To become a good, efficient and creative Jazz musician one must develop a multitude of skills.
- Basic skills of instrumental technique (tone, articulation, timing, fluency) and general musicianship.
- Automatic knowledge and facility over a range of scales, chords and chord progressions.
- The ability to play interesting and creative musical phrases.
The Jazclass books and Courses cover all these aspects in considerable detail.
 | The best way to make progress on all fronts is to do a little bit of work on a range of skills each time you practise. This way you will cover all aspects at least once within the period of a week.Over time all these individual skills will gradually blend together to convert you into a competent Jazz performer.
To make this happen it is necessary to pratise regularly over a period of time. The length of each practice session is not that important (even a 15 minute session can be beneficial) but the regularity of practice is essential. You should aim to practise 4 - 5 days each week. |
To help you cover a range of different subjects I discuss in In Focus one exercise or one subject to focus on especially during a two week period. If that is all you can do (for example during a busy period at work, school or Uni) you still have managed to keep your practice momentum going and made some progress.
Each fortnight we focus on a different subject. Subjects cover a wide range of musical subjects : scales, breathing, rhythmic skills, chords, articulation, timing, improvisation, and so on.