Learn Jazz Standards Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Quick Win: How to Learn Misty (Jazz Tutorial) Aug 05, 2022

Show notes

Today, we're talking about the classic ballad, "Misty" by Errol Garner.
We'll take a look at the chords so we can figure out how to most efficiently learn it and find out what harmonic secrets we can discover in the process.
In this episode:
1. Intro
2. Misty - short demo
3. The best way to learn the melody
4. Identifying the key
5. Relating key centers
6. Relating the melody to the chord changes
7. Identifying backdoor dominants
8. Identifying secondary dominants
9. Understanding the form
10. Learning the B section
11. The hardest part to memorize in Misty
12. The last part of the A section
Important Links:
Free Guide to learning standards by ear: Learn Jazz Standards the Smart Way
LJS Inner Circle Membership
Listen to the Learn Jazz Standards Podcast
Get our Amazon Best Selling book
See you in the next video!

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

Why You Need to Learn Giant Steps Aug 01, 2022

Show notes

Giant Steps by John Coltrane is often known as a right of passage for jazz musicians because it is notoriously one of the most difficult jazz standards to learn and improvise over. Truly it is a complicated song.
So, in today's episode, I'm actually gonna talk about why actually going into the trouble of working on and practicing and learning Giant Steps is actually gonna help you play all other jazz standards a lot better.
In this episode:
1. Reasons why you need to study Giant Steps
2. Learn the Coltrane changes
3. Understand the underlying modulations within the tune
4. How to navigate V-I chord progressions in different keys
5. How to use altered licks for V-I ideas
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!

What to Do If You Are No Longer Passionate About Jazz Jul 25, 2022

Show notes

Welcome to episode 369
In this episode:
1. Why my friend is no longer passionate about jazz
2. Why there is nothing for you to do if you are no longer excited about jazz
3. A few caveats to consider
4. How jazz transformed my friend's playing forever
Important Links:
Free Guide to learning standards by ear: Learn Jazz Standards the Smart Way
LJS Inner Circle Membership

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

Quick Win: 5 Pro-Level Jazz Licks You Need to Know Jul 22, 2022

Show notes

I'm gonna show you 5 jazz licks to have you sound like a pro and unveil some of the secrets that jazz musicians are using in their solos.
In this episode:
1. Intro
2. Lick #1: What musicians would do over top of V-I chord progressions
3. Lick #2: Over I-IV-iii-vi chord progressions
4. Lick #3: Over a ii-V chord progression
5. Lick #4: Over another ii-V chord progression with a different approach
6. Lick #5: Over I-vi-ii-V chord progression
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!

How to Reduce Friction In Your Jazz Improvement Jul 18, 2022

Show notes

Alright, Magalie, can you say hello to the podcast listeners today? Oh, don't grab the microphone, it's expensive. Can you say, "Hi, podcast listeners!"
(Baby mumbled) Yeah, hi! Okay, let's get on to the show now.
Have you ever heard this saying before that insanity is doing the same thing, over and over and over again and expecting different results, right? You've heard that before.
Well, I have to think about that in terms of friction. Like, what friction are we experiencing in our jazz playing, in our musicianship that we keep leaning into, that we keep just accepting? And instead of reducing that friction, we just keep doing the same thing over and over and over again but yet are expecting our jazz playing and our musicianship to improve.
Well, today, I'm gonna be talking about that. How to avoid friction in your playing, your jazz improvement, and what you can do to start recognizing it.
In this episode:
1. A story about friction for a New York City musician
2. Listen, identify, and be mindful of friction points in your playing
3. Establish a strategy to address the friction instead of allowing it to continue
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!

Quick Win: $600 vs. $6,000 Jazz Guitar | Is Cheap or Expensive Better? Jul 15, 2022

Show notes

This is a $600 jazz guitar and this is a $6000 jazz guitar.
Today, I'm discussing which one I personally like the most as well as the age-old question, "Does having an expensive instrument help you play music better?". You might be surprised.
In this episode:
1. Intro
2. My $600 jazz guitar - brand and specs
3. My $6000 jazz guitar - brand and specs
4. Sound demo - $600 jazz guitar
5. Sound demo - $6000 jazz guitar
6. Sound comparison - my opinion
7. Which one do I like better? What Georgia has on her mind.
8. Do expensive instruments worth it?
9. Do you need an expensive instrument to become a great jazz musician or to
improve quicker? Pros and Cons
10. Quote by Victor Baker about musicianship and instrument
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

See you in the next video!

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

This Is What I'd Do If I Started Jazz All Over Again Jul 11, 2022

Show notes

Have you ever looked back on something that you've done and gone, "If I only knew what I know now, I would have done that thing a little bit differently"?
Well, I was thinking about that the other day about my jazz playing. If I know what I know now, would I do something completely different or have a different approach to learning jazz than I did when I first started learning it?
Well, in today's episode that's exactly when I'm gonna do. I'm gonna build a time machine. I'm gonna go back, and I'm going to redo the way that I learned jazz and I'm gonna take you along for the ride with me.
In this episode:
1. Learn one jazz standard a month
2. Learn the blues in all 12 keys
3. Practice no more than 2 hours a day, 5 times a week
4. Focus on chord tones and resolve to them
5. Learn one chorus of a solo each month
6. Practice soloing unaccompanied
7. Play live once a week
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!

Quick Win: How to Memorize Chords to Jazz Standards Jul 08, 2022

Show notes

After learning a jazz standard you may find it difficult to recall the chord changes in the long term, especially if you're learning a lot of them.
So, I'm gonna share with you how I memorize chords to jazz standards so I don't forget them.
In this episode:
1. Intro
2. #1: Reading A Chord Chart
3. #2: Learning the Chords by Ear
4. Learn this first before learning chord changes
5. The first basic thing I look for
6. The second thing I look for
7. The absolute key to memorizing chords
8. How to relate chords to a tonal center
9. Identifying cadences
10. How to organize the tune
11. The important questions
12. Relating the melody to the different chords
13. Review of the cadences
14. Recap of chord analysis
15. Summary
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!

Non-Jazz Music I Listen To (And How it Influences My Jazz) Jul 04, 2022

Show notes

Okay, so this is a jazz podcast, so obviously we talk a lot about jazz education: how do you play jazz, how do you get better at jazz, and of course, what jazz should you listen to and really digest in order to become a better jazz musician.
However, I do not only listen to jazz music. I actually enjoy listening to an array of different styles of music and in some cases, I choose to listen to other styles of music over jazz. That being said, I often find that these other styles of music influence the way I play jazz as well.
So, today I'm gonna go over some of the non-jazz music that I listen to and how it's influenced me.
Main Points:
1. Music I listened to before jazz
2. Classic Rock and Early 2,000's rock influences
3. Dream Theater and prog rock/metal
4. How the music I was listening to led me to jazz
5. Elliot Smith
5. Singer-songwriters
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!

How to Play Jazz Melodies Like a Pro (Thought Experiment) Jun 27, 2022

Show notes

In today's episode, we're gonna do a little thought experiment that will help us get in the mindset that we need to be, to play melodies and solos creatively and at the top of our game, to take a boring expression of a melody and truly turn it into something that is riveting for the audience and riveting for ourselves.
Main Points:
1. Playing a melody by the book vs. the way a pro jazz musician would play it
2. Example of a "basic" melody
3. The "Bluenote Thought Experiment"
4. Example of a pro-sounding jazz melody
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!

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