Learn Jazz Standards Podcast

Hey, listen, there are a lot of jazz standards out there and it can be pretty overwhelming which ones to learn, how often should you learn a new one?But if we can take all that pressure away and instead you are only responsible for becoming an expert in just one jazz standard? What would that look like? How would that work and how would that actually help you become a much better jazz player at all the other jazz standards out there as well?So, I'm going to dive into that today. We're going to be talking about discovering your tune of destiny and how to utilize this strategy.In this episode: 1. The concept of the "Tune of Destiny" by Justin Nielsen2. The 3-Track System for Skyrocketing Your Jazz Playing3. Criteria for picking a song of your destiny      a) one that you really enjoy playing      b) it contains a lot of common chord progressions in most jazz standards      c) level of difficulty 4. How learning your song of destiny contributes to your progress at learning the     other jazz standards and vice-versa. 5. Call to action Important Links:Free Guide to learning standards by ear: Learn Jazz Standards the Smart WayLJS Inner Circle MembershipListen to the Learn Jazz Standards PodcastLearn Jazz Standards Inner Circle: Get 50% off your first month!

400 episodes of the Learn Jazz Standards Podcast, wow! So, I'm going to talk about this episode today, everything that I've learned over the last 400 episodes of recording and producing the show.In this episode:What I've learned over the course of creating 400 podcast episodes: 1.  Musically2.  Personally3.  About teaching music4.  About content creation5.  The future of Learn Jazz Standards PodcastImportant Links:Free Guide to learning standards by ear: Learn Jazz Standards the Smart WayLJS Inner Circle MembershipListen to the Learn Jazz Standards PodcastLearn Jazz Standards Inner Circle: Get 50% off your first month!

We are 2 days away from the year 2023, and if you're listening to this episode it very well could be the year 2023. And a lot of people like to use the new year as a new beginning, or perhaps, a new chapter.So, regardless of whether you're into the idea of new year's resolutions or the traditional sense of what that actually means, I do think it's a good idea to create a plan for what you're trying to achieve within the next year.You listen to this podcast because you want to become a better jazz musician. You're excited about it, you enjoy playing jazz, and you want to sound like the musicians that you look up to and admire.So, in this episode, we're going to talk about how to become a great jazz musician in the year 2023. I got a lot of important tips for you.In this episode:Important tips on how to become a great jazz musician in 20231) Make a goal to learn 1 jazz standard per month.2) Improvise and record a lot 3) Continuously audit your jazz playingImportant Links:Free Guide to learning standards by ear: Learn Jazz Standards the Smart WayLJS Inner Circle MembershipListen to the Learn Jazz Standards PodcastLearn Jazz Standards Inner Circle: Get 50% off your first month!

Today, on the podcast I'm going to be sitting down and improvising a little bit over a jazz standard that I like to play and just giving myself an opportunity to explore some new ideas, to allow myself to get musically creative.I like you to join me in the process and see what you can discover along the way as well. In this episode:How I improvise on East of the Sun in 6 different ways1. 1st jam session:  Improvising freely with no constraints2. 2nd jam session: Focusing more on improving melodic direction3. 3rd jam session: Expanding my improv throughout the range of my instrument4. 4th jam session: Do a solo using more chord voicings 5. 5th jam session: Applying motivic development 6. 6th jam session: Making the lines more bluesy Important Links:Free Guide to learning standards by ear: Learn Jazz Standards the Smart WayLJS Inner Circle MembershipListen to the Learn Jazz Standards PodcastLearn Jazz Standards Inner Circle: Get 50% off your first month!

Alright, my friends, today's episode is going to be a bit cringy for me, but I'm going to do it anyways. We're going to be back to episode 1 of the Learn Jazz Standards podcast and it was called 4 Habits for Better Practicing. And I'm going to look through those 4 habits, that advice that I gave all the way back in 2016, and show you what's changed and what stayed the same as far as my advice goes with jazz practicing and improvement and all that good stuff. In this episode:- What has changed and what I think should stay the same about my advice in 2016 on the following:1. Practicing Habit #1: Set goals and write them down 2. Practicing Habit #2: Remove distractions 3. Practicing Habit #3: Practice what is ailing you, not what you are already good at4. Practicing Habit #4: Be consistent Important Links:Free Guide to learning standards by ear: Learn Jazz Standards the Smart WayLJS Inner Circle MembershipListen to the Learn Jazz Standards PodcastLearn Jazz Standards Inner Circle: Get 50% off your first month!

Have you ever heard of "binge practicing" before? So, binge practicing is kind of what it sounds like, it's where you are practicing for large amounts at a time. And you can also binge practice often, so you are binge practicing frequently. It's kind of like binge-watching Netflix. It's like you watch 5 hours one day and 5 hours the next day, and it keeps on going on like that.Well, today, I want to talk about the pros of binge practicing and the cons of binge practicing for your jazz playing.In this episode:The pros of binge practicing1.  Drastic improvement in technical proficiency 2.  Sheer exposure 3.  Gain more confidence in playingThe cons of binge practicing1.  Tendency to get burned-out2.  Inability to sustain binge practicing which leads to frustration 3.  Inability to notice one's progress4.  Tendency to practice mindlessly5.  Exposure to possible injury- RecommendationImportant Links:Free Guide to learning standards by ear: Learn Jazz Standards the Smart WayLJS Inner Circle MembershipListen to the Learn Jazz Standards PodcastLearn Jazz Standards Inner Circle: Get 50% off your first month!

Today, on the podcast, I'll be talking about 32 jazz standards that I had my students in my Inner Circle membership learn for very specific reasons that I want to share with you. And I want you to also see, out of these jazz standards, which one do you know and which ones would you be interested in learning so that they can help you improve your jazz playing. In this episode:- Short demo and reasons why I chose these jazz standards for my students:1) On The Sunny Side of the Street2) Out of Nowhere3) Recorda Me4) Song for My Father5) Misty6) Doxy7) Bye, Bye, Blackbird8) Blues for Alice9) Wave10) Beautiful Love11) In A Mellow Tone12) Oleo13) Impressions14) Georgia On My Mind15) Four16) Beatrice17) Softly, As In The Morning Sunrise18) There Is No Greater Love 19) Corcovado20) Yardbird Suite21) My Shining Hour22) Up Jumped Spring23) Yesterdays24) Darn That Dream25) St. Thomas26) But Not For Me27) Black Orpheus28) Giant Steps29) Sandu30) How High the Moon31) Blue In Green32) East of the Sun (West of the Moon)- Call to Action Important Links:Free Guide to learning standards by ear: Learn Jazz Standards the Smart WayLJS Inner Circle MembershipListen to the Learn Jazz Standards PodcastLearn Jazz Standards Inner Circle: Get 50% off your first month!

Today's episode is what I would consider to be probably the most valuable episode I've ever come out with. And I hope that it becomes one of the most popular episodes I've ever come up with because I truly believe this is really important information that you need to be paying attention to.We're gonna be talking about the 4 elements of mastering a jazz standard. Being able to play a jazz standard comfortably, being proficient at it, improvising great solos over it. Exactly what you need to do step-by-step.In this episode:1. Element #1: Mastering the melody2. The L.I.S.T process3.  Element #2: Mastering the chord tones4.  Element #3:  Mastering memorization5.  How spaced repetition helps6.  The "secret sauce"7,  Element #4:  Mastering improvisation8.  Options for acquiring musical language9.  Practicing improvisation10. The Bonus Element Important Links:Free Guide to learning standards by ear: Learn Jazz Standards the Smart WayLJS Inner Circle MembershipListen to the Learn Jazz Standards PodcastLearn Jazz Standards Inner Circle: Get 50% off your first month!

Today on the podcast, I wanna show you 2 ways you can start improving your jazz improvisation today. And I wanna share with you a few different people that I know who recently have implemented these things and have made clear progress in their jazz playing. In this episode:1. How 2 LJS Inner Circle members applied concepts to improve their jazz improv2. Isolating a musical concept learned and experimenting with it3. Addressing roadblocks to desired progress4. Good tools for looping sections of a backing trackImportant Links:Free Guide to learning standards by ear: Learn Jazz Standards the Smart WayLJS Inner Circle MembershipListen to the Learn Jazz Standards Podcast  Learn Jazz Standards Inner Circle: Get 50% off your first month!

So,  what is the secret to playing more creative jazz solos, playing more creative melodies, playing more creative comping, more creative basslines?You name them. How do we become creative and tap into our inner creativity so it doesn't just sound like we're playing formulated music or regurgitated music, but something that comes from us, sounds original, sounds organic, and exciting? Well, that's exactly what I'm going to talk about in today's episode.  In this episode:1. How do we become more creative musically? 2.  Secrets to tapping our inner creativity3,  Restrictive practicing4.  Drawing inspiration from things that are musical and non-musical 5. The act of composition6.  Frequency is the key7.  The leap of faithImportant Links:Free Guide to learning standards by ear: Learn Jazz Standards the Smart WayLJS Inner Circle MembershipListen to the Learn Jazz Standards PodcastLearn Jazz Standards Inner Circle: Get 50% off your first month!