Learn Jazz Standards Podcast

How do you play scales over jazz chords so that you are playing the right notes but not making it sound like you are just playing scales? Well, today I'm going to show you a melodic approach to making scales musical.In this episode:1. Intro 2. The Big Problem with Scales 3. Taking Scales into Context 4. The Right Way to Think About Scales in Jazz 5. First Step to Making Scales Musical 6. Using Scales to "Fill In The Gaps" 7. The Locrian #2 Lick 8. Identifying Chord Tones in the Lick 9. Filling in the Gaps With Scales in the LickImportant Links:LJS Inner Circle MembershipFree Guide to learn standards by ear: Learn Jazz Standards the Smart WayLearn Jazz Standards Inner Circle: Get 50% off your first month!

Welcome to episode 298 where we go back in the vault to 2016 with an interview by the renowned jazz guitarist Peter Bernstein. This was one of the first shows of the LJS Podcast, and a tremendously amazing opportunity to sit down with one of the jazz guitar greats. Peter shares his musical knowledge and insights about being a jazz musician.Important Links:LJS Inner Circle MembershipFree Guide to learn standards by ear: Learn Jazz Standards the Smart WayLearn Jazz Standards Inner Circle: Get 50% off your first month!

So how do you play killer bebop solos like Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie? Well, today I'm going to show you a simple bebop hack that will help you start playing amazing bebop solos instantly.In this episode:1. Intro 2. Target Notes and Approach Notes 3. 2 Different Kinds of Approach Tones 4. Using Enclosure 5. Chromatic Approach Tone Exercise 6. Analyzing the Approach Tone Exercise 7. #1 Tip for Improvising Bebop SolosImportant Links1. Subscribe to the Podcast- Apple Podcasts - Spotify 2. Learn Jazz Standards the Smart Way 3. LJS Inner Circle MembershipLearn Jazz Standards Inner Circle: Get 50% off your first month!

Welcome to episode 295 where today I discuss 5 "filters" for knowing what you should practice. There are so many things out there to practice, and sometimes when told what to practice it can seem generic and not catered specifically to you. So in this episode, you'll learn 5 filters to help you assess what to practice to shorten your jazz learning curve.In this episode:1. Your Master Goal Filter2. Your Technique Filter3. The 3 Pillars Filter4. Jazz Standards Filter5. Fun Filter6. Your Practice Strategy FilterImportant Links:LJS Inner Circle MembershipFree Guide to learn standards by ear: Learn Jazz Standards the Smart WayShow NotesLearn Jazz Standards Inner Circle: Get 50% off your first month!

If you're like most people who are strapped for time to practice, then you may wonder, how do I improve my jazz skills while practicing less?Well, today I'm going to show you a practice routine that packs a huge punch in only 30 minutes.In this episode:1. What is the Inner Circle Power Plan2. Practice session #13. Jazz practice mindset 14. Practice session #25. Practice session #36. Jazz practice mindset 27. Inner Circle Power Plan - Week 18. Inner Circle Power Plan - Week 29. Inner Circle Power Plan - Week 310. Inner Circle Power Plan - Week 4Important Links:1. Subscribe to the Podcast:- Apple Podcasts -  Spotify2. Free Guide to learning standards by ear: Learn Jazz Standards the Smart Way3. LJS Inner Circle MembershipLearn Jazz Standards Inner Circle: Get 50% off your first month!

Welcome to episode 294 where today I discuss 3 core factors I look into when assessing the health of my student's jazz playing. I find that there are 3 main areas of strength and weakness in a musician that can make or break their jazz solos, comping, or bass lines. If we are able to identify where we fall short within these 3 areas, we can start softening the edges and improving exponentially.As a jazz coach and a mentor, there are 3 core areas that I assess to determine the health of one of my students' playing. And I look into these 3 core areas because I want to make sure that not only are we really getting to the bottom of the issues that are within your playing but also to make sure that we're on the trajectory towards growth. Because oftentimes I find that if we are missing out on one of these core areas, even if we have the other two together, it can completely handicap our playing and stunt our growth as musicians, and of course, as jazz players.So in today's episode, I'm going to go over those 3 core areas to assess the health of your jazz playing and what we can do with each one, and ways we can think about this to really progress further.In this episode:1. Assessing your Technical proficiency 2. Assessing your Harmonic competency 3. Assessing your Rhythmic competencyImportant Links:LJS Inner Circle MembershipFree Guide to learn standards by ear: Learn Jazz Standards the Smart WayLearn Jazz Standards Inner Circle: Get 50% off your first month!

What are jazz standards that can help you improve quickly but not leave your brain hurting?Well, today I'm going to show you an easy jazz standard that does exactly that.In this episode:1. Why is this tune easy2. 3 reasons why this is a powerful tune to learn3. Reason number 14.  Reason number 25. Major diatonic series of 7th chords6. Why studying this tune is important7. Reason number 38. What are secondary dominants Important Links:1. Subscribe to the Podcast:- Apple Podcasts-  Spotify2. Free Guide to learning standards by ear: Learn Jazz Standards the Smart Way3. LJS Inner Circle MembershipLearn Jazz Standards Inner Circle: Get 50% off your first month!

Welcome to episode 292 where today we listen to a recording of me improvising over a popular jazz standard and try to understand what I'm thinking as I improvise. Improvisation can be a mysterious thing, and it can feel difficult to connect the dots between the scales, licks, and patterns you are practicing to actually improvising great solos. This episode will give some insight into how pro and advanced jazz musicians think.Now the art of improvising and playing great jazz solos tends to be a mysterious thing for those on the outside looking in. Like what are the advanced and pro-level jazz musicians thinking about when they improvise? How are they able to spontaneously create things? Are they thinking about scales? Are they thinking about chord tones? Are they thinking about licks that they've learned? Are they thinking about a particular emotion when they are playing? What is creating this ability to create spontaneously and great improvisations? Well, in today's episode, I'm going to actually uncover that in myself to see if we can get inside of what I'm actually thinking when I'm improvising so that hopefully, you can take that information and that knowledge and apply it to your solos so that you do create great improvisations.In this episode:1. Improvisation is connecting the subconscious to the conscious 2. Great improvisers have often played what they are improvising before 3. It's important to practice things we want to play so that we develop our own "isms" that feel natural to us Important Links:LJS Inner Circle MembershipFree Guide to learn standards by ear: Learn Jazz Standards the Smart WayLearn Jazz Standards Inner Circle: Get 50% off your first month!

Today I'm going to show you a tasty jazz lick that's going to make you sound like a bebop pro over minor 2-5-1 chord progressions.In this episode:1. What's a minor 2-5-1 2. How to get that bebop sound 3. What a Minor Bebop Altered Lick sounds like 4. What makes this lick so great 5. What are target notes 6. Importance of 3rds 7. Importance of 7ths 8. The altered notes 9. Tips for learning the altered lickImportant Links:1. Subscribe to the Podcast:- Apple Podcasts-  Spotify2. Free Guide to learning standards by ear: Learn Jazz Standards the Smart Way3. LJS Inner Circle MembershipLearn Jazz Standards Inner Circle: Get 50% off your first month!

Welcome to episode 290 where today I talk about 6 powerful reasons why you should record your jazz playing. You may have heard people suggest recording yourself, but have you ever fully understood why it can be helpful? In this episode, I go over in detail how this simple regular practice could reap great rewards in your jazz playing.If you've been listening to this podcast for a while, you may have heard me say before that recording your jazz playing is a great idea. But I probably haven't really dug deep into why recording your jazz playing can actually have exponential benefits as far as you getting a lot out of your practice sessions and speeding up the progress of your jazz improv, and jazz comping skills in general. So, in this episode, we are going to dive into that. We're going to go over six reasons why recording yourself is going to be helpful for you in your jazz playing, as well as some tips for recording yourself at the end. In this episode:1. Documenting your progress 2. Simulating a performance environment 3. Encourages repetition 4. Identify things you are good at 5. Identify things you need to work on 6. Get community feedback 7. 3 tips for recording yourselfImportant Links:LJS Inner Circle MembershipFree Guide to learn standards by ear: Learn Jazz Standards the Smart WayLearn Jazz Standards Inner Circle: Get 50% off your first month!