What Time Is It?

Hey Improvisers, Since the transition to a New Year is a natural time for renewal and rejuvenation, let’s take a moment to reflect on our individual musical goals and how to develop a 3-step plan for achieving them in the coming year. First, let’s reflect upon what we know doesn’t work, and how to tap … Read More

Every December (and sometimes as early as November!), I hear Mariah Carey’s ever-present song “All I Want For Christmas Is You” on the radio and think to myself, “This song would make a great jazz piano piece. Someday I’ll play it as a jazz standard.” Well, I’ve finally done it, and my hunch was correct: … Read More

Hey Improvisers, Have you ever wondered why some songs become timeless classics and others don’t? While a popular singer or a big marketing campaign can catapult a song to a place on the pop charts, why do some songs, like “Let It Be” and “Yellow Submarine,” endure for decades? What makes a song take its … Read More

Hey Improvisers, When I sat down to play the old chestnut “Limehouse Blues” this week, I was faced by a crushing thought: “I have Art Tatum’s version running through my head, and everything I can play seems really lame in comparison.” Have you ever felt this way when playing piano? Have you ever had your … Read More

Hey Improvisers! In the majority of musical education, whether in private lessons or in classes, there’s an implicit assumption that: 1. We are “down here,” and musicians like Beethoven, Charlie Parker, Paul McCartney, and Joni Mitchell are “way up there.” 2. Furthermore, there are about 10 steps in the ladder between us and them. 3. … Read More

Hey Improvisers, One ironic aspect of the current information-overload era of music instruction is that melody is usually overlooked. I’m always mystified by this because we all love melody and when we think of a particular song, isn’t it the melody we hear in our minds? Melody is one of the primary aspects of music … Read More

Lots of great stuff going on here, and over the past few weeks I’ve experienced the same thing that many of you email me about: life can become too busy for us to get to our music (or, in my case, this newsletter) as often as we’d like. I’ve been performing and teaching around the … Read More

“Practice licks.” “Don’t practice licks.” “Play everything in all 12 keys.” “Stay with one key for a while until you’ve mastered it.” “The Real Book is great!” “The Real Book is terrible!” “Start by improvising with scales.” “Start by improvising on chord tones. Hey Improvisers, Let’s begin by taking a deep breath. It’s been about … Read More

Hey Improvisers! Have you ever wondered how some rock, pop, and jazz musicians play with such a relaxed, natural-sounding rhythm? With many of them, especially those who developed their sound in the 1960s, it’s because they grew up listening to and playing the classic songs of the 1930s and 1940s. These songs had catchy melodies, … Read More

Hey Improvisers, I received the most inspiring comment today on my KeyboardImprov YouTube channel. Nyssa wrote: “I love this! I am working on this tune for an arranging class, and we didn’t understand why a Monk tune was labeled bebop. Thanks for the historical context!” First of all, good luck to Nyssa and the other … Read More