Learn Jazz Standards Podcast

Today, we're talking about the classic ballad, "Misty" by Errol Garner. We'll take a look at the chords so we can figure out how to most efficiently learn it and find out what harmonic secrets we can discover in the process. In this episode: 1. Intro 2. Misty - short demo 3. The best way to learn the melody 4. Identifying the key 5. Relating key centers 6. Relating the melody t...

Giant Steps by John Coltrane is often known as a right of passage for jazz musicians because it is notoriously one of the most difficult jazz standards to learn and improvise over. Truly it is a complicated song. So, in today's episode, I'm actually gonna talk about why actually going into the trouble of working on and practicing and learning Giant Steps is actually gonna help you play a...

Welcome to episode 369 In this episode: 1. Why my friend is no longer passionate about jazz 2. Why there is nothing for you to do if you are no longer excited about jazz 3. A few caveats to consider 4. How jazz transformed my friend's playing forever Important Links: Free Guide to learning standards by ear: Learn Jazz Standards the Smart Way LJS Inner Circle Membership Learn Jazz Standards In...

I'm gonna show you 5 jazz licks to have you sound like a pro and unveil some of the secrets that jazz musicians are using in their solos. In this episode: 1. Intro 2. Lick #1: What musicians would do over top of V-I chord progressions 3. Lick #2: Over I-IV-iii-vi chord progressions 4. Lick #3: Over a ii-V chord progression 5. Lick #4: Over another ii-V chord progression with a different appro...

Alright, Magalie, can you say hello to the podcast listeners today? Oh, don't grab the microphone, it's expensive. Can you say, "Hi, podcast listeners!" (Baby mumbled) Yeah, hi! Okay, let's get on to the show now. Have you ever heard this saying before that insanity is doing the same thing, over and over and over again and expecting different results, right? You've he...

This is a $600 jazz guitar and this is a $6000 jazz guitar. Today, I'm discussing which one I personally like the most as well as the age-old question, "Does having an expensive instrument help you play music better?". You might be surprised. In this episode: 1. Intro 2. My $600 jazz guitar - brand and specs 3. My $6000 jazz guitar - brand and specs 4. Sound demo - $600 jazz guitar...

Have you ever looked back on something that you've done and gone, "If I only knew what I know now, I would have done that thing a little bit differently"? Well, I was thinking about that the other day about my jazz playing. If I know what I know now, would I do something completely different or have a different approach to learning jazz than I did when I first started learning it? W...

After learning a jazz standard you may find it difficult to recall the chord changes in the long term, especially if you're learning a lot of them. So, I'm gonna share with you how I memorize chords to jazz standards so I don't forget them. In this episode: 1. Intro 2. #1: Reading A Chord Chart 3. #2: Learning the Chords by Ear 4. Learn this first before learning chord changes 5. Th...

Okay, so this is a jazz podcast, so obviously we talk a lot about jazz education: how do you play jazz, how do you get better at jazz, and of course, what jazz should you listen to and really digest in order to become a better jazz musician. However, I do not only listen to jazz music. I actually enjoy listening to an array of different styles of music and in some cases, I choose to listen to othe...

In today's episode, we're gonna do a little thought experiment that will help us get in the mindset that we need to be, to play melodies and solos creatively and at the top of our game, to take a boring expression of a melody and truly turn it into something that is riveting for the audience and riveting for ourselves. Main Points: 1. Playing a melody by the book vs. the way a pro jazz m...

If you wanna be a good musician of any kind then you know you need to practice, especially if you want to play jazz. So, I'm gonna give you the very best practice advice I can give you to help you get set up for success. CHAPTERS: Intro Tip #1: Can't find more time to practice? Stop trying. Tip #2:  Practice less Tip #3:  Ditch these if you don't want them Tip #4:  Focus on the thin...

 So today, I'm gonna share with you some important points in my music life, like, the first thing I played with my first guitar when I got it, how that one, 7-note lick that my first pro jazz teacher taught me gave me a "light bulb" moment, and most importantly, the reason behind what is in music that resonates with me so much that keeps me passionate about it Before I'll end t...

You've probably been told that playing jazz requires great ears. Well, how do you actually train your ears for jazz improvisation? I'm gonna give you 10 things you can do! CHAPTERS: 1. Intro 2. What are the Ear Training Fundamentals? 3. The Best way for becoming a Jazz Improviser 4. What is Applied Ear Training? 5. The 10 Different Ideas For Applied Ear Training 6.  #1: Learn the Melodie...

We're doing a from-the-vault episode today. We're going back in time where I had my very own brother on the show to talk about performance and how to beat the brain game that goes on when we're playing music and trying to get better. Looking forward to bringing this one back and bringing it back to life. In this episode: 1. The power of mindset over musical performance. 2. How to tr...

The best jazz musicians in the world can play a solo, unaccompanied and you know exactly the tune they were playing. You can do that, too. CHAPTERS: 1.  Intro 2.  The secret to playing chord changes 3.  A great jazz-blues solo 4.  Targeting Chord tones 5.  What are guide tones in a chord? 6.  What is motivic development? 7.  Tension and Resolution Important Links: LJS Inner Circle Membership Free...

Listening to jazz is one of the best ways that you can improve your jazz playing without even touching your instrument and actually retain material so that it becomes exponentially easier to play when you actually do pick up your instrument. So I wanna talk about some plans for listening to jazz if your intention is to retain and ingrain musical information. In this episode: 1. Why listening can b...

If you're a guitar or a piano player, one important thing that you'd be able to do is chord melody - playing the chords and the melody of a jazz standard at the same time. But this presents a particular challenge, especially for jazz guitar players. So what are the basics of chord melody and how do you do it? In this episode: 1.  Intro 2. Creating chord melody - Polka Dots and Moonbeams...

Today on the podcast, I'm answering the question, "How long does it take to become a great jazz improviser?",  from day 1 until that day when you're really playing solos that you're enjoying, hearing back, and feeling happy about. In This Episode: 1. Variable that will influence how long 2. Defining what a "great jazz solo" is 3. Conditions of practicing during t...

 If you know the pentatonic or the blues scale you can actually play really amazing jazz solos using just those notes. In this episode: Intro  Demo: SOUL STIR BLUES - A jazz blues solo  Kinds of Pentatonic Scales used in Soul Stir Blues  How I put the solo together  Applying rhythmic concepts  Summary Important Links: LJS Inner Circle Membership Free Guide to learn standards by ear: Learn Jazz Sta...

If you've been studying jazz for a little while, you've probably heard from somebody, whether it would be me or somebody else, that it's a good idea to learn jazz solos or jazz etudes. And you may or may not fully understand why it's a good idea to do, and if you don't understand that, it could be not very motivating to go through the process of doing something tedious lik...

So, if you're practicing over jazz standards but you continually feel like you're not improving, not getting any better, it could be that you're just practicing them wrong in the very first place.  So, I'm gonna show you strategies for practicing over jazz standards and actually improvising over them. In this episode: Intro  Demonstration  First strategy: Study the chord change...

Welcome to episode 350 where today I discuss 21 different options for jazz practice. So if you are wondering what you should practice today, this week, or this month, this episode should give you a handful of good ideas to work with. Hey listen, so if you're sittin' there this week going, "I actually don't know what to practice to improve my jazz playing this week". Well,...

What are the most important music theory concepts that you need to know to make learning and improvising over jazz standards much easier? In this episode: Intro Concept #1: Secondary Dominants Concept #2: The Backdoor Dominant Concept #3: Relative Keys Concept #4: Parallel Keys Concept #5: Sidestep 2-5 Concept #6: Hybrid 2-5 Concept #7: Deceptive CadencesConcept #8: Passing Diminished Chords Impor...

Welcome to episode 348 where I play a jazz ballad solo guitar set to commemorate the last time I play my guitar. I play through my 6 favorite jazz ballads and briefly discuss what makes them great jazz standards and a few harmonic and melodic lessons from each. So, I've got a shocking announcement: On this episode today, this is going to be the last time that I play my guitar, the very last t...

If your jazz solos feel like they're missing that secret sauce that pro-level jazz musicians have, then you could be missing out on one of these strategies. In this episode: 1. Intro 2. Example/Demo 3. 1st Strategy 4. 2nd Strategy 5. 3rd Strategy 6. Video recommendation Important Links : LJS Inner Circle Membership Free Guide to learn standards by ear. Learn Jazz Standards the Smart Way   Lis...