Learn Jazz Standards

As jazz educators and learners, we focus a lot on major II-V-I’s, but we don’t often address the challenges of tackling those ubiquitous and...

Welcome to episode 61 of the LJS Podcast where today we are talking about how to use scales in your jazz solos the right way. You'll learn what scales are good and bad for, how to think about scales as pitch collections, and examples of how to convert them into actual melodies. Listen in!

Here's a Lick of the Week for you to practice today! This one is an altered lick over a V7-Imaj7 chord progression. This also...

Very often iconic modal jazz tunes, such as Miles Davis’s “So What,” are among the first songs young, inexperienced, and newly aspiring musicians learn...

Welcome to episode 60 of the LJS Podcast where today we have special guest jazz pianist and vocalist Aimee Nolte on the show to talk about developing relative pitch. Wouldn't it be awesome to hear a note being played and know exactly what it is, even if you don't have perfect pitch? Aimee teaches us how. Listen in!

I get emails from readers from time to time, asking me if they should pursue music as a profession. They always start by telling...

In my previous post, How to Keep Your Bass Lines Interesting, we defined what a bass line is and what its functions are, and...

Welcome to episode 59 of the LJS Podcast where today we are dishing out 5 tips for playing jazz ballads like an expert. Jazz ballads can be tricky, largely because slow tempos can open up a number of challenges. Treat these tips like a checklist the next time you play a ballad. Listen in!

All The Things You Are is a popular jazz standard by Jerome Kern, and is one of those songs that every jazz musician needs to...

Back in my college years, I used to spend countless hours transcribing drum solos, trading solos and comping phrases from all the jazz master...