Welcome to episode 269 where I have the audacity to suggest that you only need to know one scale in order to start improvising over jazz standards. And chords? Only a small handful. This episode will help beginner and intermediate jazz musicians cut the fat, weed out the excess, and get down to the essentials. Every month in our LJS Inner Circle membership, we do something called the Monthly Jazz Mastermind. And this is an opportunity for all the members to get on a live Q&A call with me to ...
May 10, 2021•41 min•Season 1Ep. 269
Welcome to episode 268 where today we have a very special episode in celebration of our 1 year birthday of our LJS Inner Circle membership. We have a lot of guests on the show, members of our Inner Circle, share their musical breakthroughs to help you get an idea of what's working for them so you can take action for yourself. Today's episode is a very special episode. It's an episode where we are celebrating the one-year birthday of our LJS Inner Circle membership. And to celebrate that I wanted...
May 03, 2021•1 hr 2 min•Season 1Ep. 268
Welcome to episode 267 where today we have a special guest, founder and CEO of Modactiy, Marc Gelfo, on to talk about practice strategy. In this episode, Marc digs beneath the surface and shares his thoughts on practicing effectively drawing from neuroscience, psychology, and his experience as an extraordinarily accomplished french hornist. When it comes to practicing, we often talk about what you should be practicing to improve your musicianship or your jazz skills. And often some tactics are p...
Apr 26, 2021•1 hr 11 min•Season 1Ep. 267
Welcome to episode 266 where today we talk about swing feel, what it is, how to properly swing, and some common mistakes musicians make. Swing is the most unique style of jazz, despite there being multiple straight eighth styles associated with jazz. But what exactly makes up a swing feel, and how do we find the balance between "over swinging" and "under swinging." This episode gets you headed in the right direction. Even though jazz has a lot of different styles and grooves associated with the ...
Apr 19, 2021•29 min•Season 1Ep. 266
Welcome to episode 265 where today I have on special guest musician Michael Lake to talk about overcoming musical frustration. It's not uncommon for a musician studying jazz to get frustrated with their musical progress, which in unhealthy amounts can sometimes lead to demotivation. Michael lends his thoughts on how to work through this and how to set yourself up for long-term success. The reality of studying any kind of music is that eventually, you are going to get frustrated with your progres...
Apr 13, 2021•53 min•Season 1Ep. 265
Welcome to episode 264 where today I go over some tips and strategies for memorizing jazz standards in such a way that you are less likely to forget them and can recall them even if you haven't played them in a while. I go over a few don'ts of memorizing jazz standards, and some work you can do ahead of time and during the process of learning that will make a difference. The question I get quite often is how do I memorize jazz standards so I don't forget them, especially because it seems as if i...
Apr 05, 2021•35 min•Season 1Ep. 264
Welcome to episode 263 where today I go over a simple strategy you can start implementing into your practice. It's called the L.R.C Practice Strategy, and it will help you take your practice to the next level with structured and focused actions that yield better and faster results. In today's episode, I'm going to be teaching a simple but powerful practice strategy that I first kind of put a name to and revealed in a masterclass that I gave at our recent Learn Jazz Live 2021 Virtual Summit. And ...
Mar 29, 2021•22 min•Season 1Ep. 263
Welcome to episode 262 where today we are reaching into the LJS Podcast Vault and going back in time to revisit an episode all about Bossa Nova. Special guest Livio Almeida walks us through the basics, shedding light on important rhythms, composers, and tunes. This is one of those episodes that needs another listen! Today on the podcast we are going to be traveling back in time. We are going to be reaching into the vault of the LJS podcast to reflect on an episode back in the earlier days of the...
Mar 22, 2021•39 min•Season 1Ep. 262
Welcome to episode 261 where today I'm covering 4 levels of jazz chords so that you can start implementing these concepts into your comping and jazz solos. In this episode, I start with the simplest of chords, triads, and build up in complexity. You'll learn how jazz musicians take basic chords and transform them into colorful harmonic tools. In your jazz studies, you probably noticed that jazz standards have a wealth of harmonic information in them. And jazz musicians don't even always stick to...
Mar 15, 2021•18 min•Season 1Ep. 261
Welcome to episode 260 where today I'm covering a 7 step process for improvising over a jazz standard starting from zero. This is the exact process that my Inner Circle members go through to learn and improvise over a new jazz standard every month, and now I'm sharing it with you. Check it out! I just got done practicing 4 hours to demonstrate the material that I'm about to show you in this episode where I'm going to show you how you can go from essentially not knowing a jazz standard almost at ...
Mar 08, 2021•44 min•Season 1Ep. 260
Welcome to episode 259 where today we're addressing a really common problem improvisers face, which is getting lost in the form while you are soloing. Getting lost is something that happens to everyone, but the key is reducing this occurrence and being able to get back on quickly. Here are 7 steps to consider. So you're in the middle of your solo, and you are playing all the notes. You think you are playing the changes. You're getting swept away. Then all of a sudden you realize, I don't know wh...
Mar 03, 2021•28 min•Season 1Ep. 259
Welcome to episode 258 where today I'm having you sit in on a practice session where I explore a I-VI-ii-V chord progression, experimenting with whatever ideas come up in the moment. A lot of times we get wrapped up on playing the "right notes" that we forget that we have to experiment creatively to find the music that we really want to play. Developing a mindset of experimentation can help with that. You know a lot of us can get stuck in our jazz improv when we get over-analytical. We think a l...
Feb 22, 2021•26 min•Season 1Ep. 258
Welcome to episode 257 where today I discuss 10 life skills I've learned from studying jazz. In the process of studying this music, I've found that a lot of the mindsets and skills I've learned have translated to a multitude of different areas in my life. Knowing this is extremely helpful, and I share some of the insights I've gained that you can share in as well. This episode is a little bit of a different one from what I normally would talk about on this show, going away from some of the jazz ...
Feb 15, 2021•46 min•Season 1Ep. 257
Welcome to episode 256 where today I walk you through some different steps for beginning to develop a great jazz solo. A common mistake I hear is beginning a jazz solo with lots of notes and a myriad of ideas, rather than using call and response and a thematic building ideas. I show you actionable steps you can take to start bringing your solos to life. Okay, what was wrong with that solo? There is something horribly wrong with that solo and what was wrong with it was, right as soon as it was my...
Feb 08, 2021•32 min•Season 1Ep. 256
Welcome to episode 255 where today I'm sharing a short excerpt from a recent live Q&A call I had with my LJS Inner Circle members that answers the question: why is analyzing jazz standards helpful for improvisation? I discuss two aspects that make analysis helpful for the learning process and why it's worth spending some time doing. There are many ways to go about learning jazz standards and memorizing them and also improvising over them. And one way that people like to start learning jazz s...
Feb 01, 2021•10 min•Season 1Ep. 255
Welcome to episode 254 where today we talk about how to develop a good time feel and a basic sense of rhythm. You can play all of the "right" notes, and the hippest licks, but if your time feel is off and your execution poor, you'll end up sounding amateur. In this episode, you'll learn two exercises that will get you headed in the right direction. One of the more common issues I hear in the playing of beginner to intermediate jazz improvisers is a poor time feel. Just not really being able to l...
Jan 25, 2021•23 min•Season 1Ep. 254
Welcome to episode 253 where today we talk about scales and how to know which ones to play over chords and chord progressions within jazz standards. When it comes to scales, there are so many options to choose from, and it can be a bit overwhelming. Learn how to boil it down to the essentials and choose the most common ones first. Once you learn the jazz standard, it can be helpful to understand what notes you have available to play to start improvising over that tune. While scales are not the f...
Jan 18, 2021•30 min•Season 1Ep. 253
Welcome to episode 252 where today we have on special guest saxophonist and recording artist Mike Casey to talk about his experience with achieving effortlessness in improvisation. We all have heard our favorite musicians play and wonder how they achieve a level of "effortlessness" in their playing, and Mike helps break down the things that have worked for him. When I see some of the best jazz musicians in the world play their instruments, it almost seems like it is effortless. Like there's this...
Jan 11, 2021•44 min•Season 1Ep. 252
Welcome to episode 251 where today we have on special guest guitarist and professional musician Quist. He shares with us his tips for internalizing jazz licks using jam tracks as a tool, as well as a host of other topics and insights to how he developed his musicianship to a high level. Now, for many of us sitting at home, who are trying to learn how to play this jazz thing better and become better musicians, we find that backing tracks can be really helpful to practice along with, to stay motiv...
Jan 04, 2021•46 min•Season 1Ep. 251
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 hav...
Dec 28, 2020•29 min•Season 1Ep. 250
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 ja...
Dec 21, 2020•55 min•Season 1Ep. 249
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...
Dec 14, 2020•48 min•Season 1Ep. 248
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...
Dec 07, 2020•26 min•Season 1Ep. 247
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...
Nov 23, 2020•23 min•Season 1Ep. 246
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 bet...
Nov 16, 2020•14 min•Season 1Ep. 245
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 pl...
Nov 09, 2020•21 min•Season 1Ep. 244
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...
Nov 02, 2020•30 min•Season 1Ep. 243
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 episod...
Oct 26, 2020•45 min•Season 1Ep. 242
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...
Oct 19, 2020•39 min•Season 1Ep. 241
Welcome to episode 240 where today we are diving into Strategy #2 of Minor Blues Month! In the last episode, we composed a 12-bar minor blues using the minor pentatonic and blues scale almost exclusively. This time we build on that etude by incorporating chord tones and a few scales to level up the jazz in our minor blues. This is our second episode for Minor Blues Month here where we are going over 3 strategies for improvising over a minor blues, as well as the last 4th episode being my practic...
Oct 12, 2020•43 min•Season 1Ep. 240
