Blog

57 Jazz Musicians Play the Blues Oct 28, 2023

We asked our favorite jazz musicians to all jam on a blues!  You can watch the video HERE

We hope you enjoy their performances and go follow and support each of them at the link below:

Julian Pollack

- YouTube Channel
- Instagram

Chris Botti

- Website
- New Album!

 

Dave Pollack

- Website

-...

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How I Make an Extra $52,476/year as a Jazz Musician entrepreneurship guitar music business music teachers Jul 29, 2023

The Skool platform CHANGED my life. As a jazz musician it’s allowed me to break out of the grind of trading my time for money, and build something that will scale over time.

In this video I’m going to do 2 things: the first is give you a quick overview of the Skool platform and why...

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30 Lessons I Learned Before 30 🎂 Feb 26, 2023

Today, I turned 30.

I’ve done a lot and learned a lot in that time. From student to math teacher, and from jazz guitarist to entrepreneur - it’s been a journey.

Here are just 30 of the most impactful lessons I’ve learned before turning 30.

  1. If you’re feeling mentally down,...
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The 50 Jazz Standards Blueprint jazz standards repertoire Oct 15, 2022

If you'd like to check out my latest, improved version of this list click here. And, if you play guitar and would like to study these jazz standards with me, click here.

 

The 50 Jazz Standards Blueprint

Here are the first 50 jazz standards I would have students learn. For the sake of...

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12 Rules for Success as a Modern Musician advice Dec 31, 2020

No matter what life throws at you, there are principles you can live by to ensure you're doing all you can on the path to success. These 12 Rules have served me over the years and I'm curious to know which rules resonate most with you and what rules you would add to them.

  1. Sharpen the axe...
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Hack Your Practice: The Key Principles for Creating a Consistent Practice Routine Nov 28, 2020

“In theory there is no difference between theory and practice. In practice there is.”

-Yogi Berra

Think about the last time you went to practice. Put yourself in the moment when you thought, “I need to go practice.” How did you feel? If you’re like most people, you...

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10 Killer Melodic Minor Lines in 9 Minutes guitar lessons lines melodic minor Aug 08, 2020

Check out the video below to watch Chase teach you 10 Killer Melodic Minor Lines. To get the free PDF with music notation and TAB for this lesson go to:

https://www.jazzmemes.org/10-Killer-Melodic-Minor-Lines 

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Words of Wisdom from Wynton Marsalis during the Coronavirus / COVID-19 Pandemic advice coronavirus jalc jazz at lincoln center quotes wynton marsalis Mar 24, 2020

Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center held an hour-long livestream last night answering questions directly from people tuning in. At the start of the stream, Wynton spoke about what musicians can do during this period of social distancing and quarantine and then the JALC video producer...

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What to do when the “Coronavirus” (or other disaster) cancels all of your gigs Mar 12, 2020

With the widespread concern and panic surrounding the SARS-CoV-2 virus, otherwise known as the “Coronavirus”, many musicians have had their gigs and tours, and therefore the work they rely on to make a living, canceled.

Instead of rehashing all of the harm the coronavirus is causing,...

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9 Lessons I learned from artists at GroundUP Music Festival 2020 (feat. Becca Stevens, Brian Blade, Camila Meza, and Wayne Krantz) groundup music festival lessons Feb 20, 2020

Last week, we had the opportunity to attend the GroundUP Music Festival in Miami and I put together the nine best lessons I learned from interviewing some of the artists, and from the masterclasses held throughout the festival. Quotes are lightly edited for ease of reading, and you can click the...

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The 9 Essential Books for Jazz - Sent in from the JazzMemes Community Feb 13, 2020

We recently polled our #JazzMemesFamily on Instagram asking them what are their essential books for jazz. The question was left open to include instructional jazz books or books written on the topic of jazz and music. We collected the most popular responses that were sent in and categorized...

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Play for Someone You Love - A Lesson from Louis Armstrong Feb 07, 2020

How do you get over the fear of making a mistake on a performance?

How do you let go of all the things that are on your mind and bugging you when you need to perform?

Rich Matteson, best known as a jazz educator and euphonium player with the Dukes of Dixieland, posed these questions to Louis...

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