jazz band silhouette

Jazz Scales: The Chromatic Scale

I remember back in middle school and high school preparing for regional band auditions. Placement was based on a scoring […]

Read More
bebop scale

Jazz Scales: The Bebop Scale

I’ve practiced many hours in my life. Absolutely no doubt I’ve passed the popularly theorized (although subsequently debunked, sort of) […]

Read More
jazz guitar

Jazz Scales: The Pentatonic Scale

Pentatonic Scale The pentatonic scale gets a bad rap sometimes. Maybe because it’s simple; far from the most complex scale. […]

Read More
lead sheet example

Understanding Lead Sheet Notation

What is Lead Sheet Notation?   If you have any experience performing jazz, or any other style of popular music, […]

Read More
famous piano players

Famous Piano Players: 6 Innovative Players from Different Genres

The piano is an instrument that has altered music in monumental ways. Invented in Italy at the beginning of the […]

Read More
beginning jazz piano

Beginning Jazz Piano: Getting Started with Chords and Lead Sheets

Without a doubt, jazz music is one of the great American art forms. Jazz music has changed and informed the […]

Read More
musical leaves fall

Soloing Over “Autumn Leaves”

“Autumn Leaves” is one of those standards that everyone knows. It’s one of the first standards that every jazz student […]

Read More
jazz band performing on stage

Soloing Over Rhythm Changes

Though his career was relatively short, George Gershwin is remembered as one of the most prolific composers of the 20th […]

Read More
jazz band soloists

Soloing Over Blues Changes

As is the case with all of my articles, I feel obligated to start by saying that the following information […]

Read More
jazz scales image

Jazz Scales: The Augmented Scale

The Augmented Scale Last time, we talked about the blues scale and how it is often the first “jazz” scale […]

Read More