Welcome to episode 341 where today I talk about one of the most important skills you should focus on when it comes to jazz improvisation. If you master this, you could literally play any note (in the key or out) and make it sound great. Learn what it is and how you can start mastering this skill.

So I was at the Village Vanguard the other day, here in New York City. It's perhaps the most famous jazz club in the entire world, and I was watching a band play and something that stood out to me was that, no matter what note the musicians were playing, it could be that most-far-out-away-from-the-key-center-as-possible note, they always made it sound super, super good.

So, I wanna share with you the lessons that we can learn from this, and probably that number one thing, or at least in that top 10 things you should be really working on to sound amazing in your jazz improv.

In this episode:

1. What I learned at the Village Vanguard
2. Examples of playing wrong notes and making them sound right
3. The power of resolutions

Important Links:
LJS Inner Circle Membership
Free Guide to learn standards by ear: Learn Jazz Standards the Smart Way

Learn Jazz Standards Inner Circle: Get 50% off your first month!

So how did I learn 100 new Jazz Standards in one year? Well, I'm gonna show you the exact strategies that I use so that you can use them, too!

In this episode:
1. Intro
2. Strategy #1 The circle of10?
3. Strategy #2 The key to learning these standards
4. Strategy #3 Learn this first instead of the chord changes
5. Strategy #4 Do what the Romans did
6. Strategy #5 Ears first before the eyes
7. Strategy #6 Repetition is the key
8. Strategy #7 Start from #1 with a different playlist

Important Links:
LJS Inner Circle Membership
Free Guide to learn standards by ear: Learn Jazz Standards the Smart Way
Listen to the Learn Jazz Standards Podcast
Get our Amazon Best Selling book

Learn Jazz Standards Inner Circle: Get 50% off your first month!

Welcome to episode 339 where today I walk you through one of my favorite jazz ballads. Ballads are important to know, and this particular one has a lot to teach us about jazz harmony and how to create an amazing melody. I play the ballad and then deep dive into the harmonic analysis.

In today's episode, I'm gonna be going over one of my favorite jazz ballads of all time, do a little deep-dive into the harmony, and hopefully, you're gonna come away with some amazing lessons that you can learn about jazz and other jazz standards, and it's gonna be a lot of fun!

So grab your favorite beverage, grab some popcorn, or whatever you like to eat meals in the podcast.

In this episode:

1. Why this jazz ballad is so great
2. Side steps 2-5's and what they are
3. Secondary dominants
4. Motivic melodic movement

Important Links:
LJS Inner Circle Membership
Free Guide to learn standards by ear: Learn Jazz Standards the Smart Way

Learn Jazz Standards Inner Circle: Get 50% off your first month!

So how do you master the seemingly difficult but important jazz song form rhythm changes?  Well, today I'm gonna show you 8 simple steps to do exactly that.

In this episode:
1. Step #1: The obvious first step 2. Step
#2: Get "a-head" of the game!
3. Step #3: The first place I really start with improvising
4. Step #4: This makes the chord changes pop!
5. Step #5: Get really good at this instead of scales
6. Step #6: Exposure to these will generate ideas for your solos
7. Step #7: Time to get those tunes out of your head
8. Step #8: This still makes playing perfect!

Important Links:
LJS Inner Circle Membership
Free Guide to learn standards by ear: Learn Jazz Standards the Smart Way
Listen to the Learn Jazz Standards Podcast
Get our Amazon Best Selling book

Learn Jazz Standards Inner Circle: Get 50% off your first month!

Welcome to episode 337 where today I talk about jam sessions and how to know if you are ready to attend one. I also share a 6 step checklist for how to prepare for a jam session so that you feel more comfortable, confident, and set up for more success.

In this episode:

Step 1: Know 5 Standards
Step 2: Go to the session and evaluate
Step 3: Learn tunes you don't know
Step 4: Record yourself and identify problem areas
Step 5: Go to session and call a song you know well
Step 6: Re-evaluate success and "failures"

Important Links:
LJS Inner Circle Membership
Free Guide to learn standards by ear: Learn Jazz Standards the Smart Way

Learn Jazz Standards Inner Circle: Get 50% off your first month!

If you're feeling stuck in your jazz playing today, it's likely because of one of the reasons I'm about to share with you.

So, I'm gonna be your jazz doctor today, diagnose your issue, and tell you how to fix it.

In this episode:
1. Intro
2. 10 Reasons Why Your Jazz Improv Isn't Improving
3. Reason #1: This results in licks that don't sound organic
4. Reason #2: Learn more of these
5. Reason #3: Learn more of these very well
6. Reason #4: Scales alone doesn't do the trick
7. Reason #5: Get that inspiration from the masters
8. Reason #6: Set this strategy
9. Reason #7: This is what I regularly recommend to my students
10. Reason #9: Make sure to get this right
11. Reason #10: Level this up first before jazzing up

Important Links:
LJS Inner Circle Membership
Free Guide to learn standards by ear: Learn Jazz Standards the Smart Way

Learn Jazz Standards Inner Circle: Get 50% off your first month!

Welcome to episode 335 where today I talk about how to get unstuck from playing the same stuff over and over again in your jazz solos. It's easy to get comfortable playing the same stuff because we know it will sound good every single time. But this also keeps us stuck, unsatisfied, and wishing for more. I go over my simple solution for turning this around.

In this episode:

1. Why do we get stuck playing the same stuff
2. Making conscious decisions when we play
3. Practicing making mistakes

Important Links:
Show Notes
LJS Inner Circle Membership
Free Guide to learn standards by ear: Learn Jazz Standards the Smart Way

Learn Jazz Standards Inner Circle: Get 50% off your first month!

How do you craft amazing bebop lines over a minor blues so that you sound like a jazz pro? I'm gonna walk you through the perfect minor blues solo.

In this episode:
1. Intro
2. What actually are the chords in the D minor blues?
3. Try to add these to make your solos sound super "Bebop-y"
4. The quintessential bebop rhythm
5. The 3 Take-aways

Important Links:
LJS Inner Circle Membership
Free Guide to learn standards by ear: Learn Jazz Standards the Smart Way

Learn Jazz Standards Inner Circle: Get 50% off your first month!

Welcome to episode 333 where today I talk about my entire philosophy on learning and teaching jazz. I discuss what I believe about teaching jazz, using music theory, how to learn to improvise, and how to practice to get the most success.

This episode consolidates a lot of talking points discussed within many different episodes of this podcast.

In this episode:
1. My 4 Core Philosophies
2. Philosophy for what you should focus on
3. Philosophy around jazz standards
4. Philosophy around jazz theory
5. Philosophy around jazz improv
6. Philosophy around practicing

Show Notes
LJS Inner Circle Membership
Free Guide to learn standards by ear: Learn Jazz Standards the Smart Way

Learn Jazz Standards Inner Circle: Get 50% off your first month!

These are the best scale exercises you can do if you wanna turn these boring linear patterns into amazing jazz solos.

In this episode:
1, This is the very first place we need to start
2. Add this to automatically make your scales a little bit more musical
3. Small musical ideas repeated
4. This will create different patterns and chord tones
5. Notes beyond the scale

Important Links:
LJS Inner Circle Membership
Free Guide to learn standards by ear: Learn Jazz Standards the Smart Way

Learn Jazz Standards Inner Circle: Get 50% off your first month!