Learn Jazz Standards Podcast
Brent Vaartstra: Jazz Musician, Author, and Entrepreneur
The LJS Podcast is the podcast where you get weekly jazz tips, interviews, stories and advice for becoming a better jazz musician! Hosting the show is the jazz musician behind learnjazzstandards.com, author, and entrepreneur Brent Vaartstra, who’s one goal is to answer any question about playing jazz music you may have. Jazz can be a challenging music to learn and play, but it doesn’t have to be so hard. Each episode features a specific musical challenge that jazz students may come across, where it is discussed and answered. Special jazz guests frequent the show, sharing their expertise on an array of different musical subject matter. Listeners are invited to call in with their jazz questions to the podcast hotline, where it could get answered on a future LJS Podcast episode. Join thousands of other listeners getting free jazz education every week!
Episodes
Mentioned books
May 27, 2019 • 32min
Composing Jazz Solos Using Target Notes (Over There Will Never Be Another You)
Welcome to episode 169 of the LJS Podcast where we conclude "Jazz Standards Month." This lesson goes over composing target notes over the jazz standard There Will Never Be Another You and then using those target notes to create a jazz solo. This is a great way to start developing improv skills by slowing things down and intentionally composing jazz lines under the parameter of target notes.View Show Notes: https://www.learnjazzstandards.com/episode169Sign up for the Newsletter: https://www.learnjazzstandards.com/newsletter/Learn Jazz Standards Inner Circle: Get 50% off your first month!
May 20, 2019 • 23min
Making Rhythms the Foundation of Your Jazz Solos (Someday My Prince Will Come Study)
Welcome to episode 168 of the LJS Podcast where we continue "Jazz Standards Month."Oftentimes in jazz education, we place an emphasis on harmonic and melodic elements. We typically don't place enough emphasis on rhythm. However, rhythm is important for understanding jazz music and becoming a better jazz improviser. In this episode, we learn how to apply rhythmic motivic development to the jazz standard Someday My Prince Will Come.Important Links:LJS Inner Circle MembershipFree Guide to learn standards by ear: Learn Jazz Standards the Smart WayView Show Notes Learn Jazz Standards Inner Circle: Get 50% off your first month!
May 13, 2019 • 33min
Making Pentatonic Scales Musical Over Just Friends (Analysis and Improv Lesson)
Welcome to episode 167 of the LJS Podcast where we continue "Jazz Standards Month." My subscribers often wonder what scales to play over jazz standards to help them improvise. However, scales are rarely the answer to creating great melodic solos. With that being said, they should not be discarded and in the right hands can be used to create great music. In this episode, we take the pentatonic scale and apply it to the jazz standard Just Friends.Important Links:LJS Inner Circle MembershipFree Guide to learn standards by ear: Learn Jazz Standards the Smart WayView Show Notes Learn Jazz Standards Inner Circle: Get 50% off your first month!
May 6, 2019 • 31min
Simplifying Jazz Standards to Make Them Easy (Tune Up Analysis)
Welcome to episode 166 of the LJS Podcast where we kick off "Jazz Standards Month." This month we are exploring jazz standards and digging into different concepts to see how we can learn, understand, and improvise over them better. In this episode, I go over the jazz standard Tune-Up by Miles Davis, and demonstrate how to simplify these chord changes to make them easier to understand.Important Links:LJS Inner Circle MembershipFree Guide to learn standards by ear: Learn Jazz Standards the Smart WayView Show Notes Learn Jazz Standards Inner Circle: Get 50% off your first month!
Apr 29, 2019 • 22min
Improvising Over the LJS Podcast Theme Song (feat. Listener Improvisations)
Welcome to episode 165 of the LJS Podcast where today we have a fun show where we discuss how to improvise over the LJS Podcast theme song. It's an episode mixed with a bit of education, and just plain having fun. Best yet, we listen to several recordings of LJS community members improvising over the theme. Listen in!Important Links:LJS Inner Circle MembershipFree Guide to learn standards by ear: Learn Jazz Standards the Smart WayView Show Notes Learn Jazz Standards Inner Circle: Get 50% off your first month!
Apr 22, 2019 • 36min
Warming Up the Body and Mind for Killer Musical Performances (feat. Michael Lake)
Welcome to episode 164 of the LJS Podcast where today we have on special guest trombonist, author, and educator Michael Lake to talk about warming up the body and mind for musical performance. Warming up is important for avoiding injury, and physically being able to play to your best ability, but it's also good for your mental game as well. We get inside Michael's head and learn his best practices and tips.Important Links:LJS Inner Circle MembershipFree Guide to learn standards by ear: Learn Jazz Standards the Smart WayView Show Notes Michael Lake's websiteLearn Jazz Standards Inner Circle: Get 50% off your first month!
Apr 15, 2019 • 26min
5 Things to Do When You Feel Un-Motivated to Practice
Welcome to episode 163 of the LJS Podcast where today we talk about what to do when you feel unmotivated to practice.Sometimes we are burnt out, sometimes we just don't want to and don't have a good reason. It can be confusing especially since deep inside we know we want to become better jazz musicians. Don't panic, here are 5 things you can do.Important Links:LJS Inner Circle MembershipFree Guide to learn standards by ear: Learn Jazz Standards the Smart WayView Show Notes Learn Jazz Standards Inner Circle: Get 50% off your first month!
Apr 8, 2019 • 37min
Developing an Engaging Story Line for Your Jazz Solos (feat. Aimee Nolte)
Welcome to episode 162 of the LJS Podcast where today we have on special guest Aimee Nolte on the show to share with us how to develop an engaging solo that tells a story. Aimee thinks the biggest mistake she sees jazz improvisers make is coming out of the gate playing a slew of notes and run-on lines. She shows us how she develops a great jazz solo and let's loose and some amazing tips.Important Links:LJS Inner Circle MembershipFree Guide to learn standards by ear: Learn Jazz Standards the Smart WayView Show Notes Aimee's website Learn Jazz Standards Inner Circle: Get 50% off your first month!
Apr 1, 2019 • 32min
Understanding the Jazz Standard There Will Never Be Another You (Chords Analysis)
Welcome to episode 161 of the LJS Podcast where today I go over an in-depth analysis of the jazz standard "There Will Never Be Another You." This is a fantastic tune that has a lot to teach us about traditional diatonic jazz harmony, with a few fun surprises along the way. Learn how to start approaching this great jazz standard.Important Links:LJS Inner Circle MembershipFree Guide to learn standards by ear: Learn Jazz Standards the Smart WayView Show Notes Learn Jazz Standards Inner Circle: Get 50% off your first month!
Mar 25, 2019 • 39min
1 Month Practice Plan For Learning 1-2 Jazz Solos by Ear
Welcome to episode 160 of the LJS Podcast where today I walk you through how to learn a jazz solo (or possibly two) by ear in 1 month. This practice plan breaks things down and makes things easy, even if you've never learned a jazz solo by ear before. Having a plan is important, and this one will set you up for success.Important Links:LJS Inner Circle MembershipFree Guide to learn standards by ear: Learn Jazz Standards the Smart WayView Show Notes Learn more about my 30 Steps to Better Jazz Playing CourseLearn Jazz Standards Inner Circle: Get 50% off your first month!
