Rediscover the
Art and Skill of Teaching Jazz

with the brand new book by Richie Beirach & Michael Lake:

Teaching and Learning Jazz

From tradition to technology: A frank appraisal of jazz education

A variety of core topics for both teachers and students that
until now no one had the experience, passion, or courage to reveal.

"Teaching and Learning Jazz is the most important book on jazz education I have ever read
...and possibly ever written!"
Justin DiCioccio
Associate Dean/Chair Emeritus Jazz Arts Program
Manhattan School of Music

Hear Richie tell you how the book
benefits teachers…

GET THIS EXCLUSIVE FREE BONUS WITH YOUR ORDER!

The full eBook version of The Framework for Jazz Mastery

Read Richie’s ten essential tips for jazz mastery, his explanation of the artist’s evolution, and his unique description of the process from imagination to hands on the instrument. 

PLUS

A bonus chapter never before published on performance anxiety. Read stories about how Richie helped students overcome their stage fright and his advice for you on exactly how to reduce and eliminate the fear keeping you from performing at your best.

Who Is Teaching and Learning Jazz written for?

Teachers

Students

Quotes from the book

A few of the gems of wisdom you’ll collect throughout this remarkable book

Richie’s early lesson from Manfred Eicher of ECM…

And in a flash, I understood what Manfred was saying. It’s like playing Chopin, Mozart, or Bach, who wrote no unnecessary ornamentation for their music.

You play the phrase, you play the motive, you take a breath, you play another phrase, then a development. Of course you have technical passages and runs, but that decoration, as Manfred put it, is not the essence of the music.

On what cannot be taught…

A sense of time is as personal as one’s sound or one’s approach to phrasing a melody. It is innate. We develop our sense of time by hearing it in others and then developing the ear and skill to articulate that for ourselves. You can be taught to have adequate functional time, but what cannot be taught is that magical musical element called swing.

On a college degree…

Given the cost of an education, you must consider the likelihood of graduating and then becoming a professional, full-time, performing jazz artist. Do you have the talent and ambition to accomplish that?

Be brutally honest in assessing your own talent. Someone has to tell you the objective truth in terms of your talent compared with the rest of the world.

If you choose to move forward with a university education, consider the following criteria for choosing the right school…

Being interested rather than trying to be interesting.

Inside or outside of school, be skilled at adding value to every project with which you are involved. Go above and beyond to find ways to improve or add things that only you can add. By consistently doing this, you will expand your opportunities beyond what would otherwise be possible.

Find ways to elevate your value on a project, maybe one you’re not even originally part of. 

ropose things to people and sell your participation by making obvious the value they will gain from your contribution. Make sure that you are proposing a mutually beneficial arrangement and then come through by doing a remarkable job of which they are thrilled!

On the current state of jazz…

So perhaps take a step back and consider what we are trying to accomplish when we play jazz. In the normal course of our playing, we’re not entering a contest and we’re not auditioning for technical proficiency medals. We’re simply expressing ourselves.

If that heartfelt expression takes the form of sheets of sound, great. If it takes the form of a few well-placed notes, great, but please find what it is for YOU.

On the value of published transcription books…

As long as you work on transcribing the important solos first, without looking in the book or seeing them online.

I’m all for analyzing the solos from books or from some online source, but it’s important to have the patience and discipline not to just look at the published solos. You need to carry out the act of transcription to improve your ear. Once you have written it out and played it, then go ahead and look at the transcription someone else did. See how close you are.

More praise for Teaching and Learning Jazz

"Richie’s thoughts within this book are as tight as usual. He positions himself in a way that could be construed as argumentative on several subjects but always thought-out and logical (as he is musically as well.) The mentors description with Richie as the centerpiece are historical in their implications considering the learning on the job atmosphere that our generation reveled in."
Dave Liebman
Jazz Performer and Educator
There are times in life when those of us lucky enough to hang around long enough feel the need and obligation to give back, both to the current generation and for those who come after us. Richie Beirach has come to this moment. His book on learning jazz is also and principally about learning to be a thinking, feeling, and working musician. Regardless of genre, the lessons herein are invaluable and precious treasures.
Sidney Corbett
Composer, Author, and Teacher
"This book is a frank and honest glimpse of the intensity you can reach by raising your bar without stealing what has gone before. A lesson on trusting your own ear with no reliance on anything but the beauty and power of this music. I hope Teaching and Learning Jazz inspires the world to take the leap of faith beyond other education materials to just open their ears to musically describe the indescribable.
Harry Howell
Jazz drummer
“This ingenious book, by Richie Beirach and Michael Lake goes beyond what is found typically in most jazz education ‘how to’ books. The authors offer practical and crucial advice for jazz students based on their real-world experience as students of the music during their performance careers and as teachers of this art form.” 
Richard DeRosa
Director of Jazz Composition and Arranging, UNT

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You can get a substantial discount for purchasing multiple copies for your colleagues or for your students.

Contact us below for details. 

Elevate Your Jazz Teaching Skills With This book Along With Your Free Bonus

And if for any reason you don’t think Teaching and Learning Jazz is the best book you’ve ever read on Jazz Education, we’ll gladly refund back to you every penny.

This is just a fake book example for the type of website I can build for you. Just trying to use a little humor here!