A man holding a stop sign

Stop doing this right now 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….

Recent posts...

Jazz vocabulary
What is the jazz vocabulary and how you can learn it?
I recently listened to a podcast from Brent Vaartstra of LearnJazzStandards.com. Brent does a nice job with his podcasts, and his latest should give us all...
David Amram
A personal note to share from David Amram
The great composer, instrumentalist, and humanitarian David Amram replied to my post the other day on the book Richie Beirach and I put together on the film...
Richie Beirach in his New York apartment
Richie Beirach's comment on time, practicing, and listening
That was a great article, as usual. Very persuasive and helpful points. Let me offer some thoughts of my own for people that will provide them with my perspective...
Richie Beirach in his New York apartment
Richie Beirach on developing an instinctive sense of time
Remember the scene in the movie What About Bob where Bob Wiley (Bill Murray), terrified of being on a boat, is tied to the mast as he proudly yells, "I sail!...
A Framework for Jazz Mastery
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...
A man holding a stop sign
Stop doing this right now 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...
Richie Beirach in his New York apartment
My new project with Richie Beirach
Since my interview with Richie Beirach for the Jazz Master Summit more than a year ago, we've collaborated on a great many writing projects for books and...
Picture of Michael Lake

Michael Lake

Trombonist, author, composer, marketer

Courses and books

Pocket Jazz

The Pocket Jazz course is a completely redesigned series of online videos of no more than three-minutes each. Most of the lessons also contain short excerpts of tips and wisdom from masters like Ron Carter, Randy Brecker, Dave Liebman, Richie Beirach, Toshiko Akiyoshi, and many more.

Teaching & Learning Jazz

From this book, Richie Beirach and Mike provide great stories of jazz wisdom, a reflection on university jazz education including how to choose a school, an analysis of the Hollywood view of jazz education, a look at the psychology of education, and many other previously unexplored essential topics for both teachers and students.

Available in soft cover and digital editions.

Trombone Improvisation Savvy

Trombone demands different physical abilities from other instruments, but certain skills are universal such as connecting your instrument to your musical mind. Learn from exercises and audio files specifically focused on trombone that will help you improvise much better.