Welcome to episode 250 where today I talk about what makes a great jazz New Year Resolution that you will actually see through to the end. Most of us want to become better jazz improvisers in 2021, but that's about where it ends. In this episode I break down 3 characteristics of achievable resolutions and a really good one you should commit to in 2021.

In this podcast episode, I'm going to be presenting you a simple strategy that could pay dividends in your jazz playing in 2021. But first, I have to be honest with you. I hate New Years' Resolutions. And to be clear, I don't have a problem with the goal-setting aspect of it or the idea of a New Year being a new chapter.

All those things actually resonate with me quite a bit. It's more the I'm-going-to-do-this-but-I-don't-have-a-plan part. You know, it's this idea that I'm going to achieve my goals whether it would be jazz music or anything else, but I don't really have anything that constitutes a good plan, a good goal, a good action plan for success.

So, in today's episode, I'm going to be going over how you can start setting yourself up for 2021, your jazz playing to accelerate, to grow more than it ever has. I'm also going to share with you what I think could be a good goal for you that will really pack a huge punch in your jazz playing next year.

In this episode:
1. Make sure your goal is measurable and realistic
2. Make sure along with the right tools you have the right strategy
3. Make sure you have a community to help motivate you and hold you accountable when the going gets tough

Important Links:
LJS Inner Circle Membership
Free Guide to learn standards by ear: Learn Jazz Standards the Smart Way
Dominate a Jazz Standard in One Month (video mentioned in the episode)

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

Welcome to episode 249 where we have special guest guitarist Matt Warnock from Matt Warnock Guitar to talk jazz and all things improv. We discuss a number of topics including using the concepts you already know to start improvising, the three most powerful concepts he's worked on to gain traction in his playing, and his philosophies on learning jazz and enjoying the process.

You know, I don't know about you but I have this tendency to always want to learn more and more stuff. Like I learn one jazz improv tool or trick or concept and I just want to go on to the next one because maybe that next one has the answer that I'm looking for to start cracking the code, to start playing the jazz solos that I've always dreamed of. But sometimes, we actually can just use the tools that we already know, the scale we already know, the chord tones we already know.

Whatever it happens to be for you, there are million different ways to just use the tools you already have available to you to create really awesome music.

Now this is just only one of the many concepts that I talk about with my guest today, Matt Matt Warnock from Matt Warnock Guitar. And we just had a great time talking and there's just so many golden nuggets in this episode, including about the 3 things that he really feels have packed a big punch in his jazz playing and taken him to the next level over the years and kept him really nice and busy.

In this episode:
1. Matt's classical training and how that helped him play jazz
2. How to use simple tools like scales you know to begin improvising well
3. How to enjoy the process of learning so you enjoy the benefits of the long game
4. Matt's top 3 most effective things he's practiced

Important Links:
LJS Inner Circle Membership
Free Guide to learn standards by ear: Learn Jazz Standards the Smart Way
Matt Warnock Guitar and his courses
Learn Jazz Live 2021 Virtual Summit

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

Welcome to episode 248 where today we have special guest Mark Morley-Fletcher from Play In The Zone on to talk about how to focus on what really matters in your jazz playing to expedite your improvement.

Mark is an incredible educator, and combining his background in analytics and his interest in performance psychology, delivers some incredible tips and tricks for hacking your jazz progress.

What if I told you that if you could identify exactly the way you want to sound like in your jazz playing and you were to distill it down to just a few different items and cast away everything else, that you could improve much quicker, especially if you approached it in a goal-oriented fashion.

And what if I told you that if you develop the right mindsets and the right frames of mind, and understood the way your brain works, you could also increase your potential as a jazz musician.

Well, my guest today Mark Morley-Fletcher from Play In The Zone is going to help us with exactly that -- show us how we can focus on the things that really matter, cast away the things that don't and use psychology in order to help us improve even quicker.

In this episode:
1. Defining what you want to sound like and distilling what elements you should work on
2. The importance of effective learning and how to know when to move on from something you're stuck on
3. Surrounding yourself with the right community to support your success
4. Mark's upcoming Learn Jazz Live 2021 workshop

Important Links:
LJS Inner Circle Membership
Free Guide to learn standards by ear: Learn Jazz Standards the Smart Way
Learn Jazz Live 20212. 
Mark's playinthezone.com

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

Welcome to episode 247 where today we discuss strategies on Charlie Parker's variation on a blues which has been dubbed a "Bird Blues." Using this song form as a vessel, I show you how you can take fast moving changes, simplify them, and start navigating them without playing a bunch of notes.

I often say that the blues is an incredible jumping-off point into jazz in learning jazz standards and how to improvise over them. And in today's episode, I'm actually going to talk about a variation on the blues called a "Bird Blues". And "bird", of course, refers to the great saxophonist Charlie Parker, the bebop legend. He kind of took those basic blues changes and transformed them into lots of extra moving harmony that just made it creative.

I think that the "Bird Blues" is an excellent example of how we can take a basic blues form and start transitioning into a more typical jazz standard harmony which is going to open up the doors to being able to improvise over tons and tons of different tunes professionally. This is going to be a really good episode. I'm going to give you some strategies and go over what "Bird Blues" is.

In this episode:
1. Understanding "Bird Blues" Harmony
2. Sensoring the chord changes
3. Using motivic development to simplify your lines

Important Links:
LJS Inner Circle Membership
Free Guide to learn standards by ear: Learn Jazz Standards the Smart Way
Learn Jazz Live 2021 Virtual Summit

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

Welcome to episode 246 where today I discuss 5 lessons I learned from my jazz teachers that had a profound effect on my musicianship and mindset.

 Whether it's by example or by the actual words said, I've been lucky to study with some world-class teachers who taught me a lot. Here's some of the best stuff that I'll share with you.

I've had the great fortune of studying with some world-class musicians and jazz musicians over the years. And I've learned so many lessons from these teachers that have not only impacted my jazz playing and the way I think about music but the way I actually think about life.

Here in the US this week, we have a little holiday called Thanksgiving. Now, of course, this holiday is much more about just eating food and getting together with family and friends, but the basis of the holiday is to remind yourself what you are grateful for and thankful for. I am thankful for some of these amazing lessons from these teachers that I'm about to share with you and I hope will have a positive impact on you as well.

In this episode:
1. A lesson about playing with passion from Justin Nielsen
2. A lesson about playing from where you are at from Bruce Forman
3. A lesson about the never-ending pursuit of learning from John Pattitucci
4. A lesson about utilzing jazz standards from Peter Bernstein
5. A lesson about your emotions from Vic Juris

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 245 where today I discuss how long you actually need to practice in order to make meaningful improvement in your jazz playing.

While there is no one size fits all answer, it may surprise you to find out that you don't need to practice as much as you think.

One of the main things I hear from people is that they just don't have enough time to practice. There's just not enough hours in the day, they have busy lives and because of that, they worry that they will never become a better musician or jazz improvisers.

And there is a myth out there that you do need to practice long hours in order to improve as a musician or jazz improviser. And while there is some truth in the fact that if you do practice long hours you have more opportunities for growth, it does not necessarily mean that you will improve and improve quickly.

So, in today's episode, I'm going to answer the question, how long do you need to practice in order to improve as a jazz musician and we'll dig a little bit deeper.

In this episode:
1. The myth about practicing for long hours
2. How smarter practice is better than longer practice
3. Examples of practice sessions that pack a lot in a short period of time

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 244 where today I go over 3 common roadblocks I hear about from intermediate jazz musicians. These roadblocks can make these musicians feel like they are stuck on a plateau and unable to move forward in their progress. I discuss one action item for each roadblock to help you move past them.

If you've been at this jazz thing for a while and would consider yourself in the intermediate range as far as skill level as a jazz musician, you've likely come across roadblocks in your playing and have felt like you are stuck on a plateau, like you are just not improving the way you want to.

Well, I've certainly felt that way many times in my playing, and I've noticed with my students in my courses and my Inner Circle members that I hear the same things over and over again when it comes to frustrations from intermediate players with their jazz playing.

So in today's episode, I like to share with you the top three roadblocks that I hear about and give you one thing that you can do for each one to start moving past those roadblocks so that you can move up in your jazz playing and become a better jazz improviser.

In this episode:
1. Unable to apply jazz language they've learned
2. Know the chord tones and notes to play but not able to target them in their solos when improvising
3. Practice a lot but feel like they aren't improving

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 243 where today I reveal my top 10 favorite jazz albums of all time. These albums are ones that I have come back to time and time again, and think you should check out as well. I go over 5 older jazz albums and 5 modern jazz albums I absolutely love.

I had someone in our Learn Jazz Standards Facebook group recently ask me, "Hey Brent, what are your favorite jazz albums of all time? Have you done a podcast episode about that?"And at that time, the answer was no.

But today, I am gearing up to fix that. In today's episode, I'm going to go over my 10 favorite jazz albums, the ones that I just always kept coming back to over the years. I'm going to do five old ones and five more modern jazz ones that I really love. And hopefully, you'll also learn some great albums that you can start listening to this week.

In this episode:
1. Sonnyside Up by Dizzy Gillespie
2. Soul Station by Hank Mobley
3. The Bridge by Sonny Rollins
4. Smokin' at the Half Note by Wynton Kelly
5. Someday My Prince Will Come by Miles Davis
6. Strangers in Paradise by Peter Bernstein
7. Deep Song by Kurt Rosenwinkel
8. It's You I Like by John Ellis
9. Art of the Trio 4 by Brad Mehldau Trio
10. Ultrahang by Chris Potter

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 242 where today we conclude with our final episode of Minor Blues Month!

 In this episode, I share with you my in-depth practice plan for mastering a minor blues. I'll walk you through all of the material I work through, how to organize it, and a step-by-step practice plan. Get out your notes, this is a meaty one!

Today is the final episode of Minor Blues Month on the LJS podcast where we've been working through 3 strategies for improvising over minor blues in the last 3 episodes. This episode is really special because I will be revealing my masterplan for mastering a minor blues, for having a very high proficiency at playing over the song form by the time you are done, and also feeling confident in your minor jazz playing, playing over minor chord progressions, and of course on jazz standards. So important.

This is going to be a fun episode. It's one that's really important. It's always the most important episodes, the ones where I actually give you an action plan that you can take action on, that you can start implementing into your practice because practice is what gets results. And this master plan here is definitely going to get you results.

In this episode:
1. My Recycling Jazz Practice Plan and how it works
2. Mapping Exercises and how they work
3. Blues Heads and why they are important
4. Etudes and what they are useful for
5. How to recycle minor blues material in all 12 keys

Important Links:
1. Minor Blues Accelerator course
2. LJS Inner Circle Membership
3. 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 241 where today we are diving into Strategy #3 of Minor Blues Month!

In the last episode, we pick up where we left off with an etude that was re-composed to add chord tones and scales. This time we implement bebop language utilizing enclosure and chromaticsm to take it to the next level.

It's episode 3 of Minor Blues Month here on the LJS podcast where I've been going over 3 strategies for improvising over a minor blues, an important song form in jazz. And the last episode, of course, #4 next week, is going to be all about my strategy, my plan for mastering "a minor blues".But in today's episode, we're going to be talking about strategy #3 which is all about bebop language and applying that over a blues. You'll be composing an etude. We've applied blues language. We've applied chord tones and scales. Now, we are going to take that same etude and add some bebop into it and it's going to be really awesome.

In this episode:
1. A review of last episodes etude
2. Adding an extra chord change to the minor blues form
3. 3 characteristics of bebop and how to utilize them
4. I re-compose the etude adding bebop language

Important Links:
1. Minor Blues Accelerator course
2. LJS Inner Circle Membership
3. Free Guide to learn standards by ear: Learn Jazz Standards the Smart Way

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