Learning Jazz

Let me tell you one of the biggest myths I hear about learning how to play jazz: You need to know a ton of music theory. WRONG. You don't. You only need to know a little bit...

Okay, so you want to learn how to play jazz but you just don't know where to start. That's perfectly understandable! There is so much information out there, it can be overwhelming. In fact, jazz can...

Here is a list of the 16 most important scales for jazz improvisation and the harmonic contexts in which they can be used for improvisation. It doesn't matter whether you play guitar, piano, saxophone, trumpet,...

So you're a guitarist and you want to start getting your jazz chops together. Awesome! Here's the great news: Contrary to what you may have heard, you don't need to know a million shapes, chords, or scales...

For some, learning jazz can be a daunting task. It's harmonically complex, and because of this, there is a demand for a certain level of virtuosity. I often find that those who love jazz but...

The blues has always played a central role in jazz music from the very beginning and is without a doubt one of the most important forms in jazz. It's important for every jazz musician to...

Days of Wine and Roses is a bittersweet tune with heart-wrenching lyrics about nostalgia and the fleeting nature of happiness and youth. It was written by American film and popular song composer...

“Solar” is a jazz standard written by one of the most famous jazz musicians of all time, trumpeter Miles Davis. The best-known Miles recording of “Solar” is probably from his iconic 1957 Prestige album...

All musicians must practice scales at some point in their musical development. Scales are some of the most fundamental building blocks of Western styles of music, including jazz. As musicians, indeed we’re often told how...

Though it is practically a cliché in the jazz world today, it is nonetheless true to remark that 1959 was a profoundly significant year in jazz history. In an astonishing creative outpouring, at least five...