also recommend you check out several of the other jazz…
Read More4 Tips For Switching From Classical To Jazz
In todays lesson we’re going to focus on 4 tips that will help you make the transition from playing classical music to playing jazz. I recently received a question from a new reader asking me how to make this switch more easily. I think this is a great question because most instrumentalists initially start with…
Read More3 Of The Most Useful Scales To Play Over Major Chords
When most players first start jamming over major chords they’ll usually turn to licks and ideas built from the major scale. This can create a nice inside sound but often times the lines can get predictable and somewhat boring. We don’t want to be boring and predictable right? 🙂 Fortunately, there is a solution to…
Read MoreJazz Scales – A Complete List
Do you want to learn more about jazz scales? Congratulations you’ve come to the right place. This jazz scales article and many others on this site will help you! Musicians love scales. We really do! They sit nicely on our instruments, they are easy to play over changes, and many of us have been playing them…
Read More3 Uncommon Tips For Practicing Jazz Piano Technique
When most of us think about practicing jazz piano technique or jazz piano exercises we usually think of the same old boring exercises that piano players have been playing for countless years. Things like scale practice, arpeggios, Hanon exercises, and playing classical pieces. Now, to be fair these technique studies and piano drills can be…
Read MoreThe 6 Steps To Success In Your Jazz Practice Routine
I recently was invited by the fantastic jazz guitar player Matt Warnock to write an article for his blog. You can find the article I wrote here right here 6 steps to jazz practice success. I highly recommend you check out this article if you want to really take your jazz practicing skills to the…
Read MoreJazz Standards You Should Learn
Have you ever wondered what the first jazz tunes you should learn are? If so, I’d like to help you get started. There are so many fantastic jazz tunes in the Great American Songbook that it can feel overwhelming when trying to find a place to start. There are literally hundreds if not thousands of…
Read MoreHow To Play Extensions on Dominant Seventh Chords
Want to spice up your chords and arrangements and make them more jazzy? One of the best ways to do this by adding extensions to your chords. Unfortunately, most people don’t understand how to do this properly. So, you’re probably saying right now, “Steve, How do you play extensions on chords?” “I heard…
Read MoreRootless Jazz Voicings-Min7th’s
Want to learn some cool left hand jazz chords? In this video I teach you how to use and apply rootless jazz piano voicings. This video specifically focuses on Minor 7th voicings. Rootless voicings are essential for any jazz piano player’s toolkit. Be sure to also check out part 2 in the series where we…
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