Learn Jazz Standards Podcast

Welcome to episode 96 of the LJS Podcast where today we are talking about important jazz chord substitutions you should know about. Jazz musicians love to add and substitute chords and progressions within jazz harmony, and these are some common ones that you should explore. Listen in! Important Links: LJS Inner Circle Membership Free Guide to learn standards by ear: Learn Jazz Standards the Smart...

Welcome to episode 95 of the LJS Podcast where today we are walking through 10 important tips for playing successful jazz gigs and jam sessions. At the end of the day, the end goal for our practicing and honing our craft is to get out there and play. These tips will help set up you and the other musicians you are playing with for success.  Listen in! Important Links: LJS Inner Circle Membership Fr...

Welcome to episode 94 of the LJS Podcast where today we are reflecting on this past year and everything that has been accomplished. Brent shares his non-musical and musical accomplishments during 2017, and reveals a confession. He shares his successes and failures, what he's learned, and how you can learn from them too. Listen in! Important Links: LJS Inner Circle Membership Free Guide to lea...

Welcome to episode 93 of the LJS Podcast where today we have on special guest jazz saxophonist Chad Lefkowitz-Brown to talk about developing bebop language. Chad talks about his musical journey and the lessons he's learned along the way to becoming a renowned jazz musician and recording artists. Specifically, he hones in on Bebop, and gives us some great exercises to work on. Listen in! Impor...

Welcome to episode 92 of the LJS Podcast where today we are talking about tritone substitution and how we can use it in our jazz improvisation. Tritone substitution is a cool harmonic tool jazz musicians use to add movement and color. This episode goes over several ways we can use it along with some lick examples. Listen in! Important Links: LJS Inner Circle Membership Free Guide to learn standard...

Welcome to episode 91 of the LJS Podcast where today we are talking with Afro percussion maker and musicologist Joe Agu all about African music and the origins of jazz. Jazz is African American music, but it didn't just start in New Orleans. It's roots go way back into African music and culture. It's important to understand where this music comes from. Listen in! Important Links: LJ...

Welcome to episode 90 of the LJS Podcast where today we are answering a question from a listener who wants to know how to analyze solo transcriptions to get the most out of them. This episode discusses what you should look for, and how you can break the solo down to identify the most important parts. Listen in! Important Links: LJS Inner Circle Membership Free Guide to learn standards by ear: Lear...

Welcome to episode 89 of the LJS Podcast where today we have special guest drummer and composer Dorota Piotrowska on the show to talk about time feel and rhythm. These are some of the most important aspects to focus on to improve your jazz playing, and Dorota has some killer tips to share. Listen in! Important Links: LJS Inner Circle Membership Free Guide to learn standards by ear: Learn Jazz Stan...

Welcome to episode 88 of the LJS Podcast where today we are talking all about a great 4 step process for learning jazz solos by ear. This is a practice that has a ton of benefits for your jazz musicianship and every aspiring jazz player should be doing this. Learn the LIST method and how it can help. Listen in! Important Links: LJS Inner Circle Membership Free Guide to learn standards by ear: Lear...

Welcome to episode 87 of the LJS Podcast where today we are joined by special guest jazz trumpeter Chris Davis to talk all about his development into the jazz musician he is today. Chris talks about the stuff he practiced during his formidable years and some excellent lessons we can learn from his story. Listen in! Important Links: LJS Inner Circle Membership Free Guide to learn standards by ear:...

Welcome to episode 86 of the LJS Podcast where today we are talking about the modes of the melodic minor scale and how you can use them to improvise over 7 different chords. The melodic minor scale can be a great tool to conceptualize some of these sounds. Listen in! Important Links: LJS Inner Circle Membership Free Guide to learn standards by ear: Learn Jazz Standards the Smart Way Learn Jazz Sta...

Welcome to episode 85 of the LJS Podcast where today we have special guest Steve Nixon from freejazzlessons.com on the show to talk all about how to practice smart and improve quickly. When it comes to becoming a better jazz musician it's all about practicing, and Steve knows more than a thing or two about this. Listen in! Important Links: LJS Inner Circle Membership Free Guide to learn stand...

Welcome to episode 84 of the LJS Podcast where today we are answering a question from a caller who asked which jazz standards are important to be listening to and learning. Brent breaks down a list of 40 standards into important categories that you can work from. Listen in! Important Links: LJS Inner Circle Membership Free Guide to learn standards by ear: Learn Jazz Standards the Smart Way Learn J...

Welcome to episode 83 of the LJS Podcast where today we are answering a question from a caller who asked how to improve speed and accuracy in his jazz solos. Brent goes over a great exercise that you can start working on today to develop your time and rhythm feel, as well as technique. Listen in! Important Links: LJS Inner Circle Membership Free Guide to learn standards by ear: Learn Jazz Standard...

Welcome to episode 82 of the LJS Podcast where today we have a special guest Christopher Sutton, the founder of Musical-U, to talk to us about how to set game-changing goals for our musicianship. Christopher shares with us his MAGIC process for setting up result-oriented goals, and then going out and actually accomplishing them. Listen in! Important Links: LJS Inner Circle Membership Free Guide to...

Welcome to episode 81 of the LJS Podcast where today we are concluding Ear Training Month with a very important topic: how to translate what you hear to your instrument. We've been talking about the fundamentals of ear training, and this is the last step to connect the dots. Listen in! Important Links: LJS Inner Circle Membership Free Guide to learn standards by ear: Learn Jazz Standards the...

Welcome to episode 80 of the LJS Podcast where today we are talking about hearing chord progressions by ear. We are in the middle of Ear Training Month where we are delving deep into training our ears to hear on a deeper level. Chord progressions are an important next step. Listen in! Important Links: LJS Inner Circle Membership Free Guide to learn standards by ear: Learn Jazz Standards the Smart...

Welcome to episode 79 of the LJS Podcast where today we are delving deeper into Ear Training Month which we are doing for the month of September. This lesson is all about hearing chords and how to do it. This is a deeper level of ear training that will have a huge impact on your playing. Listen in! Important Links: LJS Inner Circle Membership Free Guide to learn standards by ear: Learn Jazz Standa...

Welcome to episode 78 of the LJS Podcast where today we are starting a new series in September called Ear Training Month. Ear training is extremely important for all musicians to work on. Our first lesson is on intervals and how to master them. Listen in! Important Links: LJS Inner Circle Membership Free Guide to learn standards by ear: Learn Jazz Standards the Smart Way Learn Jazz Standards Inner...

Welcome to episode 77 of the LJS Podcast where today we are talking about an important chord progression, the Major 1-6-2-5. This is a chord progression that shows up all of the time in jazz repertoire and you will want to learn how to navigate it. You'll learn a helpful exercise and a few licks. Listen in! Important Links: LJS Inner Circle Membership Free Guide to learn standards by ear: Lea...

Welcome to episode 76 of the LJS Podcast where today we are talking about the huge benefits of playing with musicians who are better than you. If you want to improve and improve quickly, one of the best things you can do for yourself is to play with musicians with more experience and ability than you. Listen in! Important Links: LJS Inner Circle Membership Free Guide to learn standards by ear: Lea...

Welcome to episode 75 of the LJS Podcast where today we are talking about how to internalize jazz language. At the end of the day, we don't want to just learn new musical information. We want to keep it forever and we want it to make a lasting impact on our playing. Today's show breaks down 4 important processes for internalization. Listen in! Important Links: LJS Inner Circle Membership...

Welcome to episode 74 of the LJS Podcast where today we are talking about how to improvise over suspended chords. Specifically, we are covering the Dominant 7 Sus 4 chord, which shows up a lot in jazz music. These chords can sometimes stump an improviser when they come up and this lesson digs into some different ways to approach them. Listen in! Important Links: LJS Inner Circle Membership Free Gu...

Welcome to episode 73 of the LJS Podcast where today we are talking about the major 2-5-1 chord progression and 4 strategies for how to improvise over it. The 2-5-1 (ii-V-I) is one of the most common chord progressions in jazz and other styles of music. You will see it come up all of the time in jazz standards so it's important you have a good handle on it. Listen in! Important Links: LJS Inn...

Welcome to episode 72 of the LJS Podcast where today our special guest, performance psychologist Noa Kageyama, talks to us about how to beat performance anxiety and quiet the inner critic in our heads. Noa is the face behind the website bulletproofmusician.com and teaches at the Julliard School in New York City. Listen in! Important Links: LJS Inner Circle Membership Free Guide to learn standards...