Jazz 101
What Do You Struggle With The Most When Playing Jazz?
Hello readers! For today’s jazz post I’d like to start a very important discussion with you guys. One that should have taken place along time ago. If you are reading this article you have no doubt a love and passion for learning jazz and improvised music. Playing jazz is an unbelievably rewarding journey. Learning such…
Read MoreAn Essential Tool To Help You Transcribe Jazz
What if you could take a jazz piano lesson with Bill Evans? How about a trumpet lesson with Miles Davis? What if we could study advanced jazz piano improvisation techniques with Chick Corea? Or imagine what it’d be like taking a piano for beginners class, taught by Duke Ellington. Unfortunately, these great masters have long…
Read MoreJazz Minor Scale Formulas And How To Solo With Them
In today’s jazz lesson you’re going to learn how to quickly add jazz minor scale techniques and modes into your playing. Whether you’re playing in a jazz rock band, a bebop band, a latin jazz band, or another jazz style, this jazz minor scale tutorial will be useful. I think you’ll enjoy this particular jazz…
Read MoreJazz Fake Book – 5 Recommended Books For Learning Jazz
Want a list of the best jazz fake books out there? You need music to play right? Do you have time to transcribe all your favorite jazz recordings and slowly build a library of your own personalized jazz charts? How can you learn music more quickly without investing hours and hours trying to learn songs…
Read MoreHow To Play A II-V-I-VI Chord Progression With Jazz Chords
Are you looking for information on the II-V-I-VI chord progression? Congratulations. You’ve come to the right place! There are tons of free lessons and articles on jazz and piano chords on this site. Make sure you bookmark this site and let’s get to learning! I also recommend you check out several of the other jazz…
Read More4 Tips For Switching From Classical To Jazz Piano
In todays lesson we’re going to focus on 4 tips that will help you make the transition from playing classical music to playing jazz. I recently received a question from a new reader asking me how to make this switch more easily. I think this is a great question because most instrumentalists initially start with…
Read More3 Of The Most Useful Scales To Play Over Major Chords
When most players first start jamming over major chords they’ll usually turn to licks and ideas built from the major scale. This can create a nice inside sound but often times the lines can get predictable and somewhat boring. We don’t want to be boring and predictable right? 🙂 Fortunately, there is a solution to…
Read MoreJazz Piano Scales – How To Actually Use & Apply Them
Do you want to learn more about jazz scales? Congratulations, you’ve come to the right place. This jazz scales article and many others on this site will help you! Musicians love scales. We really do! They sit nicely on our instruments, they are easy to play over changes, and many of us have been playing them…
Read More3 Uncommon Tips For Practicing Jazz Piano Technique
When most of us think about practicing jazz piano technique or jazz piano exercises we usually think of the same old boring exercises that piano players have been playing for countless years. Things like scale practice, arpeggios, Hanon exercises, and playing classical pieces. Now, to be fair these technique studies and piano drills can be…
Read MoreJazz Piano Standards You Should Learn
Have you ever wondered what the first jazz songs you should learn are? If so, I’d like to help you get started. There are so many fantastic jazz songs in the Great American Songbook that it can feel overwhelming when trying to find a place to start. There are literally hundreds if not thousands of…
Read MoreHow To Play Extensions on Dominant Seventh Chords
Want to spice up your chords and arrangements and make them more jazzy? One of the best ways to do this by adding extensions to your chords. Unfortunately, most people don’t understand how to do this properly. So, you’re probably saying right now, “Steve, How do you play extensions on chords?” “I heard…
Read MoreRootless Jazz Voicings-Min7th’s
Want to learn some cool left hand jazz chords? In this video I teach you how to use and apply rootless jazz piano voicings. This video specifically focuses on Minor 7th voicings. Rootless voicings are essential for any jazz piano player’s toolkit. Be sure to also check out part 2 in the series where we…
Read More