Learning Library
The ideas behind great improvisation.
We all spend years working hard on scales in every key, chord voicings, transcription exercises, theory books. The effort is real. The discipline is real. But yet when we stand up to improvise, something feels missing.
The problem usually isn't a lack of practice. It's a confusion over what playing jazz well actually requires of us. We've been taught to treat jazz as information to accumulate. But it's really a language to internalize. It's a way of hearing, thinking, and expressing that can't be reduced to easy formulas.
The articles in this library probably challenges some of your assumptions about learning and playing jazz. (maybe also about teaching it.) They present a different way of thinking about musicianship. One that begins with the ear, respects the role of the deep listening, and places technique and theory in their proper place.
The library of ideas will continue to grow. It's not a sequential course like Improvisation Savvy or Pocket Jazz. You can read in any order although suggested related articles are listed at the bottom of each page. If you're visiting for the first time, begin with the core articles under "Start Here." They lay the groundwork for everything that follows.
Start Here
Now that you've seen the core ideas behind Music Savvy, explore the topics below to go deeper.
Continuing the Journey
New articles will continue exploring the ideas that shape musical growth from developing musical ideas and training your ear to understanding rhythm, practice, harmony, creativity, and musicianship. Check back as the library grows.
Explore by Topic
Improvisation
What it means to create music in the moment and what makes real improvisation possible.
Practicing
Learn how to practice with greater purpose, solve the right problems, and make every practice session more productive.
Ear Training
What it means to create music in the moment and what makes real improvisation possible.
Rhythm
The pulse, phrasing, and feel that give jazz its conversational character.
Musicianship
Learn how musicianship brings together your ear, rhythm, improvisation, and musical voice through better musical decisions.
The Ideas Behind Music Savvy
Each article in this library is built on my belief that meaningful musical growth comes from recognizing and practicing what matters most.
Music Savvy isn't organized around loading you with more information. It's built around helping you focus your practice, develop your musicianship, and elevate your love of playing.
Those ideas on focus and intentional living grew out of a broader philosophy that I recently put into a book, Do More of What Matters Most.
The book isn't specifically about jazz. But it's the fuel for a successful mindset and shapes the Learning Library and much of what I teach about jazz.
Discover how you can develop this mindset →