How to Know If You Are Ready to Learn Jazz

Welcome to episode 284 where today I talk about how to know whether you are ready to start learning jazz.

I hear from musicians who wonder if their skills on their instrument are up to par, ears good enough, or in general, have the talent necessary to learn and play jazz. I discuss how to know if you are ready, and several things you can do to set yourself up for success.

Am I ready to start playing jazz? That's the question that someone asked me recently and I've been asked this question many times by different subscribers over the years. And sometimes I am asked in different ways like, am I technically proficient enough in my instrument to be able to play jazz? I'm a classical musician. Am I able to play jazz even though I've never learned anything by ear before and I'm not even an improviser?

So many different iterations of this question, but all kind of come down to the root of is jazz a step above where I am right now and therefore, I have to sort of bridge that gap before we get there before we actually start diving into jazz and enjoying ourselves playing the music.

Well, that's exactly what I'm going to answer today. I'm going to give you the answer to that question directly and then give you some guidelines and some helpful tips so that you can be prepared to play jazz and really start taking off on the right foot.

 In this episode:
1. How to know whether you are ready to play jazz or not
2. Tip 1: Know the basics of navigating your instrument
3. Tip 2: Know basic scales and chord tones
4. Tip 3: Be willing to fail

Important Links:
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Free Guide to learn standards by ear: Learn Jazz Standards the Smart Way

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