Setting goals is an essential part of improving at anything you do…whether it’s learning a language, getting in shape, or mastering an instrument and building your skills as an improviser.

You see, your goals are those big targets that you're aiming for out in the distance. The accomplishments you daydream about, the skills…

The post Why Your Big Goals Are Hijacking Your Musical Progress appeared first on Jazzadvice.

All the Things You Are is one of the first tunes musicians learn when it comes to jazz improvisation. But unlike many players think, it’s not exactly an “easy tune” or something that only beginners should play…

While each section of this classic standard poses its own unique challenges, the Final 'A' section contains…

The post Master All The Things You Are Part III: The Walkdown appeared first on Jazzadvice.

One thing that often gets lost in the music theory and technical exercises of our daily practice is the fact that improvisation at it's core, is musical storytelling...

Think about it, any tune that you play or any solo that you take is a platform for you to tell your own story...an opportunity…

The post 5 Roy Hargrove Phrases to Master Yardbird Suite appeared first on Jazzadvice.

What if you had Sonny Stitt’s practice journal in your hands right now? All his genius lines and exercises written out. Everything, literally everything, complete with diagrams and descriptions of what he practiced…wouldn’t that be nice?

Well, unfortunately, unless he’s your relative, chances are this will never be the case. You’ll never have…

The post The Sonny Stitt Playbook – His 2 Exercises to Master Minor appeared first on Jazzadvice.

Let’s face it, as musicians we're all striving to know more tunes that we can improvise over with ease…because at the end of the day, this is how you get your musical message across to the listener.

Whether it’s playing with our fellow musicians, walking into jam sessions, performing concerts or gigs, taking…

The post The 6 Steps To Build Your Repertoire and Change How You Learn Tunes appeared first on Jazzadvice.

All the Things You Are is one of the first tunes musicians learn when it comes to jazz improvisation. But unlike many players think, it’s not exactly an “easy tune” or something that only beginners should play…

This is especially true of the Bridge of this popular jazz standard. Hidden within these eight…

The post Master All The Things You Are Part II: The Bridge appeared first on Jazzadvice.

So you want to change the way you play? To improve your sound and your solos. To become more effortless in your technique. To finally get rid of those bad habits and creative roadblocks in your playing...

Every aspiring musician can relate to these feelings and frustrations. But what does the process of…

The post How to Adopt an Improvement Mindset in Music and Everything Else appeared first on Jazzadvice.

Phrasing is one of those things that everyone talks about, but most cannot clearly define. Like the concept of “swing,” it’s something you can feel and hear, but as soon as you start trying to use words to describe it, things get pretty ambiguous.

First, let’s talk about musical phrases… In music, a…

The post The Forgotten Side of Jazz Phrasing: A Lesson With Miles Davis appeared first on Jazzadvice.

All the Things You Are is one of the first tunes musicians learn when it comes to jazz improvisation. But unlike many players think, it’s not exactly an “easy tune” or something that only beginners should play...

The ability to create a musical solo on this tune requires a surprisingly deep understanding of…

The post Master All the Things You Are – Part I: The A Section appeared first on Jazzadvice.

Music theory is packed with quite a few dense explanations of esoteric concepts that plague the performer, and while music theory can be incredibly helpful to performing musicians, it has unfortunately steered so many players in the wrong direction.

Recently we’ve had a handful of people write in asking about The Circle…

The post Music Theory Basics: The Circle of Fifths appeared first on Jazzadvice.