I had a funny experience yesterday. After weeks of them being shoved under the couch in heavy, ominous cardboard boxes, I finally decided to stop putting it off and get to work. What am I referring to? The answer: Some flat packed furniture my wife and I...

  The one piece of advice I see consistently in jazz education is the importance of "ear" training. But... Is it ​really​ your ears you're training? I don't think so. Think about it: The ears are just a fleshy protuberance on ​each side of your noggin. They can't...

  I'm sure you've heard how important transcribing is for any serious jazz musician learning to improvise. And it is important. The reason? Transcription is one of the time-honoured means for improving your jazz vocabulary. It can rapidly build your jazz...

  Let me let you in on a little secret. Lately, I've been completely obsessed with studying books by memory masters - you know, people that can memorize the order of 5 randomly shuffled packs of cards in the space of 10 minutes. Why this strange fetish, you may...

  Go back in time for a moment, and think to yourself of a performance that...didn't go quite so well. Perhaps you lost the form. Or played some notes that raised a few eyebrows and grimaces from the audience. Inevitably, that little voice appears from inside...

  Do you know what really annoys me, more than anything else? It's those huge books that line the shelves in the jazz guitar section of the music shop. You know, the ones called something like The Complete Guide to Jazz Guitar Soloing, 100 Lessons for Jazz...