Jazz Blog
How To Become A Better Musician
As I mentioned in my last article, I recently celebrated my 15th year anniversary as a full time professional musician. After playing over 1500 gigs I’ve learned tons of musical lessons over the years (both good and bad!) That’s why today I want to share 5 more pieces of musician advice. These tips will show you how…
Read MoreProfessional Musician: What I Learned From Playing Over 1,500 Piano Gigs
About 2 months ago I celebrated my 16th year as a full time professional musician. Time definitely goes by quickly! In honor of my ‘anniversary’ I thought I’d create a list of important things I’ve learned from playing 1500 gigs in 16 years. Although, I could fill an encyclopedia with all the lessons I’ve learned, I…
Read MoreJazz Piano School: Fast Learning Online
Welcome to our 21st century jazz piano school! I’m pleased to announce that Freejazzlessons.com site has has been completely redesigned! My goal has always been to provide the best learning environment possible to up your jazz piano game. So, we’ve made the pages are a lot cleaner looking, the lessons are now easier to read,…
Read MoreThe 7 Day Piano Practice Challenge & New Jazz Piano Courses
Hey jazz piano fans. We have a ton of things to talk about today so make sure you read this whole article. The 7 Day Piano Practice Challenge Update It’s now been 7 days since we started the 7 day piano practice challenge. In my last article I revealed the story of how I overcame…
Read MorePiano Practice – How To Build Better Habits
Today I want to teach you about a really useful piano practice technique that I’ve started using in my life. I’ve found a lot of benefit from it in both my music and in my personal life. It’s easy and I think you’ll really enjoy it as well once you start using it too. (We’re also…
Read MoreJazz Theory 101 – How To Play Chord Extensions
Do you want to learn more about jazz theory and jazz harmony? Well, you’ve come to the right place. In today’s jazz theory lesson we’re going to explore a very important concept called chord extensions. 1. After watching and reading this lesson you’ll understand how to make all your jazz piano chords sound much more beautiful. 2.…
Read MoreJazz Theory Cheat Sheet: The ii V I In All 12 Keys
As you continue to develop your jazz theory skills you’re going to want to make it a goal of being able to instantly play a ii-V-I chord progression in all 12 keys. Since you’ll hear the ii V I chord progression in so many great jazz tunes it’s vitally important that you learn how to play it quickly. It’s…
Read MoreJazz Theory Basics: The Secrets Behind The ii-V-I
Do you want to learn more about jazz theory? You’ve come to the right place! In today’s video lesson you’re going to learn how to build your jazz theory skills and you’re also going to learn about the #1 jazz chord progression. This lesson will open many doors for your music. Lets get started! Learn Jazz…
Read MoreLearn Piano From Grammy Nominated Piano Player Matt Slocum
One of the best ways to learn jazz piano is to sit down and talk with master jazz musicians. Over the years, I’ve made some great friends while touring and met some incredible talent. I’ve learned so much from these musicians through late night jamming, hanging out, and just getting a chance to pick their…
Read MorePiano Rhythm – 3 Strategies To Improve Your Rhythm Today
Want to improve your piano rhythm? Well, one of the cool things about learning jazz piano is there are so many different things you can practice that will help you improve your piano rhythm skills. Jazz is a very deep art form and there’s always something new and fun to explore. For example, you can spend time learning…
Read MoreChristmas Jazz Piano Super System Thank You Video
Hi Everybody! Just wanted to take a quick and thank everybody who’s already order the Christmas Jazz Piano Super System so far. I’m so humbled and honored by the response so far. It’s truly been amazing. While I was packaging the orders I thought I’d create a little video and personally thank you all. You…
Read MoreThe Christmas Jazz Piano Super System Is HERE!!
Hey jazz piano and christmas piano fans! The Christmas Jazz Piano Super System is now LIVE and available today! You can get access to the course right here. https://www.freejazzlessons.com/christmas As a reminder, I am including some very special and limited bonuses exclusive to launch week. Plus, I’m also including FREE shipping to anywhere in the world for…
Read MoreHow To Play Christmas Songs On The Piano Using Jazz Arrangements
We have finally opened the doors again on the “Christmas Jazz Piano Super System“. To celebrate the relaunch of the 2 DVD set, I wanted to share an exclusive sample video right from the actual course (below). I’ve also gotten a TON of emails about the course so I’m also going to answer some of the most…
Read MoreFree Christmas Piano Tutorial: The First Noel
Do you love playing Christmas piano music? Then, you’ve come to the right place! I’m excited to announce that we’ve finally opening the doors again on “The Christmas Jazz Piano Super System!” In honor of this special occasion, I want to share a free Christmas piano tutorial today. In this video lesson I’m going to teach…
Read MoreMajor Chords – How To Play Sweeter Sounding Chords
Want to learn some beautiful ways of playing major chords? You’ve come to the right place. As many fans of this site already know I’ll be releasing my brand new “Christmas Jazz Piano Super System” 2 DVD set on Monday November 3rd. Since I made the announcement, I’ve received a TON of emails asking questions…
Read MoreLearn 5 Amazing Jazz Piano Voicings Using 1 Simple Shape
Are you looking for some new jazz piano voicings? You’ve come to the right place! In today’s free jazz piano tutorial I’m going to show you 1 simple voicing shape that you can use over 5 different chord types. It’s an extremely powerful voicing You’ll be able to use the voicing over 99% of jazz…
Read MoreWhat’s The Most Important Thing You’ve Learned Studying Jazz?
One of my favorite parts of studying jazz at Berklee was that there were lots of great musicians around me to learn from and share ideas with. The sense of community was very helpful! We had so many like minded people working together on a common goal to become better jazz musicians! This created an incredible environment…
Read MoreLearn Summertime: Easy Jazz Piano Tutorial
If you want to learn how to play jazz piano well it’s incredibly important that you invest some time into learning jazz standards. To help you get started building your repertoire I’m going to teach you how to play one of the most requested jazz standards of all time…George Gershwin’s Summertime. If you love the sound of George Gershwin’s…
Read MoreLearn These Great Jazz Piano Voicings (Free Sheet Music And Video)
In today’s tutorial we’re going to explore some great sounding dominant jazz piano voicings. Many beginner jazz piano players will play the same chord voicing every time they see a dominant chord in a lead sheet or a fake book. This isn’t horrible per say but if you keep playing the same voicing over and over your playing…
Read MoreBlock Chords Video- How To Play Over A Real Jazz Standard
Do you want to learn how to play block chords over a real jazz tune? Then, this lesson is for you! Block chords are a really cool chord voicing technique that you can use to harmonize your songs. They’re very fun to play, sound great, and pretty easy to learn too. The true value of learning…
Read MoreFree Block Chord Piano Lesson
Do you want to learn more about block chords? Are you looking for an easy jazz piano lesson on the locked hand chord style? You’ve come to the right place! In today’s lesson we’re going to take a look at a style of block chords made famous by George Shearing and Ahmad Jamal (video tutorial,…
Read MoreStraight No Chaser Jazz Piano Tutorial (Thelonious Monk Lesson)
If you love the sound of Thelonious Monk’s music than you’ll have a tun of fun with this sample jazz piano tutorial. In today’s lesson we’re going to learn the famous Monk tune Straight No Chaser. Straight No Chaser is a jazz blues tune written in the year 1951. It’s become one of the most famous jazz…
Read MoreJacob Collier: How This Youtube Jazz Sensation Creates Music
Want to learn from Jacob Collier? You’ve come to the right place. As many of the regular readers of this site already know, I love jazz arranging! As jazz pianists, it’s important that you learn how to take a basic lead sheet of a song (just jazz piano chords and melody) and bring it to life. It’s literally…
Read MoreTop 10 Piano Practice Tools That I Use That I Can’t Live Without
A lot of people ask me what pieces of gear and tools I use to help me practice piano. I’m very much a 21st century jazz pianist. So, I use a lot of technology to help me improve as a musician. Mixing in technology with my regular mix of self discipline, commitment, and the psychology…
Read MoreJazz Piano Chord Substitutions Lesson
In this jazz piano tutorial we’re going to learn a cool technique that you can use to decorate chords that are held for long periods of time. If you’re just getting started learning check out this guide: How To Play Jazz Piano – The Ultimate 5 Step Beginners Guide. This technique will work particularly well…
Read More