A Community for Up and Coming Musicians
We all go through phases where we’re unmotivated to practice. It may be because we’ve stopped seeing immediate improvement, or because we’ve become overwhelmed with the more technical aspects of playing. It may even be because we’ve forgotten why we started to do music in the first place! Regardless of why we may lose our …
Continue reading “10 Tips on How to Practice Even When You Don’t Want to”
Last week we started a new series of articles on Teen Jazz where we answered some of our readers’ questions. One of the questions was “What songs should I learn for jam sessions?” To answer the question I initially threw together a list of songs that I’ve heard or played at jam sessions, but I …
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Last week I had the opportunity to see not one, but two music legends perform. The first concert I attended was that of George Benson at the McCallum Theater in Palm Springs on February 16, 2013. The second was BB King at the House of Blues in Anaheim on February 22, 2013. Both of these …
Continue reading “7 things I learned from seeing BB King and George Benson perform”
This article is a guest post from Sean Winter. This article is to discuss learning to play what you’ve practiced for the beginning improviser. In the 12 years I’ve played and numerous teachers or clinicians I’ve encountered I always get a different answer to the question “Do you think while you play?” I want to …
Continue reading “Practice and Practical Application”
This article is a guest post from Sean Winter. The purpose of this article is to introduce the concept of playing outside of the given key centre of a song. Usually when we start out improvising we learn the scales related to whichever key we are playing in. Then the scales related to the specific …
Continue reading “A Beginners Guide to Playing “Outside””
We’ve assembled a weekly and daily practice journal template to help you or your students keep track of practice. Download the Free Practice Journal here. [template id=”182″]
Looking for a really great resource for practicing and learning to play your instrument? Saxophonist Bob Reynolds has a series of videos with lessons for musicians at any stage. The videos provide really great and insightful advice. There are currently five videos and they each cover a different aspect of practice. I don’t want to …
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We recently tripped across a fantastic website that provides musicians with a “one-stop shop” for learning various jazz standards and jazz tunes. They feature everything from Song for my Father to ‘Round Midnight and they also spotlight various contemporary albums. Each entry features a brief summary of the song – when it was written, who …
Continue reading “Check Out Learn Jazz Standards”
Finding the motivation to practice and improve is sometimes hard, especially when you don’t see immediate results. When we first begin to sing or perform, it doesn’t take long to notice a difference. It’s exciting and encouraging to see how quickly we can learn to play new notes and new music, but as we get …
Continue reading “Measuring Improvement”
I recently read an article that discussed the idea of natural-born talent as a myth. I’m undecided as to whether or not I believe that natural talent is a myth, but I certainly agree that hard work can make up for where talent may lack. I even more firmly believe that working hard can and …
Continue reading “Is it Talent or is it Hard Work and Passion?”
