Improvisation
Left versus right brain in the process of learning to improvise
The left and right hemispheres of your brain have a complex relationship, and that relationship facilitates how you function in every aspect
What you’re missing in most online teaching of jazz
I was forwarded a YouTube link yesterday of a young musician playing John Coltrane’s solo from Giant Steps note for note. He was a technically proficient player who obviously had worked hard to get each of Trane’s difficult phrases under his fingers.
How to develop your most authentic and best jazz playing
I received an email yesterday from a well-known jazz musician who after watching someone on Youtube “teaching jazz’ on the piano using root position chords on ii-V-I’s asked me…
The exhilaration of not falling to my death
Our fear and exhilaration one afternoon during last week’s spring break provided an important moment for both my son and for me-and perhaps for something worth your consideration.
A reaction I hadn’t expected to my recent audiobook
After announcing the audiobook version of the softcover book Richie Beirach and I recently published called A Framework for Jazz Mastery, I received a terrific response from a customer.
Three things you should stop doing right now if you want to become an accomplished jazz player
The metronome is okay for young kids trying to practice beginner shit like five-finger little piano pieces or first attempts at trying to play scales, but for a jazz player, it’s very counterproductive.
Why can you only play music that’s written on the page?
This question was asked of me recently by a musician whom I believe is a classical player. It’s a great question, one that I get a lot, and probably on the minds of hundreds of thousands of musicians-jazz or otherwise.
Michael Lake
Jazz/latin trombone, author, multimedia artist, marketer
Getting out of the improvisation box harmonically
This is the final part of a six-part series on why and how to expand beyond the narrow ranges of dynamics, notes, articulations, rhythms, and
Get out of the improvisation box of articulation range Part 3 of 6
This is part three in the series I am referring to as getting out of the box. There are so many aspects of playing that
Getting out of the box of dynamic range Part 2 of 6
In part two of this six-part series of getting yourself out of the box in your improvisation, I want to discuss dynamic range. When I
