Podcasts by The 10 Minute Jazz Lesson Podcast
Weekly jazz lessons and advice packaged into a short, informative session. Lessons are designed for everyone from beginner to advanced musicians.
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Episode 387–Lydian Part 4 from 2023-12-08T05:00:28
This week we wrap up our lessons on Lydian by talking about how to use some amazing triad pairs on the Wayne Shorter tune,"Yes or No"Enjoy! WANT THE PDF THAT GOES ALONG WITH THIS EPISODE??Head ove...
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Episode 386–Lydian Part 3 from 2023-12-01T05:00:22
I've gotten amazing feedback from all of you on this series so I've chosen to extend it and look a little more closely at the lydian sound in action. Enjoy! WANT THE PDF THAT GOES ALONG WITH THIS ...
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Episode 385–Tune of the Month Autumn Leaves from 2023-11-24T05:00:20
This month we take a look at some lydian concepts over one of the most classic jazz standards, Autumn Leaves. Enjoy! WANT THE PDF THAT GOES ALONG WITH THIS EPISODE??Head over to our Patreon page a...
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Episode 384–Lick of the Month Lydian Lines! from 2023-11-17T05:00:41
This week we put our newfound knowledge of Lydian into action! Enjoy the episode :) WANT THE PDF THAT GOES ALONG WITH THIS EPISODE??Head over to our Patreon page and when you donate $3 or more a m...
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Episode 383–Lydian Part 2 from 2023-11-10T05:00:16
This week we continue our series on the Lydian mode by looking at Lydian dominant! Enjoy the episode :) WANT THE PDF THAT GOES ALONG WITH THIS EPISODE??Head over to our Patreon page and when you d...
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Episode 382–Lydian Part 1 from 2023-11-03T04:00:54
This month we are jumping into a series on the Lydian sound and how to use it. Enjoy the episode! WANT THE PDF THAT GOES ALONG WITH THIS EPISODE??Head over to our Patreon page and when you donate ...
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Episode 381–Tune of the Month How High The Moon from 2023-10-27T04:00
This week we get into our tune of the month, How High The Moon! Enjoy the episode! WANT THE PDF THAT GOES ALONG WITH THIS EPISODE??Head over to our Patreon page and when you donate $3 or more a mo...
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Episode 380–Lick of the Month 4 Diminished Licks from 2023-10-20T04:00:26
This week we are taking a look at a method of building diminished licks from the root diminished chord over dominant. Enjoy! WANT THE PDF THAT GOES ALONG WITH THIS EPISODE??Head over to our Patreo...
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Episode 379–Everything Diminished Part 4 from 2023-10-13T04:00:11
This week we continue our work on the diminished scale and chords. Getting closer to doing some amazing things with this sound! Enjoy the episode! WANT THE PDF THAT GOES ALONG WITH THIS EPISODE??H...
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Episode 378–Everything Diminished Part 3 from 2023-10-06T04:00:41
This week we dive a little deeper into the theory of diminished chords as they relate to the scale and learn a cool exercise based on that information. Enjoy the episode! WANT THE PDF THAT GOESALO...
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Episode 377–Tune of the Month On Green Dolphin St. from 2023-09-22T04:00:41
Last episode of the month so you know what that means, time for our tune of the month! In this episode we take a look at one of my favorite songs, On Green Dolphin St. Hope you enjoy and don't forg...
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Episode 376–Lick of the Month Seamus Blake on Let’s Call The Whole Thing Off from 2023-09-15T04:00:31
This month we take a look at a phrase from the amazing Seamus Blake and talk about what makes it tick. Enjoy the episode! WANT THE PDF THAT GOES ALONG WITH THIS EPISODE??Head over to our Patreon p...
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Episode 375: Everything Diminished Part 2 from 2023-09-08T04:00:58
This week we continue our series on the diminished scale and sound. Enjoy the episode! WANT THE PDF THAT GOES ALONG WITH THIS EPISODE??Head over to our Patreon page and when you donate $3 or more ...
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Episode 374: Everything Diminished Part 1 from 2023-09-01T04:00:24
This month, we dive into a series all about the diminished scale and diminished sound. I get many questions about this important sound and I hope to answer them here! WANT THE PDF THAT GOES ALONG ...
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Episode 373: Tune of the Month–Bernie’s Tune from 2023-08-25T04:00
This month we take a look at a classic jazz standard, Bernie's Tune. Enjoy and don't forget to grab the PDF of the etude at the link below! WANT THE PDF THAT GOES ALONG WITH THIS EPISODE??Head ove...
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Episode 372: Lick of the Month: Warne Marsh on Marshmallow from 2023-08-18T04:00:30
This month on our lick of the month episode, we look at a great phrase from Warne Marsh on the tune Marshmallow. Enjoy the episode! WANT THE PDF THAT GOES ALONG WITH THIS EPISODE??Head over to our...
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Episode 371: The Magic of Intervals Part 4 from 2023-08-11T04:00:04
We wrap up our series on intervals by examining how important a fluency in intervals is to playing chords. Enjoy the episode! WANT THE PDF THAT GOES ALONG WITH THIS EPISODE??Head over to our Patre...
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Episode 370: The Magic of Intervals Part 3 from 2023-08-04T04:00:27
This week we continue with our series on intervals by talking about intervals based on the chromatic scale instead of a diatonic major or minor. Enjoy! WANT THE PDF THAT GOES ALONG WITH THIS EPISO...
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Episode 369: Tune of the Month: I’ll Be Seeing You from 2023-07-28T04:00:13
This week we return to our tune of the month series with one of my favorite jazz standards, I'll Be Seeing You WANT THE PDF THAT GOES ALONG WITH THIS EPISODE?? Head over to our Patreon page and w...
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Episode 368: Lick of the Month: Mark Turner on JJ from 2023-07-21T04:00:08
Lick of the month is back! This one is from one of my favorite musicians of all time, Mark Turner. Since we have been talking about interesting interval combinations, Mark is the perfect person to ...
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Episode 367: The Magic of Intervals Part 2 from 2023-07-14T04:00:09
This week we continue with intervals. This one is a little tricky! We combine two intervals together to create some very cool patterns that will unlock new shapes and sounds for you! WANT THE PDF ...
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Episode 366: The Magic of Intervals Part 1 from 2023-07-07T04:00:53
New month, new series! This month we tackle one of my favorite subjects and, in my opinion, one of the most important things any musician can master, intervals! Enjoy :) WANT THE PDF THAT GOES ALO...
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Episode 365: Tune Based Learning Part 4 from 2023-06-23T04:00:04
This week we finish up our series with one more etude over Donna Lee from my new book, 10 Studies on Donna Lee. Hope you enjoy this episode and found some value in this entire series. Cheers! WANT ...
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Episode 364: Tune Based Learning Part 3 from 2023-06-16T04:00:39
This week we dive into yet another concept over the tune Donna Lee, exploring more avenues of expression and depth that this song can offer us. Link to the new Ebook, 10 Studies On Donna Lee!!!WAN...
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Episode 362: Tune Based Learning Part 2 from 2023-06-09T04:00:27
This week we take a look at a different approach to Donna Lee. Hope you enjoy! WANT THE PDF THAT GOES ALONG WITH THIS EPISODE??Head over to our Patreon page and when you donate $3 or more a month ...
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Episode 362: Tune Based Learning Part 1 from 2023-06-02T04:00:29
Welcome to a new series! This month we are going to do something cool and practice the same tune for 4 episodes in a row, Donna Lee. We will investigate some different approaches and ideas when it ...
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Episode 361: Tune of the Month: All The Things You Are from 2023-05-26T04:00:13
In this episode we finish up our series on odd time signatures with the classic jazz standard, All The Things You Are but in 7/4! Enjoy! WANT THE PDF THAT GOES ALONG WITH THIS EPISODE??Head over t...
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Episode 360: Getting Started With Odd Time Signatures Part 6 from 2023-05-19T12:48:06
This week we play a favorite jazz standard of mine that really lends itself to some new time signatures. Have fun and don't forget to grab the PDF! WANT THE PDF THAT GOES ALONG WITH THIS EPISODE??...
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Episode 359: Getting Started With Odd Time Signatures Part 5 from 2023-05-12T04:00:23
This week we finally get into improvising over 5/4 time. Don't worry, we are going to start with something easy and ease you into the process. Have fun! This week we look at some language over a i...
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Episode 358: Getting Started With Odd Time Signatures Part 4 from 2023-05-05T04:00:08
This week we look at some language over a ii V I in 5/4! Enjoy the episode. WANT THE PDF THAT GOES ALONG WITH THIS EPISODE??Head over to our Patreon page and when you donate $3 or more a month you...
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Episode 357: Tune of the Month: Solar from 2023-04-28T04:00:12
This week we are taking a look at a Miles Davis classic, Solar and thinking about what we can do with our rhythmic playing to prepare for our further study of odd time signatures. Hope you enjoy! ...
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Episode 356: Getting Started With Odd Time Signatures Part 3 from 2023-04-21T04:00:58
This week we dive a little deeper into a couple of common odd times signatures and develop even more skills in hearing and getting used to some common groupings that will come in handy later on in ...
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Episode 355: Getting Started With Odd Time Signatures Part 2 from 2023-04-14T04:00:24
This week we keep going with our study of odd time signatures by......actually diving into some odd time signatures! :) Enjoy the episode! WANT THE PDF THAT GOES ALONG WITH THIS EPISODE?? Head ove...
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Episode 354: Getting Started With Odd Time Signatures Part 1 from 2023-04-07T04:00:16
This month, we embark on creating an understanding and a starting point for playing over odd time signatures. We start by.......working on 4/4 time?? It seems funny but, yes, looking at the most co...
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Episode 353: Tune of the Month If I Should Lose You from 2023-03-24T04:00:30
Another tune of the month coming at you to close out our series on Hank Mobley. This time, we look at a standard from Mobley's album Soul Station, If I Should Lose You. Enjoy the etude and don't fo...
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Episode 352: The Music of Hank Mobley Part 3 from 2023-03-17T04:00:39
This week we look at the first couple of choruses of Hank Mobley's solo on the blues, Dig Dis. We talk about about and dissect what makes this such an incredible statement and take some things with...
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Episode 351: The Music of Hank Mobley Part 2 from 2023-03-10T05:00:33
This week we take a look at an excerpt of Hank's solo on Roll Call. We discover how he is an absolute master of horizontal playing and language and take some stuff with us to practice in our own ti...
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Episode 350: The Music of Hank Mobley Part 1 from 2023-03-03T05:00:41
We are back with a new series for the month of March! This month we'll discover the music of one of my favorite musicians of all time, Hank Mobley. We start by looking at a couple of useful excerpt...
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Episode 349: Tune of the Month Ask Me Now from 2023-02-24T05:00:13
This week we finish up our series on the great Thelonious Monk by talking about and studying an etude written over his ballad, Ask Me Now. Enjoy the episode! WANT THE PDF THAT GOES ALONG WITH THIS...
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Episode 348: The Music of Thelonious Monk Part 3 from 2023-02-17T05:00:57
It wouldn't be right to do a series about Monk without taking a look at one of his compositions. In this episode, we'll cover one of his most famous songs, Blue Monk and what makes it so special an...
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Episode 347: The Music of Thelonious Monk Part 2 from 2023-02-10T05:00:08
This week we take a look at some instances of one of Monk's favorite sounds, the whole-tone scale. This was a prominent sound in Monk's music and we talk about how he changes the chords to create s...
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Episode 346: The Music of Thelonious Monk Part 1 from 2023-02-03T05:00:39
Welcome back! New month = new series. This month we are looking at one of the greatest composers and pianists of all time, Thelonious Monk. In this episode we look at a particular phrase on his com...
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Episode 345: Tune of the Month Blues in 4 Keys! from 2023-01-27T05:00:47
I figured this would be a great way to end our 2 month series on the blues. Modulating up a minor 3rd every chorus is a great way to test yourself and practice through the keys in a logical way. Ma...
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Episode 344: Blues With The Masters Part 7 from 2023-01-20T05:00:52
This week we take a look at the guitar master, Wes Montgomery and his solo on D Natural Blues. There's a lot going on here and much to learn from this amazing musician. Enjoy! WANT THE PDF THAT GO...
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Episode 343: Blues With The Masters Part 6 from 2023-01-13T05:00:44
This week we dive into the minor blues and take a look at, what I think, it one of the truly unique and memorable solos in jazz history. Oliver Nelson's solo on Stolen Moments is such a refreshing ...
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Episode 342: Blues With The Masters Part 5 from 2023-01-06T05:00:10
Happy New Year everyone! This week we continue with our study of the blues taking a look at a Charlie Parker solo that is actually at a manageable tempo and moderate difficulty. Enjoy the episode a...
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Episode 341: Blues With The Masters Part 4 from 2022-12-23T05:00:01
This week we continue on with our study of the master musicians playing the blues. We find ourselves dissecting the master of masters, John Coltrane over his 1958 recording, Blue Train. This one ca...
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Episode 340: Blues With The Masters Part 3 from 2022-12-16T05:00:26
This week we are continuing with our blues series by taking a look at one of my favorite solos. Freddie Hubbard plays a jaw dropping solo on Birdlike and we owe it to ourselves to take a look at a ...
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Episode 339: Blues With the Masters Part 2 from 2022-12-09T05:00:53
Welcome back to another great episode on the blues! This week we are looking at a MASTERFUL solo from the great, Jack Teagarden on Wolverine Blues. This will give us a chance to talk about an alter...
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Episode 338: Blues With the Masters Part 1 from 2022-12-02T05:00:04
New series! This one will feature blues solos with some of the greatest musicians throughout history. We will start with a couple of choruses and analysis of the great, Sonny Rollins on his composi...
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Episode 337: Tune of the Month On The Sunny Side Of The Street from 2022-11-25T05:00:22
We finish up the month of November with one of my favorite jazz standards, On The Sunny Side Of The Street. Here we try to channel Lester Young and do what we can to put some of the concepts we lea...
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Episode 336: The Music of Lester Young Part 3 from 2022-11-18T05:00:25
This week we look at the intangible parts of Lester's playing by learning one of his transcriptions on Almost Like Being In Love with the Oscar Peterson Trio. I think this will be a great way to en...
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Episode 335: The Music of Lester Young Part 2 from 2022-11-11T05:00:05
Welcome back for the second in our series of episodes on the legendary, Lester Young. This week we'll be taking a look at 4 more examples of Lester using simplicity to create beautiful lines over c...
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Episode 334: The Music of Lester Young Part 1 from 2022-11-04T04:00:48
This month we start a brand new series on one of the best musicians who ever graced the tenor saxophone and jazz, Lester Young. Lester's music will give us great insight into how to do a lot with a...
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Episode 333: Tune of the Month Joy Spring from 2022-10-28T04:00:18
This week we finish up our series on the great Clifford Brown with an etude written over his composition,'Joy Spring'. Hope you enjoy and get something from this month long series on one of the gre...
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Episode 332: The Music of Clifford Brown Part 3 from 2022-10-21T04:00:27
This week we take a look at what Clifford Brown does over an extended period of a single chord happening. I believe Clifford might be the best of all time at this and we can take many things from h...
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Episode 331: The Music of Clifford Brown Part 2 from 2022-10-14T04:00
Welcome to the second episode in our series on the legendary, Clifford Brown. This week we dive into some harmonic devices that Brown uses regularly. Specifically, delayed resolution tactics and ho...
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Episode 330: The Music of Clifford Brown Part 1 from 2022-10-07T04:00:42
New month, new series! This month we are taking a look at another bebop master, trumpeter, Clifford Brown. we'll start by taking a look at how Clifford uses horizontal playing to great effect and h...
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Episode 329: Tune of the Month Yardbird Suite from 2022-09-22T04:00:38
This week we are finishing up our series on Charlie Parker with one of his best compositions, Yardbird Suite. I will be doing my best to use a number of his ideas we have discussed over the past 2 ...
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Episode 328: The Music of Charlie Parker Part 6 from 2022-09-16T04:00:31
This week we finish off our look at the legendary Charlie Parker. In this episode, we discuss Bird's use of texture to create the amazing flow his solos have. Horizontal vs. vertical lines are the ...
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Episode 327: The Music of Charlie Parker Part 5 from 2022-09-09T04:00:21
This week we talk about the counter to last week's episode. When and why does Bird break the rules that we laid out in the last episode? This is sure to be an interesting one so enjoy the episode! ...
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Episode 326: The Music of Charlie Parker Part 4 from 2022-09-02T04:00:33
This week we continue our studies of one of the greatest jazz minds in history. We are going to look at how Bird places his chord tones and drive the home the fact we need clarity in our solos. Jaz...
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Episode 325: Tune of the Month: Confirmation from 2022-08-26T04:00:27
It seems only fitting that after studying the genius of Charlie Parker for 3 weeks, we finish up the month with one of his most prolific compositions. If you have checked out the last three episode...
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Episode 324: The Music Of Charlie Parker Part 3 from 2022-08-19T04:00:20
This week we are going to look at a very specific device that Charlie Parker uses in his solos. Although this seems like it can only have narrow applications, the idea of using this specific thing ...
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Episode 323: The Music Of Charlie Parker Part 2 from 2022-08-12T04:00:36
This week we go further into the playing of Bird by looking at his use of enclosures and the various ways he uses them. The beauty of enclosures is they can be as simple or complicated as we would ...
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Episode 322: The Music of Charlie Parker Part 1 from 2022-08-05T04:00:50
This week kicks off a new series deep diving into the music of the architects of our language of jazz. Throughout the month we'll take a look at some defining features of Bird's music. These are th...
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Episode 321: Tune of the Month If I were A Bell from 2022-07-22T04:00:24
This month we are going to dive into one of my favorite jazz standards. I have been listening to Miles Davis'recording of this since I was a kid! The form is a bit complicated so be ready for a lot...
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Episode 320: Lick of the Month Wynton Marsalis on Buddy Bolden’s Blues from 2022-07-15T04:00:16
This week we are taking a look at a full chorus of one of my favorite musicians, Wynton Marsalis. There's a lot to dig into here. Wynton's use of simplicity combined with rhythmic genius and a cons...
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Episode 319: Practical Jazz Theory Part 4 from 2022-07-08T04:00:13
This week we are sticking with our diatonic cadences but ratcheting up the intensity a bit by using melodic minor. These are some advanced sounds and things to wrap your head around so make sure yo...
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Episode 318: Practical Jazz Theory Part 3 from 2022-07-01T04:00:33
This week we are going to continue talking about cadences but focus on a unique way to practice your authentic cadences. We'll be looking at the diatonic chords from a major scale and working on ca...
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Episode 317: Tune of the Month Stella By Starlight from 2022-06-24T04:00:23
This month we are taking a look at one of my favorite jazz standards, Victor Young's, Stella By Starlight. This tune has so much to dig into including a relatively little used form, deceptive caden...
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Episode 316: Lick of the Month Phil Woods on Billie’s Bounce from 2022-06-17T04:00:48
This week we take a look at an amazing line by the great, Phil Woods that demonstrates much of what we have been talking about in the past couple of episodes. Phil Woods puts an amazing superimpose...
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Episode 315: Practical Jazz Theory Part 2 from 2022-06-10T04:00:02
This week we revisit the deceptive cadence but we discuss how you can actually use it in your playing. they key here is to realize that the deceptive cadence doesn't actually have to be in the prog...
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Episode 314: Practical Jazz Theory Part 1 from 2022-06-03T04:00:05
This month we are going to dive into some jazz theory concepts that are practical and will help you in your daily life as a jazz musician. Episode 1 is all about cadences. Let's dive in! WANT THE ...
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Episode 313: Tune of the Month: Pennies From Heaven from 2022-05-27T04:00
Welcome back to yet another tune of the month episode. This month, we will look at the classic jazz standard, Pennies From Heaven, and make use of some of the fantastic lessons we learned from Stan...
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Episode 312: Lick of the Month: Stan Getz on Pennies From Heaven from 2022-05-20T04:00:57
This lick of the month comes from a recent YouTube video I put out featuring the amazing, Stan Getz. We take a look at diatonic triads and how they can be used to create awesome lines! WANT THE PD...
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Episode 311: The Ultimate Guide To Learning Tunes Part 6 from 2022-05-13T04:00:27
This week we finish up our series on learning tunes. We step back and talk about how you can really understand and be able to play over these tunes with complete freedom. Repetition and listening a...
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Episode 310: The Complete Guide To Learning Tunes Part 5 from 2022-05-06T04:00:48
This week we continue our series on learning tunes. We have finally arrived at learning the chords and some things you can do to make sure that there is never a chord or chords that intimidate you....
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Episode 309: Tune of the Month: But Not For Me from 2022-04-22T04:00:51
This month, as usual, we are looking at the same tune we did our Lick of the Month episode on, George Gershwin's, But Not For Me. We try to employ some of the things we learned from Roy Hargrove la...
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Episode 308: Lick of the Month: Roy Hargrove on But Not For Me from 2022-04-15T04:00:48
This week, we take a look at an entire chorus of Roy Hargrove's solo on But Not For Me! We very rarely present this much material in our Lick of the Month episode, but this is an exception due to t...
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Episode 307: The Complete Guide To Learning Tunes Part 4 from 2022-04-08T04:00:33
Welcome back! This week we move on to talking about the hardest part of learning a tune, the chord progression! Depending on where you are in your jazz journey, I will give you some different advic...
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Episode 306: The Complete Guide To Learning Tunes Part 3 from 2022-04-01T04:00:15
This week we continue our series on learning tunes by finally talking about the melody! Of course, I want you to learn melodies by ear and in this episoee, we talk about some of the challenges and ...
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Episode 305: Tune of the Month: On The Trail from 2022-03-25T04:00:25
This week we take a look at one of my favorite jazz standards by Ferde Grofe, On The Trail. I wasn't really trying to do anything specific with this etude but did take some inspiration from the gre...
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Episode 304: Lick of the Month Joshua Redman‘On The Trail’ from 2022-03-18T04:00:15
This month we take a look at a couple of fantastic Joshua Redman lines from his solo on Walter Smith III's album TWIO. This excerpt is from one of my favorite jazz standards,"On The Trail."Enjoy th...
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Episode 303: The Complete Guide To Learning Tunes Part 2 from 2022-03-11T05:00:32
This week we take a look at a few more essential progressions that we didn't have time for last week. Then we talk about how to figure out the basics of form, simply by using our ears. Here we go o...
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Episode 302: The Complete Guide To Learning Tunes Part 1 from 2022-03-04T05:00:21
This week we start a brand new series on learning tunes! As always, it's not as simple as diving into your favorite tune. We have some legwork to do first. In this episode we talk about some of the...
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Episode 301: Tune of the Month #2 Rhythm Changes from 2022-02-25T05:00:54
Well, here we are at the end of our series on the tri-tone substitution! This week we are studying our second tune of the month and this one is over the, ubiquitous, rhythm changes. The rhythm chan...
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Episode 300: Tune of the Month#1: The Blues from 2022-02-18T05:00:32
Here we are at our first tune of the month episode in this series. This week we take a look at an etude written over the Bb blues that contains the majority of the work we have done over tri-tone s...
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Episode 299: The Tri-Tone Substitution Part 4 from 2022-02-11T05:00:12
This week we take a step back and learn some important information about resolving the progressions we have studied so far in this series. Using tension and release comes with some important caveat...
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Episode 298: The Tri-Tone Substitution Part 3 from 2022-02-04T05:00:51
We are back this week taking our series on the tri-tone substitution to the next level! In this episode, we discuss the possibilities for substitutions on a iii-VI -ii-V-I progression. The thinking...
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Episode 297: Tune of the Month: You’d Be So Nice To Come Home To from 2022-01-28T05:00:20
This week we take what we have covered so far in our tri-tone substitution series and apply it to the classic jazz tune, You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To. This progression offers us ample opportuni...
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Episode 296: Lick of the Month: ii-V-I Tri-Tone Substitutions from 2022-01-21T05:00:01
We are back with another Lick of the Month episode! This week, we will take the progressions we learned in Episode 295 and write some killer lines over them. The lines will center around triads and...
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Episode 295: The Tri-Tone Substitution Part 2 from 2022-01-14T05:00:44
Welcome back! This week we continue our series on the tri-tone sub and start to get into the practical applications of using this sound. We take a look at our old friend, the long ii-V-I progressio...
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Episode 294: The Tri-Tone Substitution Part 1 from 2022-01-07T05:00:18
Happy New Year everyone! Excited to be back and working on something new. In the first series of 2022, we will be talking about the tri-tone substitution and how we can start to hear and use this i...
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Episode 293: Tune of the Month: Holly Jolly Christmas from 2021-12-24T05:00:01
I decided to end the year with one of my holiday favorites, Have A Holly Jolly Christmas! This tune actually has some fantastic chord changes that will allow us to put many of the topics we discuss...
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Episode 292: Lick of the Month: Chris Potter on Scrapple From The Apple from 2021-12-17T05:00:25
This month, we take a look at the genius of Chris Potter and talk about how he displays some of the concepts we have been working on in the current series based on scales. Enjoy the episode! WANT ...
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Episode 291: Creative Scale Practice Part 4 from 2021-12-10T05:00:48
This episode ends our series on practicing your scales in a more creative fashion. This week, we combine some of the rhythmic schemes from last episode with various interval layouts to create an ev...
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Episode 290: Creative Scale Practice Part 3 from 2021-12-03T05:00:32
This week we continue our series on practicing your scales creatively by moving into what you can do rhythmically. We have a tendency to practice our scales up and down in a homogenous rhythmic pat...
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Episode 289: Tune of the Month: After You’ve Gone from 2021-11-26T05:00:40
This month we are continuing to look at one of my favorite tunes, After You've Gone. We use some of the material from last month's Q&A episode plus some of the things we learned in our last episode...
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Episode 288: Lick of the Month: Patrick Bartley on After You’ve Gone from 2021-11-19T05:00:52
Time for the lick of the month episode and this one is a doozy! Patrick is taking over the internet with this particular solo because it is just that good. We are going to look at two similar lines...
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Episode 287: Creative Scale Practice Part 2 from 2021-11-12T05:00:47
This week we continue our discussion on how we can breathe new life into our tired scale routine. Last episode, we talked about the three most common and beneficial scale types. This week , we will...
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Episode 286: Creative Scale Practice: Part 1 from 2021-11-05T04:00:35
This month we talk about how to bring new life into something that I'm hoping all of you practice everyday, your scales! In this first part of the series, we talk about how you can combine types of...
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Episode 285: Q&A Trad Jazz vs. Bebop from 2021-10-29T04:00:08
It's the 5th Friday of the month so this week, we treat you to a Q&A episode. We tackle a very poignant question from one of our longtime listeners and supporters, David, about how to approach trad...
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Episode 284: Tune of the Month: Out Of Nowhere from 2021-10-22T04:00:18
This month's tune is one of my favorite Johnny Green standards that I play very often, Out Of Nowhere. We utilize the concepts we have been talking about in the entire pentatonic series and apply t...
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Episode 283: Lick of the Month: Pentatonic Shifting from 2021-10-15T04:00:13
Time for our lick of the month episode! This month, we utilize the concepts of pentatonic shofting to create some killer ii-V-I lines. These lines will stretch your ability to use pentatonics freel...
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Episode 282: Pentatonic Deep Dive Part 4 from 2021-10-08T04:00:49
This week we finish up our series on pentatonics by looking at a few approaches for practicing these scales in all 12 keys. Mixing up the order of scales and rapidly changing from one key to anothe...
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Episode 281: Pentatonic Deep Dive Part 3 from 2021-10-01T04:00:23
This week, we continue our series on pentatonics by looking at our options over major seventh chords. We have two diatonic options and one option that includes a non-diatonic note. These are some o...
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Episode 280: Tune of the Month: Milestones from 2021-09-24T04:00:04
This week we take a look at an awesome modal tune to practice what we have learned about pentatonics so far. Milestones will allow us to stretch a bit and provide a low stress chord progression to ...
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Episode 279: Lick of the Month: McCoy Tyner on Blues on the Corner from 2021-09-17T04:00:52
This month we are studying one of the master pianists of all time, McCoy Tyner. This lick represents the endless possibilities of using pentatonics and how someone like Tyner uses them to create te...
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Episode 278: Pentatonic Deep Dive Part 2 from 2021-09-10T04:00:04
This week we continue our series on pentatonics by investigating our options over a dominant 7th chord. The options are fairly limited but, the good news is, we have some very interesting and intri...
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Episode 277: Pentatonic Deep Dive Part 1 from 2021-09-03T04:00:24
This month is all about pentatonics! We will be talking about how to creatively use pentatonic shapes over the 3 most common jazz chords. We start with the minor seventh chord and talk about three ...
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Episode 276: Tune of the Month: I Hear A Rhapsody from 2021-08-27T04:00:10
Welcome to our tune of the month episode and the conclusion of our series on triads! This week, we will use the amazing composition, I Hear A Rhapsody, as a vehicle for putting our triadic lines in...
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Episode 275: Lick of the Month Triadic Lines from 2021-08-20T04:00:18
This week, all of the work we have done on major triads comes together into some ii-V-I lines. We explore three of the patterns we have covered in the series and think about the sounds we can achie...
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Episode 274: Triad Workout Part 4 from 2021-08-13T04:00:03
In this episode we reach the end of our triad workout by dealing with some very difficult exercises! These triads not only start places other than the root, we have also mixed up the order of the k...
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Episode 273: Triad Workout Part 3 from 2021-08-06T04:00:59
This week we continue our series on triads with some challenging exercises designed to get you away from root position and develop more flexibility with your triadic playing. Enjoy the episode! WA...
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Episode 272 Q&A: Swing Feel and Playing Non-Diatonically from 2021-07-30T04:00:39
July has five Fridays, so I figured this month we would try something a little bit different! I asked some of the Patreon members for questions they would like answered in a Q&A format. We got two ...
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Episode 271: Tune of the Month: Dindi from 2021-07-23T04:00:36
This month, we are going to flex some of our newfound triad skills on an awesome Antoni Carlos Jobim tune, Dindi. This song has very interesting harmony and there are sections that lend themselves ...
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Episode 270: Lick of the Month: Sam Dillon’s Pentatonics from 2021-07-16T04:00:02
Welcome back to another lick of the month episode. This week, while we give you time to practice your triad patterns, we are going to look at a line from the killer saxophonist, Sam Dillon, in whic...
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Episode 269: Triad Workout Part 2 from 2021-07-09T04:00:18
This week we continue our study of triads and how to develop a firm understanding of every key and how they lay on our respective instruments. In this episode, we talk about the 4 note triad. If yo...
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Episode 268: Triad Workout Part 1 from 2021-07-02T04:00:34
This month we are going to talk about some of the most valuable exercises I have studied in my younger years that, I believe, gave me the technique, skills, and understanding to really bring my pla...
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Episode 267: Tune of the Month: Bluesette from 2021-06-25T04:00:25
Welcome to the conclusion of our series on Rhythmic Flexibility! We finish off this series with an etude over the amazing composition by Toots Thielemans, Bluesette. This tune fits perfectly into o...
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Episode 266: Lick of the Month: Joe Pass on Bluesette from 2021-06-18T04:00:25
This week, we take a look at one of the hippest lines I've come across in a while. Joe Pass plays an incredible phrase combining rhythmic and harmonic mastery resulting in some mind bending sounds....
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Episode 265: Developing Rhythmic Flexibility Part 4 from 2021-06-11T04:00:25
This week we finish up our series on rhythmic flexibility with a simple exercise that is deceivingly hard. We are going to practice playing 3 over 4 with a half note triplet. Then we flip the scrip...
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Episode 264: Developing Rhythmic Flexibility Part 3 from 2021-06-04T04:00:49
This week we continue our series on playing more interesting and engaging rhythmic material. In episode one of this series, we looked at an exercise using escalating note values. This week we are t...
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Episode 263: Tune of the Month: All Of Me from 2021-05-28T04:00:02
This month we take a look at the classic jazz standard, All Of Me, and use some of the concepts we have been discussing in the past couple of episodes. In the etude I have prepared for you, we are ...
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Episode 262: Lick of the Month: Sonny Stitt on All Of Me from 2021-05-21T04:00:56
This week we feature Sonny Stitt playing over the classic jazz standard, All Of Me. This 8 bar excerpt really embodies many of the topics we have been discussing so far this month. We see incredibl...
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Episode 261: Developing Rhythmic Flexibility Part 2 from 2021-05-14T04:00:17
Welcome back! This week we take a look at the same exercise from last episode but challenge ourselves to do it with a real rhythm section. At first, this may not seem like a difficult thing, but as...
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Episode 260: Developing Rhythmic Flexibility Part 1 from 2021-05-07T04:00:55
Welcome back! This month we are going to be taking a crack at some EXTREMELY difficult exercises aimed at getting your rhythmic comfort to the next level. For the first episode, we are taking a loo...
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Episode 259: Tune of the Month: Pent Up House from 2021-04-30T04:00:17
You probably guessed this would be the tune of the month, but here it is. This month we will be taking a look at the great Sonny Rollins composition and, as always, I've prepared an etude for you o...
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Episode 258: Lick of the Month: Clifford Brown on Pent Up House from 2021-04-23T04:00:27
We are back with a listener favorite Lick of the Month episode! This month, we take a look at a genius excerpt from the great, Clifford Brown on the fantastic jazz standard, Pent Up House. Brown di...
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Episode 257: Play More Interesting Lines! Part 3 from 2021-04-16T04:00:53
This week we continue talking about strategies to turn rather vanilla lines into fantastic sounds! In this episode, we talk about strategically removing notes in measures to produce interesting syn...
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Episode 256: Play More Interesting Lines! Part 2 from 2021-04-09T04:00:52
This week we continue our series on making your lines more interesting and hip. Last episode we looked at call and response, this week, we take a look at morphing your lines from diatonic to altere...
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Episode 255: Play More Interesting Lines! Part 1 from 2021-04-02T04:00:25
This month we are going to look at how we can turn uninspiring lines into interesting, well crafted pieces of vocabulary. Whether you're feeling uninspired or just plain stuck, I hope these suggest...
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Episode 254: Tune of the Month: Nardis from 2021-03-26T04:00:58
This week we take a look at one of Miles Davis'original compositions, Nardis for our tune of the month episode. we will be attempting to use the concepts we talked about over the month involving di...
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Episode 253: The Artistry of Miles Davis Part 3 from 2021-03-19T04:00:40
This week we are going back to the concept we talked about in 251. This time we are looking at how to use purely diatonic notes over ii-V-I progressions and make them sound just as good as if we us...
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Episode 252: The Artistry of Miles Davis Part 2 from 2021-03-12T05:00:23
This week is all about, perhaps, the most well known jazz solo of all time. We are taking a looks at Miles'use of negative space on his solo over Freddie Freeloader. Talking about space and resting...
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Episode 251: The Artistry of Miles Davis Part 1 from 2021-03-05T05:00:16
Welcome to a new month and a new series! This month, we will be studying one of the greatest musicians in the history of jazz, Miles Davis. In the first episode, we look at how just how effective h...
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Episode 250: Tune of the Month: I Walk A Little Faster from 2021-02-26T05:00:53
This month's tune comes from Cy Coleman and is one of the most interesting chord progressions I have come across. It actually manages to demonstrate all three modulations we have been talking about...
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Episode 249: Common Jazz Modulation Part 3 from 2021-02-19T05:00:40
This week we get into a bit of a tough modulation. Modulating up a major third happens in some important jazz standards and every musician should know how to accomplish this key change in a smooth ...
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Episode 248: Common Jazz Modulation Part 2 from 2021-02-12T05:00:42
WANT THE PDF THAT GOES ALONG WITH THIS EPISODE?? Head over to our Patreon page and when you donate $3 or more a month you get this PDF and every other. We will also be bringing you many extras excl...
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Episode 247: Common Jazz Modulation Part 1 from 2021-02-05T05:00:31
Welcome back to a new series on the podcast! This month we will be looking an element of jazz we should all be familiar with, modulation. Most compositions have at least one key change. What do we ...
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Motivation Monday: Giving Yourself Honest Praise from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
This week we discuss a positive reinforcement that you need to be doing every week to keep improving and stay motivated!
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Episode 73: Writing a Contrafact And Beyond from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Writing a contrafact is the act of taking an existing set of chord changes and writing your own melody to it. This is great for a number of reasons. First, you can cure writers block beautifully wi...
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Episode 72: Beyond The Blues Scale Part 2 from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
This week we are taking the concepts that we covered last week and stepping up our game a little bit. This material is still based around the Mixolydian Sharp 9 Chord Scale, but this time we are go...
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Motivation Monday: Keeping A Practice Journal from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
This week is all about recording your practice and thoughts about music.
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Episode 71: Beyond The Blues Scale Part 1 from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The blues scale is a great device for beginners and an easy way to explain playing over the blues. At the 10 Minute Jazz Lesson, our goal is to move beyond the basics and expand your horizons into ...
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Motivation Monday 9/11/17 from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
This week is more of a challenge. Are your ears up to the task?
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Episode 70: Chris Potter Slays Cherokee from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Chris Potter is a one of a kind musician. If you have ever heard him play you know what I'm talking about. His work ethic and skill level should be an inspiration to us all if not being slightly de...
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Interview: Laszlo Gardony On Playing, Teaching, and Life from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Laszlo Gardony is a living legend in jazz. Over his illustrious career as a teacher and performer he has crossed paths with some of the best musicians in the world and is a perennial favorite to ja...
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Motivation Monday 9/4/17 from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
This week is all about a seriously painful part of practicing that everyone needs to do regardless of skill level.
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Episode 69: 7th Chord Workout from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
This week is all about the 5 most common types of 7th chords and how to rapidly switch between them. Most of the time when we practice, we take the same exercise and put it in all keys. This is a g...
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Motivation Monday 8/28/17 from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
This week is all about listening on a deeper level to discover much more than you ever imagined.
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Episode 68: Rhythmic Displacement from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
This week we are talking about one of my favorite things: rhythm. The difference between a good player and a great player tends to be their sense of time and rhythmic flexibility. This is an exerci...
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Motivation Monday 8/21/17 from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
This week we turn off our brain and open our ears!
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Episode 67: How To Cure Root-itis from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
This week we are talking about a horrible affliction that affects many jazz musicians. The good news is, this disease can be cured with a little bit of hard work and you don't even have to see a do...
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Interview: Jason Heath of Contrabass Conversations from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Welcome to our first ever interview episode! One of the things I love most about being a musician is getting to hang out with other great players and talk to them about what's going on in their liv...
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Motivation Monday 8/14/17 from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
This week we talk about one of my favorite apps that every musician needs to have.
Episode 66: Editing Your Lines! from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Editing is one of the toughest things you can do in life. Whether editing your writing or editing what you say in certain situations, choosing what to include and what to leave out are crucial. The...
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Motivation Monday 8/7/17 from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
This week's episode features a quote and discussion from one of the greatest musicians that has ever lived!
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Episode 65: The Genius of Phil Woods from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Phil Woods was a true giant in jazz history. One of the preeminent saxophonists after Charlie Parker, Woods took the alto to new heights and has a legacy that will live on forever in jazz history. ...
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Motivation Monday 7/31/17 from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
This weeks we give your practice plan some new life. Accomplish more by doing less!
Episode 64: Rhythmic Variation In Vocabulary from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Rhythmic awareness and flexibility is where it's at. Rhythm is by far the most important thing for an improviser and in this episode we talk about how you can supercharge your vocabulary work and b...
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Motivation Monday 7/24/17 from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
This week's Motivation Monday is all about time management and avoiding the distractions that haunt us in everyday modern life.
Episode 63: Four Note Pentatonic Patterns from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
This week we are talking about pentatonic scales. The tough part about pentatonics are the fact that it's a five note scale and the majority of what we play is in 2 or 4 note patterns. Our job is t...
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Motivation Monday 7/17/17 from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
This week's Motivation Monday is all about a jazz legend and what he taught me about hard work.
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Episode 62: Upper Structures Part 3 from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
This week wraps up our series on upper structures. We have already covered major seventh chords and minor seventh chords. This week we'll focus on the dominant chord. It's important to realize that...
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Motivation Monday 7/10/17 from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
This week I talk about accountability and what that means to musicians when we are usually only accountable to ourselves.
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Episode 246: Tune of the Month: Donna Lee from 2021-01-29T05:00:56
Welcome to another Tune of the Month episode! This month we are finishing up our series on the playing of the legendary Charlie Parker by writing an etude over one of his most well known tunes. I s...
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Episode 245: The Artistry of Charlie Parker Part 3 from 2021-01-22T05:00:51
Welcome back to our third installment of episodes on the great Charlie Parker and how you can sound more like a bebop master! This week we are looking at the varied and amazing rhythmic phrasing th...
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Episode 244: The Artistry of Charlie Parker Part 2 from 2021-01-15T05:00:52
Welcome back to part 2 of our series on what we can learn from the great, Charlie Parker. This week we take a look at the shape of Bird's lines and how his combinations of horizontal and vertical p...
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Episode 243: The Artistry of Charlie Parker Part1 from 2021-01-08T05:00:15
Welcome back! I wanted to try some new things this year and in the month of January we will take an up close look at some of the aspects of Charlie Parker's playing that makes it so unique and spec...
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Transcribe This! January Edition from 2021-01-01T05:00:55
Happy New Year everyone! Let's kick off 2021 the right way by starting a brand new transcription project. This episode will feature a recording from 1946 by Lester Young.'No Eyes Blues', is all abo...
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Episode 242: The Minor Blues Part 4 from 2020-12-25T05:00:01
Welcome back everyone! This is the final episode of 2020 and I want to thank all of you for a fantastic year (under less than ideal circumstances). I hope you have enjoyed the material we presented...
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Episode 241: The Minor Blues Part 3 from 2020-12-18T05:00:33
Welcome back everyone! This week we continue our journey on the minor blues and making it as interesting as possible. In this episode, we take a look at what we can do to reharmonize measure 8 of t...
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Episode 240: The Minor Blues Part 2 from 2020-12-11T05:00:58
This week we continue our series on the minor blues. In this episode we add a few chord changes, giving the progression a unique sound and giving our lines more direction. Enjoy the episode and don...
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Episode 239: The Minor Blues Part 1 from 2020-12-04T05:00:54
Welcome to a new month and a new series! This series was spurred by one of our listeners. They were wondering if I could do some episodes on the minor blues progression and how to handle it. This f...
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Episode 238: How To Start Composing Part 4 from 2020-11-27T05:00:50
This week we wrap up our series on composition. In keeping with the tradition, this is a tune of the month episode but this time, instead of using a jazz standard, we use the composition that I hav...
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Episode 237: How To Start Composing Part 3 from 2020-11-20T05:00:23
Welcome back! This is our third episode on the art of composing and what you can do to get started with this important part of being a jazz musician. This week, we talk about writing chord progress...
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Episode 236: How To Start Composing Part 2 from 2020-11-13T05:00:36
This week we look at the age old question, should I write the melody or the chord changes first when composing? My answer is; both! This episode will be all about writing short melodies with prompt...
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Episode 235: How To Start Composing Part 1 from 2020-11-06T05:00:20
Composition is an important part of any well rounded jazz education path. With that being said, let's figure out how to get you started down this path! One of the most intimidating parts of composi...
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Episode 234: Tune of the Month: It Could Happen To You from 2020-10-30T04:00:10
This week's episode brings our series in October to a close. Do you feel like you gained some valuable information on learning tunes in multiple keys?? I sure hope you did. We are going to finish u...
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Episode 233: Why Learn Tunes In Multiple Keys? from 2020-10-23T04:00:32
The month of October has five Fridays, so I decided to put out an episode that was more of a discussion than a lesson. We have spent the past three episodes talking about techniques for learning an...
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Episode 232: Learning Tunes In Multiple Keys Part 3 from 2020-10-16T04:00:01
This week, we continue our series on learning tunes in multiple keys. In this episode, we move on to another amazing jazz standard, How High the Moon. In a vacuum, this melody is much easier to pla...
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Episode 231: Learning Tunes In Multiple Keys Part 2 from 2020-10-09T04:00:21
This week we continue our journey to learn how to play melodies in multiple keys. Last episode, we looked at a very simple melody, Sonny Moon for Two. This week, we are diving into a much more comp...
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Episode 230: Learning Tunes in Multiple Keys Part 1 from 2020-10-02T04:00:48
New month means a new series here at the 10 Minute Jazz Lesson. This month we are going to cover a topic that I think is extremely important to the aspiring improvisor which is learning melodies an...
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Episode 229: Tune of the Month: Rhythm Changes from 2020-09-25T04:00:11
This episode culminates our work on using blues phrasing in places we may not have thought of in the past. So far we have discussed using the blues on the ii-V progression, the iii-VI-ii-V progress...
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Episode 228: Blues Examples From The Masters! from 2020-09-18T04:00
This week we take a look at some real life examples of the concepts we have been studying all week. We have lines and lessons from Hank Mobley, Sonny Stitt, and Clifford Brown that illustrate how p...
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Episode 227: Using The Blues Over A iii-VI-ii-V from 2020-09-11T04:00:30
This week is the natural extension of last weeks episode. We covered how to use the blues over a ii-V-I, now we also check out how the same concept can work over a cadence with more chords and moti...
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Episode 226: Using The Blues Over A ii-V-I from 2020-09-04T04:00:42
This week starts a brand new series where we look at simplifying things in the best way possible. Many times on this show we are talking about some complicated and heady topics. This week, we learn...
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Episode 225: Tune of the Month: I Love You from 2020-08-28T04:00:19
This week, we finish up our series on the melodic minor scale by utilizing the tune that I think gives us the best opportunities to put our studies into action. Cole Porter's composition, I Love Yo...
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Episode 224: Melodic Minor Part 3 from 2020-08-21T04:00:18
This week we are taking a look at the 7th mode of the melodic minor scale and using it to achieve a great sound over an altered dominant chord. This is something that we have talked about in the pa...
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Episode 223: Melodic Minor Part 2 from 2020-08-14T04:00:31
This week we look at an awesome application of the melodic minor scale and we get a little bit more complicated. In this episode, we dive into the 6th mode of the melodic minor scale and use it ove...
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Episode 222: Melodic Minor Part 1 from 2020-08-07T04:00:46
This month we dive into an extremely useful jazz scale and explore the different places it can be utilized. Melodic minor is an important sound in modern jazz and the use of it's different modes ar...
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Motivation Monday: Transcribe This: August Edition! from 2020-08-03T04:00:42
This month is all about guitar! We will be transcribing the amazing Joe Pass on this swingin'blues, Bag's Groove. Pay attention to how much Joe does with such limited information and, of course, ho...
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Episode 221: BONUS Exploring Fourths Part 4 from 2020-07-31T04:00:23
You thought we were done with fourths, didn't you? I'm happy to say, we have one more episode that dives into this important topic. We will be using the Eddie Harris tune, Freedom Jazz Dance to exp...
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Episode 220: Tune of the Month: Tune Up from 2020-07-24T04:00:14
This week is the culmination of our series on fourths and we celebrate it by playing a killer etude over the Miles Davis composition, Tune Up. We use this episode as a way to talk about the form, c...
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Episode 219: Exploring Fourths Part 3 from 2020-07-17T04:00:20
This week we continue our look at fourths and we transition into using them over real chord progressions. In this episode we come up with three ii-V-I lines and explore some different ways of utili...
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Episode 218: Exploring Fourths Part 2 from 2020-07-10T04:00:01
This week we take a look at one more set of exercises on fourths, building on what we learned in the last episode. This time, our job is to build series of three and four fourths stacked on top of ...
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Motivation Monday: Transcribe This: July Edition from 2020-07-06T04:00:36
This month is all about the man himself, Sonny Rollins! One of my favorite saxophonists, musicians, and people on the planet. Enjoy transcribing the melody and solo on I'm An Old Cowhand from his a...
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Episode 217: Exploring Fourths Part 1 from 2020-07-03T04:00:38
This month we are going back to a more series oriented run of shows. In July we will take a look at the interval of a fourth and how it can be used in a compelling way. We start with some basic exe...
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Episode 216: Tune of the Month: Footprints from 2020-06-26T04:00:34
This week wraps up our month of listener questions. We are taking a look at the famous Wayne Shorter composition, Footprints. In particular, we are trying to make sense of the turnaround and give o...
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Episode 215: Vocabulary In Action from 2020-06-19T04:00:49
This week's episode is a natural followup to last week's and is something that is often discussed in our FB group. I also think this is one of the most essential skills to becoming a good and compl...
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Episode 214: Interpreting Jazz Standards from 2020-06-12T04:00:38
This week is a long one. You'll have to bear with me while I dive into a long winded topic that requires much discussion. We are continuing our month of episodes directly answering questions from t...
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Episode 213: Using b9 The Easy Way! from 2020-06-05T04:00:28
This week's episode is all about simplicity. When we see a flat 9 chord, our minds go to very complicated places that aren't always good. In this episode, I would like to show you an easier, cleare...
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Motivation Monday: Transcribe This: June Edition! from 2020-06-01T04:00:44
This month we are going to transcribe a solo from one of the greatest musicians to ever live, Ella Fitzgerald. I'd like you to work on her scat solo over the famous composition, Take The A-Train by...
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Episode 212: Ghost Notes from 2020-05-29T04:00:38
This week we are talking about a very important topic that adds on to our series studying jazz articulation. Ghost notes are crucial to both making lines a bit more natural to play, adding texture,...
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Episode 211: Tune of the Month: Yesterdays from 2020-05-22T04:00:21
This month, we are going to take a look at the amazing Jerome Kern standard, Yesterdays through the lens of the articulation principles we have been discussing in the past 3 episodes. We have a thr...
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Episode 210: Jazz Articulation Part 3 from 2020-05-15T04:00:03
This week we begin talking about the off-beat accent. This is crucial in the understanding of how to play swing music and once you start to grasp this concept, you'll hear all of your favorite musi...
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Motivation Monday: Listen To This May Edition from 2020-05-11T04:00:13
This month is less about listening to an album, and more about tuning in to something on Facebook. Chris Potter, the masterful jazz musician, has been doing performances/clinics on FB live and they...
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Episode 209: Jazz Articulation Part 2 from 2020-05-08T04:00:19
This week we dive deeper into the principles of jazz articulation. Last episode, we covered some general thoughts on how to articulate in a swinging, legato manner. This week, we start to bend the ...
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Motivation Monday: Transcribe This: Kenny Dorham on Mack The Knife from 2020-05-04T13:30:42
This month's project is all about one of my favorite trumpeters, musicians, and composers, Kenny Dorham. We are tackling his solo on the amazing jazz standard, Mack The Knife. Enjoy and have fun wi...
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Episode 208: Jazz Articulation Part 1 from 2020-05-01T12:40:56
This week's episode begins a series on articulation and some core concepts related to this important topic. This was a listener request and something I have been meaning to do for a while. Articula...
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Episode 207: Tune of the Month: In A Mellow Tone from 2020-04-24T04:00:07
This week we are taking all of the concepts we learned about the bebop scale and applying them to one of my favorite jazz standards by Duke Ellington, In A Mellow Tone. Your job this month will be ...
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Episode 206: Bebop Scale Deep Dive Part 3 from 2020-04-17T04:00:04
Welcome back to the third in our series on the bebop scale. This week, we start to combine the bebop scale with some other devices. Specifically, vertical playing or outlining chords. It is importa...
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Motivation Monday: Listen to This April Edition! from 2020-04-13T04:00:52
This month we are going to listen to one of my favorites recordings in jazz history,'The Real McCoy'In particular, we focus on the track Blues on the Corner and talk about a few things that jump ou...
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Episode 205: Bebop Scale Deep Dive Part 2 from 2020-04-10T04:00:15
Welcome back to our series on the bebop scale. Last week we talked about how to form a bebop scale over the most common chord types. This week we will apply it to one of my favorite jazz standards,...
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Motivation Monday: Transcribe This April Edition! from 2020-04-06T04:00:46
We are back with another transcription for you. This month we are going to focus on the melody and as much of the solo as you'd like from Ben Wendel's Song Song. This is a beautiful melody and come...
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Episode 204: Bebop Scale Deep Dive Part 1 from 2020-04-03T04:00:53
This month we are going to study the bebop scale and it's applications on a deeper level. Most of my students know the basics of this scale, but in this series, we are going to explore the many pos...
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Episode 203: Tune of the Month: Rhythm Changes! from 2020-03-27T04:00:33
This week sums up our series on the rhythm changes bridge with an etude written over....you guessed it, rhythm changes! We try to utilize some of the concepts that we have talked about over the las...
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Episode 202: Master Rhythm Changes Bridge Part 3 from 2020-03-20T12:43:59
The third in our series over the rhythm changes bridge. This one gets us pretty out there! We are going to extend the tri-tone substitution model to move into the first bar of each phrase and then ...
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Episode 201: Master Rhythm Changes Bridge Part 2 from 2020-03-13T04:00:45
We are back with another episode on the bridge of rhythm changes. This week, we are getting a little bit more adventurous with the chord changes. The first example features a ii chord in addition t...
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Motivation Monday: Listen To This: March Edition! from 2020-03-09T04:00:13
This month's listening recommendation takes us all the way back to 1927 with Louis Armstrong and his Hot Fives. The tune we are checking out is the amazing'Struttin'With Some BBQ.'The energy in thi...
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Episode 200: Master Rhythm Changes Bridge Part 1 from 2020-03-06T05:00
This is episode 200 of the 10 Minute Jazz Lesson Podcast! Thanks so much for sticking with me and making this show such a success. It has been a pleasure to join you for the past 200 episodes and I...
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Motivation Monday: Transcribe This: March Edition! from 2020-03-02T05:00:55
This month is all about transcribing a melody from the late, great, Clark Terry. Although this is just a melody, it very well could be the toughest assignment yet. Have fun and make sure you post y...
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Episode 199: Tune of the Month: Four from 2020-02-28T05:00:04
This week brings an end to our series on melodic fragments (crying sound) and, like we always do, we are finishing this one off with a bang featuring an etude over our tune of the month. This month...
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Episode 198: Melodic Fragments Part 4 from 2020-02-21T05:00:30
This week brings our series on melodic fragments to a close. This time, we examine not only using the fragments in order, but mixing them up, giving you some brand new sounds with the same notes. N...
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Patreon Ear Training Course PREVIEW from 2020-02-17T18:27:12
Hey everyone! I don't think I have ever been more excited to present something to you on this show. This week marks the beginning of our monthly ear training course for our Patreon members. Jazz is...
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Episode 197: Melodic Fragments Part 3 from 2020-02-14T05:00:51
This week's episode is building on the work we have already done in this series with an introduction to five note melodic fragments. Here we discuss the combination of our three note fragments into...
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Motivation Monday: Listen To This February Edition! from 2020-02-10T14:45:42
This month is all about one of my favorite recordings, Saxophone Colossus by the great Sonny Rollins. The particular track we are going to be studying is Blue 7 and taking a special look at the rel...
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Episode 196: Melodic Fragments Part 2 from 2020-02-07T05:00:15
Welcome to part 2 in our series on melodic fragments. This series is all about allowing you to center your solo around chord tones while using small melodic fragments to connect the important notes...
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Motivation Monday: Transcribe This: February Edition! from 2020-02-03T05:00:51
This month we are working an amazing Chet Baker transcription. Work on effectively turning his vocal stylings into something you can play on your instrument. Enjoy! Would you like to support the c...
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Episode 195: Melodic Fragments Part 1 from 2020-01-31T05:00:37
This week's episode introduces us to a brand new topic that I think will help your playing tremendously. Melodic fragments are any grouping of a given number of notes to focus your melodic intent a...
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Episode 194: Tune of the Month: Minor Blues from 2020-01-24T13:19:48
This culminates our series on reading with an etude based around the minor blues. We tried to bring together everything we talked about in the last 3 episodes and implement it, providing for a very...
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Motivation Monday: The State Of Jazz from 2020-01-20T13:47:04
I had a unique experience last week that allowed me to see, what I think, is the current state of jazz at the JEN Convention last week. Would you like to support the creators of this podcast? If s...
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Episode 193: Reading: Part 3 from 2020-01-17T05:00:20
This week continues our series on reading and becoming a more well rounded musician. Remember, you will get a lot more gigs if you can read at a high level! This week brings us to syncopation. We h...
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Motivation Monday: Listen To This: January Edition! from 2020-01-13T05:00:10
In addition to giving you something to transcribe each month, we will now be giving you a specific thing to listen to with notes on what to listen for. This month: Chris Potter and Shai Maestro pla...
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Episode 192: Reading: Part 2 from 2020-01-10T05:00:05
Welcome back to our second episode in the new year. This week we continue our work on reading with a great rhythmic exercise to test your flexibility and attention to sub-division. When reading and...
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Motivation Monday: Transcribe This: January Edition! from 2020-01-06T05:00:03
A new series on the podcast: Transcribe This will feature something I want you to transcribe each month and keep you on target toward your goals in 2020. This month: Dexter Gordon's Second Balcony ...
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Episode 191: Reading: Part 1 from 2020-01-03T05:00:14
Happy New Year everyone! This year is going to kick off with our series on reading. We don't typically think about reading as an essential skill for improvisation, however, it is an essential skill...
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Episode 190: Tune of the Month: There Is No Greater Love from 2019-12-27T05:00:42
Welcome to our last episode of 2019! This has been an absolutely awesome year and I want to thank all of our listeners and community for the show of support and all your hard work to become better ...
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Holiday Gift Guide 2019: 5 Amazing Albums from 2019 from 2019-12-23T14:42:43
This week I'm going to give you 5 albums that I loved in 2019 that will hopefully bring you some musical cheer this Holiday season! In order that I talk about them:Tom Harrell: Infinty Jonathan Bl...
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Episode 189: Playing Tensions in Context Part 3 from 2019-12-20T05:00:37
This week features yet another episode about playing tensions in context. This week we move on to the minor-seventh chord and discover some great structures we can use to work in the 9th, 11th and ...
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Holiday Gift Guide 2019 Part 3 from 2019-12-16T05:00:12
This week is all about the wonderful world of music apps! Would you like to support the creators of this podcast? If so, please head over to our Patreon page and show your love by donating $3 or m...
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Episode 188: Playing Tensions In Context Part 2 from 2019-12-13T05:00:55
This weeks continues our look at playing tension notes in context and also continues our look at the #11. This episode, we look at the #11 in terms of a dominant seventh chord. This provides us wit...
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Holiday Gift Guide 2019 Part 2 from 2019-12-09T05:00:12
This week we talk about a trio of books that came out quite a while ago but are still as relevant as ever today! Would you like to support the creators of this podcast? If so, please head over to ...
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Playing Tensions in Context Part 1 from 2019-12-06T05:00:12
This week we are going to start another month long series all about playing tensions in context. This idea came from a post in the 10 Minute Jazz Lesson Community FB group and thanks to Kris for br...
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Holiday Gift Guide 2019 Part 1 from 2019-12-02T05:00:30
I thought it would be fun to talk about some great tools for yourself or the other musicians in your life this holiday season! For the first episode, let's talk about all of the wonderful real book...
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Episode 186: Target Notes and Approaches/Enclosures from 2019-11-29T05:00:05
This week we are addressing two questions from one of our listeners and long time supporters, Dean. Dean is wondering about two things and I'm hoping that we cleared these questions up for him and ...
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Episode 185: Tune of the Month: Last Night on the Back Porch from 2019-11-22T05:00:51
This week we culminate our work for the month by looking at one of my favorite jazz tunes, Last Night on the Back Porch. This tune is simple and requires us to understand some of the most basic and...
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Motivation Monday: Teo Macero! from 2019-11-18T05:00:28
This week is dedicated to the legendary jazz producer, Teo Macero. Make some time to check out these videos and you will be amazed at some of the stories! Would you like to support the creators of...
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Episode 184: Shaye Cohn’s Trumpet Masterclass from 2019-11-15T05:00:35
We are back with another Lick of the Month Episode! This time around, I have transcribed an entire chorus of solo for you so we can look at a complete statement instead of a lick. We are featuring ...
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Motivation Monday: Making A Case For Sounding Bad from 2019-11-11T05:00:33
Do you always sound good in the practice room? You may be seriously hurting your ability to learn new things....
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The IV to iv Progression from 2019-11-08T05:00:57
This week we continue building toward our tune of the month episode by looking at a very common harmonic device used in many tunes. The IV to iv progression appears very often toward the end of pro...
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Motivation Monday: Shameless Self Promotion! from 2019-11-04T05:00:11
This week I'm letting you know about a band that I have been playing with for a long time, the Soggy Po Boys, and our new album, All In Favor! Check out the new album and get your copy today!
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Episode 182: Major Chords Without a 7th from 2019-11-01T04:00:52
We concentrate a lot on 7ths when it comes to playing jazz. But what do we do when we see a major chord that has no 7th?? This is a tricky thing for us improvisers in certain cases. I know that I h...
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Motivation Monday: Jazz Anecdotes from 2019-10-28T04:00:51
This week features a book review of one of the most interesting things I've been reading lately! Would you like to support the creators of this podcast? If so, please head over to our Patreon page...
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Episode 181: Tune of the Month: Ornithology from 2019-10-25T04:00:26
This month's tune of the month and etude are a carry over from last week's episode where we talked about a phrase from the great Charlie Parker composition, Ornithology. In this episode, we are goi...
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Motivation Monday: Listen and Imitate! from 2019-10-21T04:00:49
This week is all about what I learned from listening to over 50 saxophonists this weekend... Would you like to support the creators of this podcast? If so, please head over to our Patreon page and...
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Episode 180: Sourcing Vocabulary From Melodies from 2019-10-18T04:00:30
This week continues our wildly popular Lick of the Month Series. This month, we are taking things in a different direction. We all look toward transcriptions and recordings to get vocabulary for ou...
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Episode 179: Voice Leading Exercises Part 4 from 2019-10-11T04:00:09
Not much to say about this week's episode, you know what to do. Still requiring you to sing and these are our most complicated lines yet. This is going to be the last in our series of voice leading...
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Steps to a Great Practice Routine: The Rehash from 2019-10-07T04:00:46
This is the last in our series on what to think about for an effective and successful practice routine. This week's discussion comes after you leave the practice room. Enjoy! Would you like to sup...
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Episode 178: Voice Leading Exercises Part 3 from 2019-10-04T04:00
This week continues our series on voice leading and doing something that many of you will find uncomfortable: SINGING! We continue to make the kines more difficult by turning our half notes into qu...
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Steps to a Great Practice Routine: Having Fun! from 2019-09-30T04:00
This week is about the part that many of us love but may not allow ourselves to do, have fun! Would you like to support the creators of this podcast? If so, please head over to our Patreon page an...
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Episode 177: Tune of the Month: I Mean You from 2019-09-27T04:00:56
This month we take a look at yet another Monk tune and we focus our efforts on phrasing. Phrasing is the biggest and most important factor when it comes to playing a solo that makes sense and is me...
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Steps To A Great Practice Routine: Record Keeping from 2019-09-23T04:00:28
This week is all about keeping track of what you do in the practice room so you know exactly where to pick up the next time! Would you like to support the creators of this podcast? If so, please h...
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Episode 176: Herbie Hancock Voicings! from 2019-09-20T04:00:42
This week continues our lick of the month series, but in a slightly different way. Normally, we take a look at a traditional piece of vocabulary from a solo. This week, we are going to dissect some...
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Steps to an Great Practice Routine: Do More With Less from 2019-09-16T04:00:30
This week continues our series on steps to getting the most out of your practice time. This week's theme: do less but spend more time on it! Would you like to support the creators of this podcast?...
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Episode 175: Voice Leading Exercises Part 2 from 2019-09-13T04:00:44
This week's episode takes last week's material to the next level. Now, we add some notes that are outside of our threes and sevens and introduce some step-wise motion. Remember, you must SING these...
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Steps to a Great Practice Routine: Mindset from 2019-09-09T04:00:19
This week continues our series on steps to a great practice routine. This time we put one foot in the practice room and think about our mindset! Would you like to support the creators of this podc...
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Episode 174: Voice Leading Exercises from 2019-09-07T17:31:02
This week is all about using your natural instrument to start learning and hearing some concepts that we all need in our tool kit. You will be singing this week and for the next few episodes so get...
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Episode 173: Tune of the Month: Well You Needn’t from 2019-08-29T04:00:20
This month we cover one of my favorite Thelonious Monk tunes, Well You Needn't. This tune is unique in many ways. It uses almost exclusively half-step motion in the chord changes which provides us ...
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Steps to a Great Practice Routine: Planning from 2019-08-26T12:12:25
This weeks starts a series of Motivation Monday episodes on having the best practice routine that you possibly can. In this first episode, we talk about planning the week in a way that will lead yo...
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Episode 172: Dexter Gordon’s Beautiful Phrase from 2019-08-23T04:00:51
This episode continues our Lick of the Month series utilizing a line from Dexter Gordon's solo on Three O'clock in the Morning. We talked about the melody to this tune on a previous episode, but no...
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Motvation Monday: Another Bebop Resource… from 2019-08-19T04:00:43
Can't believe I forgot to mention this one! Would you like to support the creators of this podcast? If so, please head over to our Patreon page and show your love by donating $3 or more each month...
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Episode 171: Fast Tempo Hacks from 2019-08-16T04:00:06
This episode is in response to a question from one of my students, Mike. His concern was those tunes with fast tempos and dense chord changes. Something we all struggle with. This episode is all ab...
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Motivation Monday: Vacation Thoughts! from 2019-08-12T04:00:20
Just got back from a relaxing vacation and I thought I'd subject you to a rambling podcast on what I was thinking about! Would you like to support the creators of this podcast? If so, please head ...
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Episode 170: Stylizing A Melody Part 2 from 2019-08-09T04:00:34
This week continues our discussion on stylizing a melody. This time, we take a look at a great jazz standard, I Remember You, and talk about some concrete techniques we can use to make it more inte...
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Motivation Monday: Answers to Barry Harris Questions…. from 2019-08-05T04:00:38
This week I respond to many questions I've been getting about the great Barry Harris and his methods. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwS4aPW0QGp5TbRhVnKNNShvblBMENi_nWould you like to supp...
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Episode 169: Stylizing A Melody Part 1 from 2019-08-02T04:00:32
Playing the melody is an often overlooked skill. We focus so much on the solo we are about to play, that the melody becomes an afterthought. This week, we put an end to that thinking and make sure ...
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Motivation Monday: Think Like A Student! from 2019-07-29T04:00:01
Just finished teaching a two week jazz camp and wanted to share some thoughts with you all. Would you like to support the creators of this podcast? If so, please head over to our Patreon page and ...
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Episode 168: Tune of the Month: Ladybird from 2019-07-26T04:00:03
We are back with another edition of our tune of the month series! This month's episode is an extension of things we have been working on in the past couple of episodes. We are doubling down on doub...
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Motivation Monday: Short Practice Sessions And What To Focus On from 2019-07-22T04:00:22
This week's motivation comes in response to a question asked by Juan on YouTube. Thanks, Juan! Would you like to support the creators of this podcast? If so, please head over to our Patreon page a...
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Episode 167: Clark Terry Schools on Rhythm Changes from 2019-07-19T04:00:50
It's no secret that Clark Terry is one of my all time favorite musicians. His mastery, playfulness, and feel make, for me, the total package when it comes to what makes jazz great. This week we loo...
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Brent Vaartstra of Learn Jazz Standards from 2019-07-15T04:00:55
I'm so excited to start your week off with a conversation with Brent Vaartstra of Learn Jazz Standards! Brent is a fantastic jazz educator and guitarist from NYC. He also is the mastermind behind t...
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Episode 166: Playing Double Time Lines Part 2 from 2019-07-12T04:00:57
This week continues our discussion on approaching and ultimately being able to use double time lines in our playing. Last week we discussed the differences between feel and articulation when using ...
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SPECIAL EPISODE: Introducing The Next Level Blues Course! from 2019-07-10T04:00:36
So very excited to be bringing you a tool that is going to bring your playing to the next level you've been searching for. The Next Level Blues Course is designed to get you from good to great sol...
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Episode 165: Playing Double Time Lines from 2019-07-05T04:00:19
This week's episode comes from a question and a topic Barb asked in the 10 Minute Jazz Lesson Community FB Group. Double time is an extremely advanced topic and something that many people have trou...
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Motivation Monday: Reading Transcriptions VS Transcribing from 2019-07-01T04:00:20
Is there any merit to reading pre-transcribed solos?? Listen to hear some thoughts.... Would you like to support the creators of this podcast? If so, please head over to our Patreon page and show ...
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Episode 164: Editing Kris’s Bridge from 2019-06-28T04:00:23
In this episode, we feature another listener contribution. One of our faithful listeners and jazz super star, Kris, posted an awesome version of the bridge to Have You Met Miss Jones in our 10 Minu...
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Motivation Monday: Gary Alesbrook Interview! from 2019-06-24T04:00:34
So excited to have Gary Alesbrook join us this week on the show to answer a few questions. In case you missed it, we featured Gary on episode 158 of the podcast. He was nice enough to take the time...
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Episode 163: Tune of the Month: Solar from 2019-06-21T04:00:27
This month we take a look at the great jazz standard, Solar. We are trying something different this time. We are placing a pretty serious restriction on ourselves over this tune, playing in only on...
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Motivation Monday: Application from 2019-06-17T04:00:09
Let's try to build a bridge between the practice room and the bandstand.... Would you like to support the creators of this podcast? If so, please head over to our Patreon page and show your love b...
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Episode 162: Melissa Aldana’s Masterful Use of Intervals from 2019-06-14T04:00:59
Melissa Aldana is a game changing saxophonist. Her ability to have complete freedom on the horn is inspiring. This week, we bring you one chorus of the blues from Melissa that defies logic and comm...
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Motivation Monday: Deep Work Part 2 from 2019-06-10T04:00:53
This week continues our discussion on deep work and how to make the most out of the time you have. Enjoy! Get Deep Work by Cal Newport!Would you like to support the creators of this podcast? If so...
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Episode 161: Simplifying Complicated Chords Part 2 from 2019-06-07T04:00:33
This week is a continuation of the important information from last week's episode. In this edition, we look at both simplifying the note choice on chords and simplifying the actual chord progressio...
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Motivation Monday: Deep Work Part 1 from 2019-06-03T04:00:06
The next couple of Monday episodes will focus on one of the best books I have read on the subject of completing deep, meaningful work. A requirement for every musician! Get Deep Work by Cal Newpor...
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Episode 160: Simplifying Complicated Chords from 2019-05-31T04:00:24
This week is about limiting our note choice to provide more meaningful melodies and harmonic impact. Most of the time, if we try to fit the maximum amount of information into a given space, we will...
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Episode 159: Tune of the Month: Have You Met Miss Jones from 2019-05-24T04:00:14
This is one of my favorite jazz standards of all time. This tune can be very intimidating due to the bridge. The topic of today's show is how to approach a tune that has a tricky section causing yo...
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Motivation Monday: Auditing Your Practice from 2019-05-20T04:00
One of the most hated roles in our society! It's time to become the dreaded AUDITOR! Would you like to support the creators of this podcast? If so, please head over to our Patreon page and show yo...
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Episode 158: Gary Alesbrook on Joy Spring from 2019-05-17T04:00:12
This week features one of my favorite Trumpet/Flugelhorn players from Bristol, UK, Gary Alesbrook. Gary plays an amazing version of Clifford Brown's Joy Spring on his Instagram page and we are usin...
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Motivation Monday: What Started You Down This Path? from 2019-05-13T18:57:28
Our third and final installment of questions from Andrew asks the question of what motivated us initially. Would you like to support the creators of this podcast? If so, please head over to our Pa...
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Episode 157: SUS Chord Tricks Part 2 from 2019-05-10T04:00:11
This week continues our look at simple, actionable devices that we can use over sus chords. Last week we talked about pentatonics you can use over over these chords. This week, is all about triadic...
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Motivation Monday: Practicing When You Don’t Want To from 2019-05-06T04:00:39
This is the second in our three part series on everything that has to do with motivation and practicing. Would you like to support the creators of this podcast? If so, please head over to our Patr...
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Episode 156: SUS Chord Tricks from 2019-05-03T04:00:46
The inspiration for this week's show came from a student of mine that was having trouble with sus chords. She wasn't sure what to do when she saw a sus chord and what was appropriate as far as melo...
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Motivation Monday: Why Practice? from 2019-04-29T04:00:30
The next three MM episodes will feature questions from one of our long time listeners, Andrew. They are based on a project he has to do for a class he is in on motivation. Hope you enjoy and tune i...
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Episode 155: Tune of the Month: Confirmation from 2019-04-26T04:00:56
Confirmation is one of those tunes that is very scary to look at. There's a good reason for this as Confirmation is usually played at extremely fast tempos and has a ton of changes! But don't fret,...
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Motivation Monday: Notation from 2019-04-22T04:00:02
This week is all about doing something by hand that is typically done by computers these days. Would you like to support the creators of this podcast? If so, please head over to our Patreon page a...
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Episode 154: Coltrane’s Triads from 2019-04-19T04:00:35
This week continues our lick of the month series with a great piece of vocabulary and concept from the master, John Coltrane. Triads are such a great device when it comes to improvising and in this...
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Motivation Monday: Matt Wilson from 2019-04-15T04:00:11
This weekend was amazing. Got the chance to play with the legendary musician, Matt Wilson. He reminded me of some things that we sometimes forget when it comes to being musicians.... Would you like...
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Episode 153: Short Vocabulary from 2019-04-12T04:00:01
This week we are talking about something that I think will be truly revolutionary for many of you out there. Vocabulary is an essential part of learning the jazz language. The tricky part is how di...
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Motivation Monday: Choosing the Right Transcription from 2019-04-08T12:25:53
This week is all about choosing the right solo when you're getting started with transcription. Enjoy! Would you like to support the creators of this podcast? If so, please head over to our Patreon...
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Episode 152: Editing Philip’s Line from 2019-04-05T04:00
This week we take a peak at a line one of our listeners, Philip, came up with and posted in our 10 Minute Jazz Lesson Community Group on Facebook. I love the fact that Philip is thinking about many...
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Motivation Monday: Letting Go from 2019-04-01T04:00:39
There is something you should be doing for a couple of minutes a day. No judgement, no agenda, just plain expressing yourself. Would you like to support the creators of this podcast? If so, please...
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Episode 151: Tune of the Month: Recorda Me from 2019-03-29T04:00:49
Welcome back to another tune of the month episode! This month features one of my all time favorite tunes by Joe Henderson. Recordame is a tune with multiple personalities and in this episode, we fo...
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Motivation Monday: How Could Anyone Live Like That? from 2019-03-25T04:00:57
This week features a story I heard that I couldn't help but share with you all. Would you like to support the creators of this podcast? If so, please head over to our Patreon page and show your lo...
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Episode 150: Johnny Griffin’s Masterful Blues Playing from 2019-03-22T04:00:10
This week we feature a piece of content from one the absolute masters of the music. Johnny Griffin and Thelonious Monk had an amazing relationship and, in my opinion, Griffin did some of his best p...
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Motivation Monday: It’s All About The Feel from 2019-03-18T04:00:07
Let's get back to basics with one simple question.... Would you like to support the creators of this podcast? If so, please head over to our Patreon page and show your love by donating $3 or more ...
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Episode 149: Chord Extensions Part 4: More Dominants! from 2019-03-15T04:00:30
This week's episode concludes our series on chord extensions. Last week we talked about pure and diminished dominants, this week we wrap things up with altered and augmented dominants. I hope this ...
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Motivation Monday: Competition from 2019-03-11T04:00:18
This week got me thinking about the role of competition in music and jazz. There are many positives and negatives that we discuss in this episode. Would you like to support the creators of this po...
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Episode 148: Chord Extensions Part 3: Dominant Seventh from 2019-03-08T05:00:33
This week continues with our study of chord extensions. We take a look at 2 different types of dominant seventh chords, pure dominant and dominant flat 9. The extensions for these chords differ wil...
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Motivation Monday: Lead Sheet Accuracy from 2019-03-04T05:00:52
This week's episode features a great question from one of our Patreon members, Valerie. How do we know the lead sheet we are learning from is accurate? Tune in to find out more... Would you like t...
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Episode 147: Tune of the Month: There Will Never Be Another You from 2019-03-01T05:00:19
This month's tune of the month episode is a tune I have been playing and thinking a lot about lately. There Will Never Be Another You is a great jazz standard with many of the chord movements that ...
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Motivation Monday: Pat Martino on Precision from 2019-02-25T05:00:36
This week's quote comes from an awesome interview with the legendary guitarist, Pat Martino. All about precision and overcoming whatever your instrument happens to be. Click here to read the inter...
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Episode 146: Lick of the Month: Seamus Blake Crushes the Blues from 2019-02-22T05:00:24
Seamus Blake is one of the best modern jazz musicians in the world. Universally respected for his approach to the music, studying Seamus'playing should be a thing that we all do on a regular basis....
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Motivation Monday: Bergonzi on Coltrane from 2019-02-18T05:00:41
Had a great hang this past week at a clinic with Jery Bergonzi. He said something that really made me think.... Would you like to support the creators of this podcast? If so, please head over to o...
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Episode 145: Chord Extensions Part 2: Minor Seventh from 2019-02-15T05:00:17
This week we continue our series on chord extensions by looking at the minor seventh chord. The extensions we use on this chord happen to be 9, 11, and 13. You'll notice that they are all diatonic ...
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Motivation Monday: Keep Sitting Under The Tree from 2019-02-11T05:00:55
This week features a thought I had while re-reading one of my favorite Chris Potter interviews... Here's the link to the full interview! Would you like to support the creators of this podcast? I...
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Episode 144: Chord Extensions Part 1: Major Seventh from 2019-02-08T05:00
This week kicks off a series all about chord extensions. We had done an episode WAY back about this very topic but this series is going to feature a more in depth discussion and we are going to fea...
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Motivation Monday: 100 VS. 1000 from 2019-02-04T12:54:55
This week is a simple solution for a big problem. It's not about talent or genius, it's about the punishment you're willing to take! Would you like to support the creators of this podcast? If so, ...
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Episode 143: Lick of the Month: Augmented! from 2019-02-01T05:00
This week brings back another one of our listener favorites, the lick of the month! This month I give you something simple but effective in the form of an augmented V chord. This sound is one of th...
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Motivation Monday: Sam Dillon from 2019-01-28T05:00:31
This weeks features an album recommendation. If you haven't checked out Sam Dillon's music, it's time we fix that! Would you like to support the creators of this podcast? If so, please head over t...
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Episode 142: Tune Of The Month: All The Things You Are from 2019-01-25T05:00:16
We are starting a new series here at the 10 Minute Jazz Lesson. It's called Tune of the Month! Every month we will be taking a look at an important jazz standard and coming up with a great exercise...
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Motivation Monday: Self Talk from 2019-01-21T05:00:28
This week features a statement by one of our 10 Minute Jazz Community FB Group members. It's all about how you talk to yourself. Would you like to support the creators of this podcast? If so, plea...
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Episode 141: Linear Piano Voicings from 2019-01-18T05:00:02
This episode is all about playing piano voicings as single note lines. This is a great way to break out of the patterns you may be working on and start to include some great intervalic melodies tha...
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Motivation Monday: Tips for Booking the Gig from 2019-01-14T05:00:54
This week contains some important tips on booking your first gig. What to say, how to say it, and what to avoid. Would you like to support the creators of this podcast? If so, please head over to ...
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Episode 140: ADVANCED Metronome Games from 2019-01-11T05:00:25
This week is all about sounding like an idiot. I would guess that there are few of us out there that have worked on these concepts enough. WE have talked about some truly challenging stuff over the...
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Motivation Monday: Don’t Be Scared from 2019-01-07T05:00:21
This week is a fitting discussion about the possibilities that 2019 can bring for you musically. We don't get anywhere by staying in our comfort zone.... Would you like to support the creators of ...
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Episode 139: Metronome Games Part 2 from 2019-01-04T05:00:49
This week things get A LOT harder. I mean turning things up from 0 to100 harder. We are going to play a short etude that I prepared for you with the metronome clicking only once per measure. If tha...
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Episode 138: Metronome Games! from 2018-12-28T05:00:52
This week is all about our most important tool as musicians: the metronome. This week we are starting with some very basic material and we will progress over the next couple of episodes into more a...
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Episode 137:Kenny Garret’s Ridiculous Line On I’ll Remember April from 2018-12-21T05:00:10
This week we take a look at a totally killing line from the great saxophonist, Kenny Garrett. This is from an amazing 1985 performance joined by the trumpet masters, Freddie Hubbard, Woody Shaw, an...
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Motivation Monday: A Look Back At The Year from 2018-12-17T05:00:47
This week is all about taking a look at how far you have come this year. Give yourself some credit! Would you like to support the creators of this podcast? If so, please head over to our Patreon p...
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Episode 136: Linear Playing Over Giant Steps from 2018-12-14T05:00:39
This week continues the theme of playing smooth lines in one direction over difficult changes. This week we step it up a notch and look at the same concept over the great John Coltrane composition,...
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Motivation Monday: Drum Genius! from 2018-12-10T05:00:51
I haven't been this excited to show you all something in a while. This app rules! Would you like to support the creators of this podcast? If so, please head over to our Patreon page and show your...
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Episode 135: Linear Playing Over Rhythm Changes from 2018-12-07T05:00:18
This week is a topic that we have touched on before but I would like to revisit it again. Learning to play long lines through dense changes is not easy and takes a lot of practice and thought. Rhyt...
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Motivation Monday: The Car from 2018-12-03T05:00:22
This week we talk about turning an unproductive part of our lives into a more rewarding experience. Would you like to support the creators of this podcast? If so, please head over to our Patreon p...
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Episode 134: The Blues Scale Alternative from 2018-11-30T05:00:29
This week is all about something I've been sharing with my students a lot lately. We traditionally teach the blues scale or the minor pentatonic to beginning students and use them ourselves when we...
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Motivation Monday: History from 2018-11-26T05:00:48
This week is all about another lesson I took from hanging with Joe Lovano. Do you know the history of this music? WANT THE PDF THAT GOES ALONG WITH THIS EPISODE??Head over to our Patreon page and ...
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Episode 133: Stanley Turrentine’s Flexibility from 2018-11-23T05:00:11
Stanley Turrentine was truly one of the best saxophone players of our time. His ability to cross genres and even make people who weren't jazz fans perk up at the sound of his horn is nothing short ...
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Motivation Monday: Eric Harland’s 13th Floor from 2018-11-19T05:00:21
This week we are discussing one of the best new albums to drop in the past couple of months by one of the world's master drummers, Eric Harland! Would you like to support the creators of this podc...
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Episode 132: The Diminished Pattern In Action from 2018-11-16T05:00:07
This week we continue talking about the diminished pattern from last week's episode. I'm making a concentrated effort to do more about putting these concepts into action for you. You guessed it, an...
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Motivation Monday: Listen to Something You Hate! from 2018-11-12T05:00:20
I know, I know, this is a weird thing to say. But let's explore this weird thing together.... Would you like to support the creators of this podcast? If so, please head over to our Patreon page an...
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Episode 131: The Most Famous Diminished Pattern from 2018-11-09T05:00:29
This week we are going to look at one of the most famous licks in history. This diminished pattern was first made famous by John Coltrane but has become ubiquitous in the jazz language. Michael Bre...
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Motivation Monday: Honoring Roy Hargrove from 2018-11-05T05:00:29
This past weekend, the jazz world lost a true master. This week we pay homage to Roy Hargrove and his contributions to our music and scene. Would you like to support the creators of this podcast? ...
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Episode 130: Enclosures Part 3 from 2018-11-02T04:00:11
This week is the culmination of our series on enclosures and it's a doozy! This week I have written a full etude for you to see the enclosures in action. We use the famous jazz standard, If I Shoul...
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Motivation Monday: I Want To Pay You To Practice! from 2018-10-29T04:00:49
This week is all about me wanting to hire you to practice. It's a great job with great benefits..... Would you like to support the creators of this podcast? If so, please head over to our Patreon ...
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Episode 129: Enclosures Part 2 from 2018-10-26T04:00:29
This week we continue our journey on learning about enclosures and how to use them. Last week we went over the basics of target notes and how to start surrounding them. This week, we talk about mor...
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Motivation Monday: Joe Lovano’s Spiritual Approach To Music from 2018-10-22T04:00:05
This week I was fortunate enough to meet and hang with one of my all-time heroes of this music, Joe Lovano. His approach to music both inspired and made me think about my own and the people I teach...
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Episode 128: Enclosures from 2018-10-19T04:00:33
This week's episode is a listener request which I'm thrilled about! We have talked a lot about bebop and some of the devices that are used in this specialized form of improvising. Enclosures are on...
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Episode 127: The Back Door Cadence Part 2 from 2018-10-12T04:00:23
This week is all about tactile ways to handle the back door cadence that we introduced to you last week. Playing over this progression is similar to any other in the way that we want to examine the...
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Motivation Monday: Your Greatest Fear from 2018-10-08T04:00:26
This week is all about confronting things that scare you. Why are we scared of these things? Because we aren't good at them! Let's get better together.... Would you like to support the creators of...
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Episode 126: The Back Door Cadence from 2018-10-05T04:00:38
This week is all about a chord progression that you have probably seen a lot, but maybe never knew what it was called or how it functioned. The back door cadence is a kind of deceptive cadence that...
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Motivation Monday: Ben Wendel from 2018-10-01T04:00:45
This week is all about some of the most interesting music on YouTube. Check Ben Wendel out today! Would you like to support the creators of this podcast? If so, please head over to our Patreon pag...
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Episode 125: The Chromatic Way from 2018-09-28T04:00:51
I'm very excited to let you know that we are releasing a brand new book this coming month! The Chromatic Way contains 10 chromatic etudes over some of your favorite jazz standards. Have you ever wa...
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Motivation Monday: Scribd from 2018-09-24T04:00:06
This week is all about one of the coolest websites for musicians. Scribd is a great resource for so many things, I highly suggest you check it out and see what it has to offer! Would you like to s...
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Episode 124: Oliver Nelson’s Idea from 2018-09-21T04:00:29
This week is all about an exercise I found in Oliver Nelson's pattern book. Most of the time, when I'm practicing out of a pattern book, it's all about technique. This exercise, however, I was able...
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Motivation Monday: SF Jazz from 2018-09-17T04:00:46
This week's episode is all about a video I found and what I took from it that I think can be valuable to you! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQwsTLX-p58Would you like to support the creators of t...
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Episode 123: Using Drones Effectively Part 2 from 2018-09-14T04:00:39
Welcome back! Last week we talked about the psychology and benefits of using drones. I provided some basic exercises for you to get your ears, mind, and instrument in a better place. This week we c...
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Motivation Monday: Your Sanctuary from 2018-09-10T04:00:50
This week we talk about a small change that resulted in important growth. It's something simple that almost everyone can do! Would you like to support the creators of this podcast? If so, please h...
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Episode 122: Using Drones Effectively from 2018-09-07T04:00:57
This week is all about your mind, body, instrument connection. This episode will also help you tremendously with your ears. Drones have been something that musicians have used for a long time to he...
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Episode 121: Metronome Exercises Part 2 from 2018-08-31T04:00:21
This week continues our journey on making the metronome the center of our focus. Last week I gave you some deceivingly simle exercises that will make a huge impact on your playing if you take them ...
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Episode 120: Metronome Exercises Part 1 from 2018-08-24T04:00:40
This week is all about the metronome. I did an episode way back when that touched on working with the metronome, but this week we are getting a whole lot deeper with it. Do you ever focus your prac...
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Motivation Monday: Shake Things Up from 2018-08-20T04:00:45
This week is all about shaking up your practice routine and doing something that might seem crazy or impractical. Would you like to support the creators of this podcast? If so, please head over to...
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Episode 119: Louis Armstrong Schools on Hotter Than That from 2018-08-17T04:00:51
This week we are talking about and studying one of the true architects of jazz as we know it. Louis Armstrong basically started it all. We are studying an excerpt from his transcription on Hotter T...
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Motivation Monday: The Oldies from 2018-08-13T04:00
This week is all about an extremely old set of tunes and what they can do for you and your playing. Would you like to support the creators of this podcast? If so, please head over to our Patreon p...
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Episode 118: Blues In 4 Keys Part 2 from 2018-08-10T04:00:30
This week we continue with our series about playing the blues in multiple keys at once. In this episode we change from learning a simple melody in minor thirds, to actually improvising. I have incl...
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Motivation Monday: To Look or Not To Look? from 2018-08-06T04:00:46
Are you a visual learner? I know I am and I have been investigating ways to make this work to my advantage. Would you like to support the creators of this podcast? If so, please head over to our P...
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Episode 117: Blues In 4 Keys from 2018-08-03T04:00:06
This week's episode is a little bit on the advanced side of things. We are going to learn how to quickly tonisize new keys and really be on top of our game in terms of thinking on our feet. This wa...
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Motivation Monday: Vinyl from 2018-07-30T04:00:39
This week is all about a listening format that is coming back to prominence and is easier than ever to incorporate into your life. Vinyl is the way to listen, especially to jazz! Would you like to...
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Episode 116: Practice Progressions Part 3 from 2018-07-27T04:00:26
This week we finish up our series on practice progressions with the hardest ones yet. So far in this series, we have talked about progressions that make total sense from a traditional point of view...
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Motivation Monday: Evernote from 2018-07-23T04:00:49
This week we talk about a handy tool that is both free and extremely useful for your musical life and beyond! Would you like to support the creators of this podcast? If so, please head over to our...
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Episode 115: Practice Progressions Part 2 from 2018-07-20T04:00:32
This week we continue our work on practice progressions. The only difference between this week and last is now we are dealing with V-I progressions instead of a mono-quality exercise. These progres...
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Motivation Monday: Both Directions At Once!! from 2018-07-16T04:00:24
NEW COLTRANE! This is very exciting for me for several different reasons. To listen to new Coltrane material in 2018 is very special stuff. Check it out! Would you like to support the creators of ...
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Episode 114: Practice Progressions Part 1 from 2018-07-13T04:00:45
This week starts a series on something that I use in my practice each and every day. These progressions are how I get ideas into my playing and functioning as I'd like them to. Whether you're learn...
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Episode 113: Charlie Parker’s Iconic Line On Confirmation from 2018-07-06T04:00:41
We all know that Charlie Parker is the father of modern jazz. The advancements he made in such a short life are nothing short of amazing. He changed the face of music and transcended what was possi...
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Motivation Monday: Traveling from 2018-07-02T04:00:47
I just got back from a 10 day tour yesterday and this week I share some of my thoughts on using music as a vehicle for traveling and spreading the love through our instruments. Would you like to s...
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Episode 112: Traditional Versus Modern from 2018-06-29T04:00:01
This week we answer a question and build an episode around an email from one of our listeners, David. David wants to know the difference between getting more of a traditional sound (think NOLA styl...
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Motivation Monday: Mindfulness from 2018-06-25T04:00:52
This week is all about the practice of mindfulness and the benefits it can have on clearing your mind before practice and performance. Would you like to support the creators of this podcast? If so...
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Episode 111: Basic Bass Lines from 2018-06-22T04:00:20
Bass lines aren't just for bass players. Everyone should have a basic understanding on how to put together something that works and can get the job done. This week I'll give you my basic system for...
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Motivation Monday: The War Of Art from 2018-06-18T04:00:44
Stephen Pressfield's book, The War of Art, sheds some serious light on how creative people can overcome resistance and get more work done on a regular basis. This book changed my life and I'm sure ...
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Episode 110: The Beautiful Simplicity Of Sonny Rollins from 2018-06-15T04:00:12
This week is all about making a statement in the truest sense of the word. All too often we get caught up in playing too many notes and relying on material we already have under our fingers. This i...
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Motivation Monday: Get Some Sleep! from 2018-06-11T04:00:58
This week is all about how our sleep, or lack there of, affects every part of our life including our music making! Would you like to support the creators of this podcast? If so, please head over t...
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Episode 109: Bluesifying Major Chords from 2018-06-08T04:00:05
Have you ever wondered why some of your favorite players can inject the blues wherever they want? This is because they know when and how to use this particular sound. This week's episode is all abo...
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Motivation Monday: I Don’t Feel Like Playing! from 2018-06-04T04:00:05
Sometimes, when I'm out of my routine, it's tough for me to even take the instrument out of its case. Here's how I get through that... Would you like to support the creators of this podcast? If so...
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Episode 108: Using Open Triads from 2018-06-01T04:18:50
Last week we discussed the basic of open triads and how to learn them. This week we put them into action over one of my favorite tunes and show you some options for voice leading with open triads. ...
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Motivation Monday: Monk&Trane from 2018-05-28T04:00:37
This week comes in the form of an album recommendation. I have been obsessed with this record lately and I think you'll like it too! Would you like to support the creators of this podcast? If so, ...
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Episode 107: What Are Open Triads? from 2018-05-25T04:00:13
Have you ever dug into open triads? Have you ever even heard of open triads? I know I hadn't until some years ago and they were a revelation to me when I started shedding them. You have probably us...
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Motivation Monday: Active vs. Passive from 2018-05-21T04:00:03
This week we talk about listening once again. Are you doing it actively or passively? Would you like to support the creators of this podcast? If so, please head over to our Patreon page and show y...
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Episode 106: Testing Yourself On Moment’s Notice Part 2 from 2018-05-18T04:00:07
Last week we talked about developing some natural sounding, original lines over the tune, Moment's Notice. Really getting inside the changes instead of learning how to plug things in is very import...
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Motivation Monday: Miles Comes Through! from 2018-05-14T04:00:17
One of our listeners really made me happy this week. Taking some information and synthesizing it in his own way is really something that we should all be doing! Would you like to support the creat...
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Episode 105: Testing Yourself On Moment’s Notice from 2018-05-11T04:00:46
This week features one of the most difficult tunes in the jazz canon. At first glance, Coltrane's, Moment's Notice doesn't seem that hard. Then you start playing over it, maybe even at a fast tempo...
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Motivation Monday: David Writes In About Rhythm Changes! from 2018-05-07T04:00:10
This week is all about the history and popularity of the iconic chord changes to I Got Rhythm. David wrote us a great email that forced me to do a little bit of research and thinking about this per...
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Episode 104: Perfect Technique from 2018-05-04T04:00:29
This episode is going to show you the secret to perfect technique. No seriously, this episode WILL show you everything you need to know to achieve the true heights of technique on whatever instrume...
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Motivation Monday: Instrumental Arranging from 2018-04-30T04:00:11
Do you want to arrange for instrumental ensembles but are intimidated or don't know where to start? Check out this week's episode! Here's the book we are discussing if you want to get you're hands...
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Episode 103: Woody Shaw on There Will Never Be Another You from 2018-04-27T04:00:12
This week we take a look at some material by the great trumpeter, Woody Shaw. We focus in on what and where he uses tension to create a fantastic sound with the altered scale. There were two lines ...
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Motivation Monday: Keep On Keepin’On from 2018-04-23T04:00:30
This week is all about a great documentary featuring Clark Terry. This film will change your life and allow you to peer into what made Clark such an important figure to so many. Would you like to ...
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Episode 102: Creating Tension With Secondary Dominants from 2018-04-20T04:00:35
Last week we talked about what secondary dominants are. This week we talk about how to use them effectively and give you some strategies for your playing. We know that dominant chords are great pla...
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Motivation Monday: Larry Writes In About NYC! from 2018-04-16T04:00:58
This week I got a great email from one of our listeners, Larry. He wanted to give me his perspective on my NY Monday podcast and I think he brought up some great points I wanted to expound upon. W...
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Episode 101: What Are Secondary Dominants? from 2018-04-13T04:00:25
This week we talk about an important music theory topic that comes up a lot in our day to day playing. This is something that you may know about, but never knew what it was called. Secondary domina...
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Interview: Brent Vaartstra of Learn Jazz Standards from 2018-04-11T04:00
This is a really special episode for me. I got to sit down with Brent Vaartstra of the amazing website, podcast, and YouTube channel, Learn Jazz Standards. Brent is the mastermind behind these incr...
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Motivation Monday: Keep It Simple from 2018-04-09T04:00:04
This week's podcast is all about some reaction I got to episode 1oo and why I feel so strongly about keeping it simple and going deep. Would you like to support the creators of this podcast? If so...
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Episode 100: Re-Imagining Scales from 2018-04-06T04:00:55
Welp, we made it to episode 100! I can't thank everyone out there enough for sticking with me and my annoying voice for 100 episodes. It's so fun to bring all of you new material every week and her...
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Motivation Monday: Make The Trip! from 2018-04-02T04:00:44
Sorry for missing the Motivation Monday Podcast last week! Everything gets explained in this podcast..... Would you like to support the creators of this podcast? If so, please head over to our Pat...
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Episode 99: The Never Ending Exercise Part 3 from 2018-03-30T04:00:39
This brings to a conclusion our 3 part series on the Never Ending Exercise. This week we are taking things in a bit of a different direction by adding 7th chords into the mix. Over the course of th...
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Episode 98: The Never Ending Exercise Part 2 from 2018-03-23T04:00:19
This week we are going to get deeper into our triadic exercises in fourths that we presented on the last episode. How do we take this exercise deeper you ask? By adding chromaticism! They don't cal...
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Motivation Monday: Who’s Your Favorite? from 2018-03-19T04:00:13
This week makes you really think about who your favorite musician is, why they're your favorite, and what that does to your playing.
Would you like to support the creators of t...
Episode 97: The Never Ending Exercise Part 1 from 2018-03-16T04:00:23
This week is all about an exercise that combines two important concepts in jazz: fourths and triads. If I had to pick some of the most important facets of music with which to work your butt off, th...
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Motivation Monday: Music Is Meditation! from 2018-03-12T04:00:18
This week I recount a great anecdote from the legendary educator and pianist, Charlie Banacos. This story reminds us that we need to connect with the music on a spiritual and meditative level.
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Episode 96: Branford Marsalis Flexes On Night In Tunisia from 2018-03-09T05:00:20
Branford Marsalis is a one-of-a-kind musician. He has developed his own unique sound and approach to playing the saxophone and should be an inspiration to us all. This week we are going to look at ...
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Interview: Nick Finzer from 2018-03-07T05:00:04
Nick Finzer is a fantastic musician living in New York who runs the awesome record label, Outisde In Music. Nick is a very active player on the New York scene and beyond. Nick has a lot of great in...
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Motivation Monday: The Obstacle Is The Way from 2018-03-05T05:00:52
This week is about a great book I finished recently that changed the way I look at everything. Esepecially when it comes to music. Enjoy!
Grab this great book while supporting ...
Episode 95: Perfecting The Turnaround On The Blues from 2018-03-02T05:00:24
Last week we talked about using the VI chord in measure 8 of the blues. This week we are talking about another spot we can use this chord to give us some forward motion into the next chorus and mak...
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Motivation Monday: Intimidation Factor from 2018-02-26T05:00:44
Are you sometimes too intimidated to actually take your instrument out of the practice room?? Don't be.....
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Episode 94: Using The VI Chord On The Blues from 2018-02-23T05:00:16
This week we are going to talk about an important chord in the blues progression that you may not be using. We use the VI chord to create forward motion in the blues and add another layer of comple...
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Motivation Monday: Learning Tunes Continued… from 2018-02-19T05:00:16
This week we take a look at a great email that one of our listeners, Bob, sent over and we continue the discussion on the best way to learn tunes!
Would you like to support the...
Episode 93: Understanding Chord Symbols Part 2 from 2018-02-16T05:00:41
This week we delve a little bit further into the dominant chord and what various chord symbols mean. Last week we dealt with the basic versions of these chords and this week we'll get into some of ...
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Motivation Monday: Secrets To Learning Tunes from 2018-02-12T05:00:02
This week is all about some strategies I use to learn and retain tunes. This is an essential part of being a competent jazz musician. You're expected to know many tunes!
Would ...
Episode 92: Understanding Chord Symbols Part 1 from 2018-02-09T05:00:49
This week we are covering a topic that I think will help many people out there. Sometimes reading chord symbols is a very confusing thing. What do the extensions mean? What notes are available over...
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Motivation Monday: Don’t Ignore Greatness! from 2018-02-05T05:00:43
This is going to be a controversial episode, I'm certain of it. We talk sports and how it relates to other pursuits such as music. Enjoy!
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Episode 91: Take The ‘A’ Train from 2018-02-02T05:00:11
This week is all about using the melody from this famous jazz standard as a springboard to creating your own lines. The melody is always the place that I start for solo ideas. Why not use something...
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Motivation Monday: Time and Motivation from 2018-01-29T05:00:12
This week is all about a different way to think about time spent on your instrument that might be a little bit more doable for most.
Would you like to support the creators of t...
Episode 90: Joshua Redman Crushes The Blues from 2018-01-26T05:00:45
Joshua Redman is a perennial favorite among jazz fans and musicians alike. This week we are going to take a look at one of his choruses from Blues On Sunday. We will figure out what makes his playi...
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Motivation Monday: Realistic VS Unrealistic from 2018-01-22T05:00:55
This week we talk about whether your goals are realistic or unrealistic. You might be thinking about it the wrong way!
Would you like to support the creators of this podcast? I...
Episode 89: Major Modes Part 2 from 2018-01-19T05:00:09
This week continues our work on major modes but we ratchet up the difficulty a bit. We are starting from a common root this week which makes each and every exercise on the sheet travel through seve...
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Motivation Monday: Jacob Collier Will Blow Your Mind! from 2018-01-15T05:00:09
This week is all about Jacob Collier and a YouTube video that will drop your jaw.
Here it is:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DnBr070vcNE
<...
Episode 88: Major Modes Part 1 from 2018-01-12T05:00:36
This week is all about major modes. This, I believe, is the most definitive way to practice your major modes in the most effective way possible. These exercises get us into real life situations whi...
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Motivation Monday: Front Loading Your Practice from 2018-01-08T05:00:29
This week is all about diving deeper into the order and structure of our practice time.
Would you like to support the creators of this podcast? If so, please head over to our P...
Episode 87: Scale Exercises Part 2 from 2018-01-05T05:00
This week we are diving deeper into scale exercises. We are looking at three, four, and five note patterns that will challenge not only your technique, but your sense of lining up rhythms as well. ...
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Motivation Monday: Welcome 2018! from 2018-01-01T05:00
We made it to 2018! Time to start things off on the right foot with a music centered journal....
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Episode 86: Scale Exercises Part 1 from 2017-12-29T05:00:47
This week we get into something that might not be everyone's cup of tea, but is absolutely essential to being able to improvise well. Flexibility is key in improvisation, and the most beneficial wa...
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Episode 85: Clifford Brown’s Double Time On Joy Spring from 2017-12-22T05:00:56
This week we are going to dive into a topic that many of you have been asking about. That topic is playing double time lines and we will use an example from one of the greatest trumpeters in histor...
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Interview: Steve Neff from 2017-12-20T05:00:58
Welcome to another special interview episode of the podcast! This week we are talking with one of my favorite saxophonists and educators around today. Steve Neff has a prolific catalog of education...
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Motivation Monday: Magnify For Success from 2017-12-18T05:00:54
This week we talk about how looking at the big picture for too long can be detrimental to your health.
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Episode 84: Blues For Alice Part 2 from 2017-12-15T05:00:09
I was completely flooded with emails this week asking me to do a part 2 for Blues For Alice. Listeners wanted to develop strategies for measures 5-8 and I totally understand why. These measures are...
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Motivation Monday: My Metronome from 2017-12-11T05:00:54
This week I'll tell you all about the metronome I know and love and why you should have the same one.
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Episode 82: Blues For Alice from 2017-12-08T05:00:04
This week is all about the first 4 measures of one of my favorite Charlie Parker tunes, Blues For Alice. These measures provide a difficult descending chord progression that requires a closer look....
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Motivation Monday: Chasing Trane from 2017-12-04T05:00:51
This week's episode is all about the new film from John Scheinfeld, Chasing Trane.
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Episode 82: Max Ionata Destroys ‘But Not For Me’ from 2017-12-01T05:00:59
I'm willing to bet that most of you have never heard of the fantastic Italian Saxophonist, Max Ionata. Well we're here to fix that this week and bring you an amazing 16 bar section of his solo on G...
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Motivation Monday: The Apprenticeship from 2017-11-27T05:00:28
This week is all about the jazz apprenticeship and how to absorb the language.
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Episode 81: The Moving Accent from 2017-11-24T05:00:33
This week we are going to look at something that's a bit less glamorous than a totally killing harmonic device or something that makes us feel like we are John Coltrane reincarnated. This, however,...
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Motivation Monday: Practicing Time Savers from 2017-11-20T05:00:58
Would you ever watch TV or read the paper while you practice??
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Episode 80: Voice Leading Templates from 2017-11-17T05:00:35
This week we are going to get our listeners to add a little bit of creativity to their practice. Learning vocabulary is a necessity, but we also need to be original in our playing. What if we took ...
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Motivation Monday: How Many Instruments Can You Play? from 2017-11-13T05:00:56
This week is all about certain instruments that everyone should be able to play....
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Episode 79: Bebop Basics Part 4 from 2017-11-10T05:06:21
Welcome to the final edition of bebop basics! This week we are looking at a really cool exercise with major triads. Most of us know our major triads but can you play them in chromatic motion starti...
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Motivation Monday: Are You Invested In The Tradition? from 2017-11-06T06:01:03
This week we bring things back to the beginnings of the art form we know and love. Are you invested in the tradition?
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Episode 78: Bebop Basics Part 3 from 2017-11-03T05:00:12
This is the 3rd installment of our bebop basics series. This week we are taking a look at some very useful exercises involving pivoting on chords and scales. A pivot point is essential to keeping o...
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Motivation Monday: Left vs. Right Brain from 2017-10-30T05:00:03
This week we talk about the relationship between left and right brain when we practice and why you should be making time for both.
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Episode 77: Bebop Basics Part 2 from 2017-10-27T06:00:58
Welcome back to another episode covering bebop basics! This week we are looking at playing diatonic chords with chromatic approaches. It is absolutely vital that every jazz musician be able to nail...
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Motivation Monday:The Reddit Thread That Changed My Ears For Life from 2017-10-23T06:00:38
This thread dropped some serious knowledge on me and changed everything for good.
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Episode 76: Bebop Basics Part 1 from 2017-10-20T06:00:09
This week we are starting a multi-part series on what you should be doing to nail down the basics of the bebop style. Bebop is the most important thing to understand when it comes to playing modern...
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Motivation Monday: Practicing & Energy Levels from 2017-10-16T06:00:23
Getting the most out of your practice is all about your energy levels. When is the best time for you??
Episode 75: Pat Martino On Blue Bossa from 2017-10-13T06:00:58
Pat Martino is probably my favorite guitar player ever. On an instrument with such a storied history, people like him and Joe Pass still make me smile and tap my foot every time I hear them play. T...
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Motivation Monday: Turn Off Your Cell Phone! from 2017-10-09T06:00:49
This week's Motivation Monday is all about turning off the biggest distraction in any room.
Episode 74: Writing A Contrafact Part 2 from 2017-10-06T06:00:03
This week is a continuation of last week's lesson. Now we are taking our contrafact and writing new chord changes to it, effectively coming up with our own tune. This is a great exercise in many di...
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