21waysThe Monster Jazz Formula by Chris Punis

21 Great Ways to Become a Monster Jazz Musician by Chris Punis

Copyright © 2008 Chris Punis & Learn Jazz Faster LLC 1



Editor: Ken HiattIllustrations: Chris PunisCover and Interior Design: Chris Punis© 2008 by Chris PunisAll rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or byany means without written permission from the publisher and Chris Punis.Chris Punis

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The Monster Jazz Formula21 Great Ways to Become a Monster Jazz Musician

Chris Punis

Edited by Ken Hiatt



How to Have Your Practice Routine Make YouWant to Sprint to the Practice Room with aSmile on Your Face Instead of Procrastinate

with a Lump in Your Stomach.The Most Important Secret to

Becoming a “Monster”(AKA Prioritize Your Values)

Let’s face it, you didn’t get into music because your best friendtold you about this hip new thing called “practicing scale patterns” or“ear training interval drills.” You got into music because you heardsomething that made you stop dead in your tracks and say, “Damnthat sounds good.” It made you want to dance, shout, and jumparound your room like a fool (or am I just weird?). There wassomething different about this music. You connected with it. It lit afire in your belly, which, despite the world’s best efforts to extinguishit, is still burning, or else you wouldn’t be reading this article.

Then a few years later—while trying to simultaneously learn tovoice lead, play Trane’s solo on “Giant Steps,” transcribe the head to“Ornithology,” groove in 7, swing at 350 BPM, understand the LydianChromatic Concept, play a bossa nova, memorize scale patterns #1-76 from your chain-smoking, coffee-chugging teacher’s book andlearn to play a second instrument—you realized that somethingwasn’t working. And to make matters worse, you haven’t seen yourgirlfriend/boyfriend in a month, done your laundry or paid yourelectric bill (hope you play an acoustic instrument). If this soundsfamiliar, then your values may be out of whack. In fact, you mighthave no idea what a value is, let alone what yours might be.

Your values are your priorities in life. They determine what’simportant to you. They determine what you believe, who you areand, most importantly, what you do. All great musicians (and greatpeople in general) know who they are and what they want. Their



actions reflect it. They practice the important things, take the rightchances, meet the right people and experience success and greatachievements.

For instance, think about Thelonious Monk. Was he known forhis ability to play at breakneck tempos? How about virtuosic pianotechnique? Then he must have been known for his beautiful voicings,right? Wrong. He wasn’t known for any of those things. He wasknown for his completely original sound and approach. Nobodyplayed rhythm like Monk, composed like Monk, or played as“colorfully” as Monk. He knew what he wanted his music to soundlike and he played it that way. Imagine if Monk thought he had tohave chops like Art Tatum, improvise in 5/4, or play funk. Luckily forus he didn’t. He played “his thing” only and he did it better thananyone else.

Whether they thought about it or not all of the masters playedwith great integrity and an intense code of values. Just think aboutOrnette Coleman, Miles Davis, Charles Mingus, Duke Ellington, EricDolphy, Lester Young, Charlie Parker, Elvin Jones, etc. They all stuckto their values and played the music that was important to them,even in the face of intense criticism from the audience, the press andtheir peers. And in doing so they became monster jazz musicians.They created and transformed the art-form of jazz.

Here’s a sports analogy for you. Have you ever heard of anathlete who was a pitcher, catcher, outfielder, 1st baseman,shortstop, quarterback, center, goalie, fullback, gymnast, sprinterand a square dancer? Yeah, me too. We call them elementary schoolgym teachers, not world class athletes. Now, don’t get me wrong.Gym teachers have a noble profession. But they don’t fit into theworld-class athlete category. Or the “monster” category, for thatmatter.

Disclaimer: it is very important to expose yourself to a widerange of music, play different styles and learn different concepts. Butyou come to a point where you must focus more and more on musicthat’s truly important to you.



“But I’ve only been playing jazz for a year,” you might ask.“How can I choose my values?” Very good question. Your values willchange as you learn and progress. Determining your values is anongoing process. It never stops. Your values—and then your goals,and then your actions—become clearer and clearer as you go. Andwhen this happens you progress faster and faster and become moreand more productive. Choosing your values now brings focus to yourpracticing, listening and all of your musical activities. You’ll changeand rearrange them over and over again, each time picking up speedand progressing faster.

To quote the great twentieth century spiritual master Mr.Rogers, “You’re special.” He was right. You are. Each of us has aunique set of experiences, dreams, goals and values. If you are trueto yourself, and live by your own code of values, you are destined tobecome a truly individual and original voice in jazz. Faster than youever thought possible.

Action Step 1: Write down the names of your favoriteplayers. What do you like about these players? What qualities in theirplaying are you drawn to? What could you do to develop thosequalities in your own playing? Your answers will give you some bigclues as to what’s important to you. Use these answers to decidewhat to practice, who to study with and who to play with.

Action Step 2: Plan out your practice session before you startto practice (more about that in a few days). Then, as you go downthe list, ask yourself, “Is that the most important thing I could bepracticing? Is that skill important to me? Will it help me make themusic that’s important to me? Or is it something I think I’m supposedto practice?” Again, use your answers to make choices about what topractice, who to play with.

Soon your practicing will be more focused, much moreproductive, and you’ll be sprinting to the practice room with a smileon your face (not to mention that you’ll also get more gigs).



Why the Heck Did I Just Spend 4 Hours in aStuffy Practice Room Working on Chord Scales,

Anyway?In the last lesson of “21 Great Ways to Become a Monster Jazz

Musician” we talked about musical values. We talked about howmaking choices based on our values will focus our musical efforts andensure an individual and original sound and approach, the goal of alljazz musicians. In this lesson we will talk about being “on a mission.”

Now that you have determined your values and what’simportant to you musically, the next step is to create your missionstatement. In a nut shell, this is the ultimate purpose and objectiveof your practicing, gigging, listening, studying and composing. This isa sentence that explains what you are aiming to accomplish.

Think about it this way: When NASA sends a shuttle on a“mission” to space, they have a reason for it. They don’t just say,“Hey, we’ve got nothing to do today, let’s send the shuttle up intospace, for fun.” They send it up for a reason. They send it up to puta satellite into orbit, to repair the XYZ doo-hickey on the spacestation and to complete a particular experiment. Now, it seemsridiculous to send the space shuttle into orbit and spend millions ofdollars and thousands of hours of work for no purpose—in otherwords, with no mission. So why would you want to spend thousandsof hours practicing and thousands of dollars going to school andstudying with no purpose for your music?

Write down your mission. Write down in words what it is youplan to accomplish with music. What is your main focus? Don’t rushthis. Spend some time thinking about it. Writing down your missionor “major definite purpose” will have profound effects on yourmusical progress. Without a mission it’s as if you are on a road tripwith no destination or reason in mind. This might sound like fun forawhile, but unless you are extremely lucky and the exception to therule, you will end up nowhere. If you intend to make a major



contribution to jazz and become a monster jazz musician, you musthave a purpose and a mission.

Here’s a great exercise to help you get started on your missionstatement: Write a eulogy for yourself. What would you want peopleto say about your music after you’re gone? What do you want to beremembered for? What will be your legacy? If you know the answersto these questions, you are in the minority and on the fast track torealizing your musical dreams.

Once you have crafted a mission statement, use it as aspringboard. Refer to it when you are making your practice routines.Refer to it when you start a new musical project or even buy a newmethod book. Use it to help you make all of your music-relatedchoices.

Action Step1: Write your own eulogy. How do you want to beremembered?

Action Step 2: Get a blank piece of paper. At the top writeyour new mission statement. Remember, this is the ultimate goal ofyour musical journey. Next, write your list of values. These will beyour guides and signposts on your mission. Refer to the list of yourfavorite players from Lesson One if you need inspiration. You havenow begun a strong foundation to support yourself on your way tosuccess.

In our next lesson we’ll start to get down to the nitty-gritty andtalk about deciding exactly what you want to learn and achieve withmusic.



Has anyone seen the map? Should I turn rightor left? Wait a minute, where are we?

In the last lesson we talked about being on a mission. It’s yourpurpose for playing music. You might decide to change your missionin a year or in a week. But all of your musical energy right now isfocused on fulfilling your mission.

Now, let’s talk about the map analogy. Suppose for a minutethat your mission is to visit the largest cities in the US. First of all,that’s a bit general. What do you mean by “largest”? Is it accordingto geographic area, population size, or something else? Once you’vedetermined that, I would also add a number; your mission could be“to visit the top 5 largest US cities.” That’s clear and measurable. Youcan tell when you’ve accomplished your mission. But it’s still prettyvague. You could simply drive through the city and consider yourmission accomplished. So you need to determine exactly what youwant to do or accomplish while you’re in those cities. Read more

Let’s say you now decide to visit the most popular jazz club inthe top 5 largest US cities. Now you’re getting somewhere. Next, youneed to decide who you are going to see perform at these top jazzclubs in the largest US cities. Ok, now you know who you want tosee, what clubs you want to visit in what major cities. Great, you’redone, right? Let’s pack the car and get going.

Wrong. There are a few unanswered questions. Like WHEREARE YOU? Even if you have a map, you can’t get anywhere if youdon’t know what road you’re on and what city you’re in. How are yougoing to get to the 5 largest cities? Do you have a car? Do you havemoney for gas? Do you know the way to each major city?

Once you know exactly where you are and exactly where youwant to go, you can connect the dots. Suppose your mission is tobecome excellent at bebop. You can pick the top 5 bebop musicians,the top 5 bebop tunes and the top 5 musical skills you need toacquire. Then you can keep getting more and more detailed, all the



way down to what you are going to learn to do in the next 30minutes of practice.

Sample Practice Plan: Learn the rhythm of the first 4 bars of“Ornithology” by ear. Tomorrow learn the notes. The next day learnthe accents. The next day learn the articulation. Then repeat with thenext four bars…

Two week later you have the tune memorized, and you canplay it along with your Charlie Parker CD with the same articulationand accents as his and up to tempo. Now here’s the kicker: Whenyou go to learn your next bebop head, you’ll do it faster. And thenext one even faster, and so on.

Now, what you decide to practice depends first on what youwant to achieve and secondly, but equally importantly, on whereyou’re starting from. If you don’t know how to put your saxophonetogether by yourself yet, well, you’re not going to start off bylearning “Ornithology” by ear. However, if you’ve just spent the last10 years studying classical piano and can improvise in the style of aBach fugue, your plan will be a little different. Either way, you mustknow where you are going and you must know where you are.

What if you don’t know where you are? Or what if you can’tfigure out how to get where you want to go? Simple: Don’t be afraidto ask for directions. Find another musician and ask him or her. Reada book. Search on the Internet. Or, best of all, get a great teacher.Find someone who is already doing what you want to do and learnfrom him or her. But what if you’re from a small town with nomusicians, or the library doesn’t have any books about jazz, or theclosest jazz club is 50 miles away? Or what if you only have onecomputer in your house and little brother is always on there playingvideo games? Fooey! Those are all just excuses. If you want it badenough, you’ll find a way to make it happen. Figure out where youare, figure out where you are going, buy a good map and before youknow it, you’ll be putting a check next to that goal and you’ll beplanning your next.



Action Step- Decide exactly what you want. Using your missionstatement as a reference, choose a goal that fits into your “MajorDefinite Purpose.” Be sure that you make it as specific as possibleand, most importantly, make sure it is measurable. You should beable to track your progress and know exactly when your goal hasbeen accomplished.



Attention Future Monster Jazz Musicians:You are about to learn about the most powerful

tool in the world.“The Goal and the Plan”

Ok, once the hair on the back of your neck has gone down we canget started with the planning process. I don’t know what it is about“planning” that gets so many of us creative types squirming in ourseats. I’ve had monumental arguments with fellow bandmates overplanning and I’ve even had bands break up because of it. Musiciansseem to think that goals and plans are anti-creative or anti-artistic.That couldn’t be further from the truth. Goals and plans serve tofocus our energy and focus our creativity. They actually help usproduce more and better art. If you only absorb one concept fromthis set of 21 let it be this: “Set Goals, Make Plans to AchieveThem, and Work on Your Plans Everyday.” Nothing else canmobilize you and move you forward faster than a good plan and alittle discipline. Now let’s talk about how to make a plan.1 Decide Exactly What You Want. Pick a goal. If you’re new atthis, start small. You don’t have to reinvent jazz with you first goal.Pick something that you know you can achieve. Somethingchallenging but doable. If you don’t believe that you can achieve it,you will not. Make sure that it is measurable, that you will be able tellwhen you have completed it. Make it detailed and specific. Forinstance, don’t say “I want to become better at playing in all twelvekeys.” Instead, decide to memorize the melody to the song “I GotRhythm” in all twelve keys and be able to perform it at 160 BPM inany key from memory.2 Write It Down in Vivid Detail. Write it down on paper. With asmuch detail as possible. What exactly will you be able to do whenyour goal is accomplished? How will you know when you’veaccomplished your goal? How will you measure it? The more clearlydefined your goal is, the greater the likelihood of achieving it.Physically writing it down on paper can not be over-emphasized.



Write and re-write your goals daily. This will keep your mind focusedand your “eyes on the target.”3 Give Your Goal a Deadline Without a deadline a goal is simply awish. Decide when you will achieve your goal. On what date will yoube able to perform “I Got Rhythm” in all twelve keys from memory?If you find that you are not going to hit your deadline, simply createa new one. Not to say that deadlines should be changed on a whim.You should always strive to hit your goals on time, but there will beoccasions when you will have to modify your plan. As you practicethis method you will get better and better at estimating how long agoal will take to complete.4 Make a List Write down everything you can think of that you willhave to do to achieve this goal. List every single step. Break yourgoal down into tiny bite-size pieces that you can complete in onepractice session. As you think of more steps, add them to your list.This is how you accomplish a big goal. You have to break it downinto the actual steps that you will complete in your daily practicesessions.5 Put Your List in Order Now turn your list into an actual plan. Putevery step in order. What will you have to do first? Second? And soon. This will now serve as your blueprint. This blueprint will moveyou forward fast. With out a blueprint you are at the mercy of luckand chance. You are simply meandering around aimlessly. It’s kind oflike firing a bow and arrow with a blindfold on. It’s worse actually.It’s like firing a bow and arrow with a blindfold on and no target. Youcould hit anything, but chances are you will hit nothing. With a plan,it’s as if you have a target in front of you, there’s plenty of light andyour blindfold is gone. You can work until you hit the target, andthen move on to the next one.6 Take Action Go practice. Get busy. Work on your plan. Action isthe key to success. Without action you cannot accomplish anything.With action you will accomplish great things. Even if your plan isflawed you can accomplish a lot, simply by taking action. Action,Action and more Action.



7 Practice and Work on Your Plan Everyday Develop the habitand discipline of practicing and working on your plan every singleday. Even if you only have twenty minutes to practice, do it. Learnsomething or take a tiny, tiny step forward. You will be amazed byhow much you can learn and how fast your music can progress byutilizing this formula. This is the most powerful tool to help youprogress on your musical journey and become a monster jazzmusician.



Don’t know what you’re going to practicetomorrow, let alone whatyou’ll be doing in 5 years?

It’s Time to Get Your Vision Checked.Expand your vision or keep your day job. Jazz leaders and

pioneers have vision. They think about where they are going andwhat they want to accomplish. They have BIG plans for their music.They have “long-term perspective.” They think in terms of years: 1year, 5 years, even 10 years or more. If you want to become amonster jazz musician, you already have vision. Now, take it further.Think BIG. Dream. There are no limits to what you can accomplish.How far will you take your music? Start thinking about that now, nomatter what your current level. Chops are easy to get. Anyonewith a plan, a teacher and some dedication can become a competentmusician in a relatively short period of time. A few years, really. But ifyou want to go for the top and become a “monster,” you need vision.Decide to become a visionary leader. All great jazz musicians, and allgreat men and women for that matter, were and are visionaryleaders.The farther backward you can look the farther forward youcan see. - Winston Churchill

How far ahead you go depends on how far back you arewilling to look. Creativity doesn’t happen in a vacuum. Neither doesvision. Dig deep into jazz history. Study the early pioneers, themodern ones and everyone in between. The past will act as aspringboard to the future. The “fuel” for your creativity will comefrom the past.

Move in both directions at once. While digging into thetradition and studying the masters, you can begin to carve your ownpath forward. Musicians of all levels should exercise their creativity.Creativity is not magic. It is a mindset and a habit. Like a muscle, it



can and should be exercised regularly. Create, compose andimprovise with your instrument everyday. Dream about what ispossible and what you would like to create and accomplish musically.

Connect the dots. Jazz pioneers and leaders have vision. Bythinking about the future and developing your own vision, youbecome a leader yourself. Once you have vision for the future, youmust connect the future with the present. Your values (lesson 1) helpdetermine your vision. Your mission, goals and plans (lessons 2, 3, 4)connect your vision to today’s practice session. If today’s practicesession is tied into your vision for the future, you will be excited andinspired. You will bring more focus to the practice room. You willmove forward faster and faster.

The law of attraction. Ok, I’m gonna get a little ‘new age’ onyou here. The law of attraction states that we attract into our livesthe people, ideas, circumstances and resources that are in harmonywith our dominant thoughts. You will seem to ‘stumble’ upon theplayers, records, teachers, concerts, experiences, books, etc. thatyou need to realize your vision. So think about your vision. Keep it onyour mind. Hang pictures, posters, signs and quotes on your practiceroom walls and throughout your apartment or house to remind you.Talk about it with your friends and family (but only the positive andsupportive ones. More on that in a future lesson).

It’s OK (and recommended) to be flexible. As you putenergy (hard work, practice, etc.) out into the “universe,” opportunitywill come to you from all directions. Especially from places you neverimagined. Chances are you will end up somewhere completelydifferent from what you initially thought. Embrace that fact, andembrace the opportunities. Adjust your vision and dream newdreams.

Dream big. Turn your dreams into vision. Turn your vision intogoals. Turn your goals into plans. Practice and work on your planseveryday. Hold your vision in your sights, and sooner than you thinkyou will be living your musical dreams.



Action Step: Write down ten goals for your life. Let yourimagination run wild. What goal would you dare to dream if youknew you could not fail? Later you can edit this list and begin tosharpen your vision. But for now there are no limits.



How to Keep Your Creative Musical FiresBurning Strong

In the last lesson of “21 Great Ways to Become a Monster JazzMusician” we talked about the importance of going “in bothdirections” at the same time—in other words, simultaneously creatingyour own original music while studying the tradition. The past servesas your springboard to the future. It’s the fuel for your creativity.This is such a critical part of becoming a great musician that I don’tmind repeating myself for a moment.Digging into the past is one of the most important things you can doas a player. Creativity doesn’t happen in a vacuum. Highly creativepeople have simply fed their minds with fuel for their creative fires.That fuel comes from the past. This is how you get “roots,” eventhough you came up in the 2000’s, not the 1940’s. Other factorsexist—like “the zone,” trust and confidence—but without fuel therecan be no creative fire. Now let’s talk about some practical ways youcan dig into the tradition and feed your fire.Create a history playlist. When I was coming up, my teacher (anabsolutely amazing teacher and musician named Hal Crook—checkhim out if you can) had me create a history “tape.” He had mechoose a track from each 20-25 year period of jazz, from thebeginning to the present. I then compiled those tracks onto acassette tape (obviously you would now use a CD, a playlist iniTunes, etc.) in chronological order.Next, I would listen to this tape everyday as part of my practiceroutine. The key to this exercise is to have a “focus” for yourlistening. For instance, you would want to listen with one topic inmind, such as vocabulary, time-feel, articulation, phrasing, etc. Askyourself as you listen how your topic changed over the years andfrom player to player. What stayed the same and carried over? Whatare the similarities? What is different? For me, this exercise had theeffect of “blowing the doors open” to the whole tradition. Before this



I was stuck in the 50’s and 60’s. Suddenly, the entire traditionbecame fair game for study and I loved it all.Check out the “in-between” guys. Miles and Trane are great.They are two of the greatest musicians to ever live. But they aren’tthe only two musicians. There are literally thousands of great,masterful musicians who simply didn’t have the same commercialsuccess as Miles and Trane, or whom popular history has seemed tohave forgotten for one reason or another.There is a lot to learn and benefit from studying these lesser knownjazz masters. Start with the sidemen of the greats you already know.Google them and find their discographies. Who else did they playwith? Then ask, who else did those musicians play with, etc. It’s anendless pursuit. You will never run out of music to check out.

Pick a master to focus on. Another idea is to pick just one playerto focus on. For instance, you could have a “player of the month.”Say you decided to focus on Lennie Tristano. For one month youwould devote a period of your practice session each day to listeningto and studying Lennie Tristano.Buy a few of his recordings. Read his biographies. (Biographies tendto be hit-or-miss. Some have great substance. Some are just fluff.)Search on youtube for footage of him performing. Transcribe a fewof his solos. Learn to play them. Emulate his articulation, phrasing,rhythmic feel, tone, dynamics, etc. Then, after a period with Lennie,move on to someone else. Perhaps move on to a contemporary ofLennie’s. Or jump around in the tradition to, say, 1970’s McCoyTyner.Become a “vinyl head.” If you don’t already, start buying vinylrecords. I’m not one of those audiophiles who thinks that vinylsounds better than CD. It certainly sounds different from digitalmusic. But I personally like them both. I buy vinyl because of themusic that is available there that isn’t available on CD. There is a tonof old music that is out of print but still available in used recordstores. You can find a lot of great old stuff, cheap. You can also pay



$87 or more for one record if you’re a serious collector. But there area lot of records available for a few bucks or even a dollar. And again,there’s stuff you just can’t find on CD or iTunes. There is really noreason not to buy records.Write about music. Write essays and articles about music. Ok,when I say this, people think, “That sounds an awful lot likehomework.” Unfortunately, school often has the effect of turningpeople off of learning. Well, not monster jazz musicians. It’s time tothrow your school “baggage” away and become a serious student ofjazz. No one ever became a monster jazz musician without being aserious student of jazz first. Writing essays and articles makes youthink and then focus your thoughts. You could write essayscomparing and contrasting two great saxophonists, or two solos. Youcould write an informational essay describing the ballad style of ElvinJones. Choose a focus for your essay, do your research (listen to therecords, take notes, think, etc.), write your outline, and then writeyour paper. The act of explaining something in written words to anaudience (the reader) will help to focus your thinking and knowledgeof a subject immensely. Besides, as a monster jazz musician,someday you may be writing your own book about music, or anarticle for JazzTimes magazine. Writing about music (and talkingabout music, for that matter) with the hopes of teaching someoneelse your ideas is one of the best ways to learn music.Feed your creative fires with the past. You’ll discover that a lotof the hippest “new” music actually was conceived of and played inyour grandfather’s day. The most creative people are the ones moststeeped in the tradition. You’ll discover ideas and musical avenuesthat you can explore. You will never run out of music to check out orideas of your own. Become a serious student of jazz. Become a life-long student of the tradition.Action StepCreate a history playlist. Put together a chronological collection ofmasterful jazz tracks from the 1920’s to the present. Pick a focus andfollow its evolution through your playlist.



Action StepChoose a player of the month. Buy recordings, find videos onyoutube, transcribe a few solos, emulate that player, read abiography. Immerse yourself in one player’s music for a period. Thenmove on to another master whose music is important to you. Rinse.Lather. Repeat.



The Jazz Musician’s Great ParadoxThe Great Paradox Young and less developed musicians alwaysseem to be in a hurry to get somewhere. They are certainly nothappy where they are, but someday they will “arrive” and live happilyever after. They will become great players and then their life willbegin. Wrong. Even if this methodology worked and they somehowbecame great players, they still wouldn’t be happy. It still wouldn’t beenough.Even worse is the fact that being in a frantic hurry to achieve theirgoals (although they probably don’t even have clear goals) is akin toshooting themselves in the foot before running the Boston Marathon.Herein lies the paradox. Going fast usually means slow progress oreven complete paralysis. Going slow, conversely, usually meansfaster progress. Slow and steady wins the race.Bill Evans, the great jazz pianist, was once asked what he practicedwhen he was coming up. He answered, “As little as possible.” Manyyoung players practice as much as possible. And they scramble alongfrom topic to topic trying to get there as fast as possible. I’m notsaying that becoming an accomplished musician doesn’t require a lotof practice, a lot of time in the shed, and study of a lot of topics. Itdoes. But how and why you practice is sometimes more importantthan how much and what you practice.Becoming a high-level, advanced jazz musician, a prerequisite for“monsterdom,” is actually pretty easy. It requires trust above allelse, coupled with discipline, excellent practice, excellent teachers,experience, taking chances and, of course, taking action. With trustyou can move ahead surely and swiftly—taking the time tothoroughly learn the material, acquire excellent skills and lay downthe solid foundation required to build greatness.Trust-Based Practice You are already there. You are at exactly thepoint in your progress where you are supposed to be. If you acceptthis fact and trust yourself, you will not be in a hurry. If you are notin a hurry, you will be able to summon up the necessary discipline to



acquire excellent skills. You will take chances. You will makemistakes, fall down, pick yourself up and continue on your path.Your dreams, vision and goals will feel inevitable. You will feelinvigorated, inspired, strong and confident. You will move throughlife with purpose and poise. You will walk tall. You will become amagnet for opportunity. You will actually become a monster jazzmusician faster than you ever thought possible—if you let go of yourfear, trust yourself and move slowly but steadily forward, knowingthat your goals lie ahead and that you will come to them when thetime is right.Fear-Based Practice Fear is the opposite of trust. Fear paralyzesmany people and holds them back from ever achieving their goals.Fear makes us practice things that are beyond our present abilities.Fear makes us practice too many things at once. Fear makes usdoubt ourselves and change directions and practice topics too soon.Fear keeps us from taking chances. It keeps us locked in a practiceroom. It keeps us down. Fear makes us afraid of failing. We becomeafraid of rejection (from the audience and our peers). And we evenbecome afraid of success (of “making it” and then being found out tobe a fraud or a mere mortal). Fear makes us live unbalanced lives,forget our values and, in worst case scenarios, really screw things up.Like destroy a relationship or become an alcoholic or an addict.The good news is you have a choice. You are responsible for and incontrol of your own state of mind. You can decide to act from a placeof fear or from a place of trust. Decide today to become more awareand conscious of your thinking and your state of mind. Choose to actfrom a place of faith and trust. Soon you will keenly know thedifference between fear and trust. You will see the subtle ways inwhich fears manifest themselves and hold you back. Soon you willsee fear coming around the corner, and you will be able to stop itbefore it arrives. Your practicing will become more focused. It willbecome more pleasurable and inspired. Your whole life will begin tochange. As the great success guru Brian Tracy once said, “Changeyour thinking and change your life.” Trust will ripple through your



whole life, making your gigs more inspired and bringing boundlessopportunity to your doorstep.Action StepTake a mental “snapshot” of yourself when you are performing atyour best. How do you feel? I would bet you feel confident, calm,inspired and trusting. Try to notice as many details of theexperience as possible. Later you can consciously return to this state.This skill of “transmuting” will become easier and easier withpractice. Before you practice, take a few minutes to center yourselfand return to this state. Do the same before a gig or any other timeof the day, for that matter.Action StepVisualize your snapshot in your imagination. Take a few minutes eachmorning or before practice and visualize yourself in a confident,inspired and trusting state of mind. Imagine as many details aspossible. How do you feel? Are you relaxed? What are youremotions? How are you performing? Visualization is a powerful toolfor change. Experiment and create your goals in your mind first.



Play Jazz Like It’s Your Job(And pretty soon it will be)

Play music like it’s your job. If you’re like most jazz musicians,you could sound better right away simply by adjusting your attitudeand your “work” ethic. Now, I know you already have a great workethic. You practice hard everyday for hours and hours. You listen tomusic every free minute you have and would rather rehearse withyour band then eat or sleep. I’m not talking about that kind of work.I’m talking about the kind of work you get paid for. I’m talking aboutyour ‘job’ ethic. If someone is serious about their job and intends tosucceed and advance to a more fulfilling and higher paying positionthey are going to focus on fulfilling their responsibilities to their bossand once that’s done then they may decide to do a little more to getahead faster. But they must take care of their basic job first.It’s the same for musicians. First you must do your job. Play thetune, swing your butt off, play the changes and lock up with theband. Once you can do that then you can think about taking it “out”,playing some fancy substitutions or cross rhythms. But first thingsfirst.This brings us back to the last lesson about trust. Musicians who arenot happy where they are play things that are beyond them. I play inthe house band for a jam session at a club here in Boston from timeto time. I see less musically mature players making this mistake allthe time. They come in trying to impress their peers and theaudience playing their latest Tony Williams lick or George Garzonepattern and they end up dropping beats, turning the beat around,stepping all over their fellow band mates and causing musical trainwrecks. They come in with the intention of looking cool, and theysucceed at looking like a fool. And sounding terrible. What’s worse isthat they don’t even know it.The more you focus on the fundamentals and your coreresponsibilities the better you will sound. Your responsibility is to theband and the music first. Play as if you were an audience member.What would you want to hear? A swinging player with clear ideas



locked in with the rest of the band. Or a self-indulgent jerk steppingon everyone’s toes?So don’t over complicate things. Keep it simple. You’ll sound betterimmediately. People will respect your musical maturity and yourprofessionalism. They will want to call you for gigs because you helpthem sound good. Soon music will be your job.Action Step: Write a list of your top five musical responsibilities.These will vary depending on your instrument. Record yourself atrehearsals, sessions, and gigs and ask your self “am I fulfilling thoseresponsibilities?” If not adjust your playing, simplify and repeat theprocess.



Guard Your Musical DreamsLike Your Life Depended On it.

(Because it does)Your dreams, goals and musical aspirations are the most importantthings you have. They are what later become your life. In the bigpicture sense they are your life. They are your accomplishments andsuccesses in the embryonic stages. They must be guarded, nurturedand cared for until they come to fruition.Be very careful who you share them with. Be sure to only share themwith people you are confident will be supportive and encouraging.This is especially important when you are in the early stages and ifyour goals are particularly ambitious. When you are going into newterritory and aiming high you need people around you who believe inyou.Avoid negativity. Avoid negative people. Avoid people who tell you“you can’t,” or that what you’re aiming to do is “not possible.” At bestthis is simply energy draining. While you hold your ground, defendyour dream and maintain a positive attitude you’re wasting energythat you could direct towards your goal. Conversely people whoencourage you and believe in you actually give you energy and addto your momentum. At worst negativity can actually be dangerousand derail you from your path. It can cause you second guess yourself and choose security over success.Seek out successful people. Seek out people who are already doingwhat you plan to do. Listen to their advice and emulate them.Success leaves tracks. Learn from those who have achieved it. Findthe people who say “you can.”Put on success blinders. Focus on what you want. Focus on results.Keep your eyes on the target. Anything is possible so long as itdoesn’t violate natural law. If someone else has done it then you cantoo. Focus on the goal. Ignore the reasons why you can’t. Ignore theresources or advantages you don’t have. Instead focus on the



reasons why you can and focus on what you do have. Obstacles willarise. Trust yourself, persevere and you will overcome.Action Step: Take a look at your musical associates. Who are thepeople that you spend the majority of your time with? Are theypositive and supportive or negative and discouraging? If youanswered the later you may want to reconsider that relationship. Orleast limit your time with them and guard your dreams. This is one oftoughest exercises to complete. It’s not easy evaluating long standingrelationships in this way. But if someone is keeping you down withnegativity, you owe it to yourself to do something about it.



How Teaching Jazz is One of the Most PowerfulWays to Learn Jazz

Teaching other people is one of the best and most powerful ways tolearn. By having to articulate and explain a subject, you clarify thesubject in your own mind. You stumble upon new connections andanalogies. You increase your depth of understanding and achievemastery. Here are a few ideas to apply this concept to your ownmusical growth.Find ‘students’ and teach them about what you’re workingon. Teach your parents, your little brother or your girlfriend. Teachyour musical buddies and your friends about what you’re working on.Now a question you might be thinking is “what if they don’t knowanything about jazz drumming, how am I going to teach them aboutit?” All the better. Some times a student with no background in yoursubject can be very advantageous. It means you will have to simplifydown to basic principles and explain it with out the use of jargon.You’ll be forced to come up with creative everyday analogies thatthey can relate to.By going through this process of explaining, simplifying andanswering questions you will gain a deeper understanding of thebasics and fundamentals of your subject. Their questions will bring tolight the areas you are unclear about, thus informing you where tofocus next.Go into a lesson assuming or pretending that you are goingto have to teach a class about that topic. Whether you areattending a class at the local music school, taking a lesson or simplywatching an instructional DVD think about how you would teach thematerial to a student. This will help to keep you focused and give youa purpose. Having a purpose always intensifies the learning process.You will be searching for the principles and for ways to explain them.Write a lesson plan. Create a lesson plan for what ever it is youare working on. Even before you completely understand it. Write



down an outline with bullet points that you could use to present alesson on the material to a student or class. Next write down all ofthe potential questions that your students may have. Simply goingthrough this process of organizing the material will greatly increaseyour understanding and clarity. If you want you can go further andteach this lesson plan to someone (as mentioned above). Or youcould record yourself giving the lesson, then listen back and decide ifyour points were clear and concise. Was your information clear andmeaningful? Have someone else listen to it and critique it.Using these methods will greatly increase your depth ofunderstanding and mastery of any subject. It will also prepare you towork as a teacher. For many musicians teaching and performing gohand in hand. It’s a great way to supplement your income, helpothers achieve their goals and it’s an extremely powerful tool toenhance your own musical development.



A Mirror for Your EarsThe Power of Recording Yourself

As an aspiring monster jazz musician, you’ve spent countless hours inthe shed, working on various topics over the years. How do youmeasure your progress? How do you know when you’ve masteredyour current topic and are ready to move on to the next? These canbe tough questions. A new musical concept or instrumental techniquerequires all of your attention as you’re practicing it. It’s hard to stepback and hear yourself at the same time. You can’t work onsomething new and evaluate yourself simultaneously—at least noteffectively.That’s where modern technology comes in. Today it’s easierthan ever to record yourself and then listen back critically. Whetheryou use a digital recorder, a mini-disc, or an old-fashioned taperecorder, it doesn’t really matter. Recording yourself allows you tofocus all of your attention on your practicing. Later, you can listen tothe recording and figure out what’s working, and what’s not. So all ofyour focus and energy gets directed properly—towards practice whenyou’re practicing, and towards critique when you’re listening. It’s oneof the most effective and efficient ways to become a monster jazzmusician. A combination of practice and evaluation based on yourrecordings is probably twice as powerful as just practice alone.You’ll be amazed at what you hear. Sure, you can figure out howyou’re progressing with your current practice plan, but you’ll alsonotice details about your playing that you’ve never heard before.Maybe your swing feel isn’t as strong as you thought it was. Maybeyou have a tendency to lose focus near the end of your solos. Ormaybe your tone is actually closer to your ideal than you realized,and now you want to experiment with it a bit. So don’t just recordyourself practicing a specific topic; record yourself improvising andjust playing tunes as well. You’ll discover all kinds of things aboutyour musicianship. You’ll also start to become an expert on your ownplaying, which is one of the key steps on the path to monsterdom.“Know thyself,” as the ancient philosophers said.



Another great benefit of recording yourself is that it givesyou a clear way to compare your playing with that of themasters. Say you’re a pianist really digging deep into Monk, andtrying to figure out what makes his music so great. Record yourselfplaying the head to “Straight No Chaser,” listen to it a few times, andthen compare it with one of Monk’s recordings of the same tune.Maybe you’re playing the same notes in the same rhythm, but thereis probably a world of difference between the two recordings. Why isthat? What does Monk do that you don’t? What doesn’t he do thatyou do? This kind of study is also one of the most powerful ways toimprove your playing. If you want to be a master, you have to learnfrom the masters, and a direct comparison like this is one of the bestways to learn.Like anything else, the more you listen back to yourrecordings and critique your playing, the better you’llbecome at this skill. You’ll hear more and more details in yourmusic, and you’ll become a keen judge about what’s solid and whatneeds more work. You’ll also notice that you’re becoming a bettercritical listener even as you’re playing. Your ears just becomesharper, even if most of your attention is focused somewhere else.Then your practicing becomes even more effective, because you canhear yourself on a deeper level and make the appropriateadjustments.Action Step: Record yourself playing a specific exercise you’recurrently working on, or a melody you know pretty well, or animprovised passage. Just a few minutes should be enough. If yourecord more than that, then you might be less motivated to take thetime to listen back afterwards—which defeats the whole purpose. It’salso a pain to be fast-forwarding and rewinding through longrecordings just to find the important parts. How do you sound? Arethe topics you’re working on showing up in your playing? Are youmaking progress toward your goals? Are you surprised by anything?Does your recording suggest you should change your practice plan inany way, perhaps to focus on other, more important topics? Arethere aspects of your playing that are better than you thought?



Make this a regular part of your practice routine. Record your gigs aswell, and see if you’re playing changes noticeably in a performancesituation. The time you invest in listening to yourself criticallywill pay back huge dividends.

It’s a Long Story—Where Do I Begin?Practicing with a Purpose



When many young (and not-so-young) musicians first gain somefacility on their instruments, they often want to play all the time. Thesheer joy of making their own music and sounding good on their axis irresistible. They noodle constantly—before the song, during thesong, after the song, when someone else is talking, when no one istalking, even when they’re talking themselves. Maybe you play withone or two musicians like this in your own bands, or perhaps youhave them as students. While their enthusiasm and energy arecertainly great assets—and you’d never want to put a damper onthem—this is not the best approach for an aspiring monster jazzmusician. Your playing, and therefore your practicing, must havefocus.But how do you choose a topic to focus on? There is aseemingly endless list of stuff to practice: tone, articulation, swingfeel, learning tunes, transposing tunes, improvising over changes,improvising free, etc. It can be overwhelming when you think aboutit. That might be why many musicians “practice” the same tunes orexercises all the time. They know they can improve in many areas,but they don’t know where to begin, and so they fall back on what’sfamiliar. While repetition is certainly a key component in the learningprocess, after a certain point repetition simply becomes a rut. Thebest kind of practice forces you out of your comfort zone. You haveto work on the unfamiliar and the difficult in order to improve. And sothe musician who always practices the same stuff is just asunfocused as the player who can’t stop noodling. They both need tobring some purpose into their musical lives.Practicing with purpose means being conscious of whatyou’re playing. Whether it’s a new tune, a tricky chord progression,or an unusual rhythmic feel, it’s a topic that you have specificallychosen to focus on. I’ll even go out on a limb here and say that whatyou practice is less important than how you practice it. Working onany reasonable topic will only make you a better musician. Butworking consciously, carefully, and consistently will make you amonster musician.So choose any practice topic that intrigues you. If you havetrouble coming up with something, record yourself playing your



instrument and listen back (see Lesson 11 for more details)—Iguarantee you’ll discover several aspects of your playing that youwant to improve. Then, set aside at least some time in every practicesession to work on your topic of choice. Stretch yourself: try thingsthat are difficult, explore areas that seem just out of reach. Playslowly—this is one of the best things you can do when practicing newconcepts. Slow tempos give you time to think, to adjust, to get yourbody in synch with your mind. And be patient with yourself. The mostprofound learning experiences can be difficult. Your weaknesses willbe exposed like never before. But don’t let that discourage you.Continue on your path, knowing that you have already achieved anew level of musicianship, and even higher levels are right in front ofyou.Now you’re practicing with purpose.Action Step: Choose a musical topic that is challenging for you. Ifyou are a beginner, this does not mean improvising over Giant Stepsat 300 bps. A challenging topic is one you can work on, but withsome difficulty. Focus on this topic every day, even if it is only for ashort time. Before you begin practicing, think about what you hopeto accomplish that day in your pursuit of this topic. After you havefinished practicing, ask yourself what you actually learned about yourtopic. The “before” and “after” meditations might often be quitedifferent, but that’s perfectly fine. The important thing is that you’repracticing consciously, with a purpose. Before you know it, yourplaying will be more musical than you ever imagined it could be.

Are We There Yet?Developing the Habits of

Follow-Through and CompletionIf you’re like me, you find it much easier to start projects than tofinish them. Coming up with goals, brain-storming the individual



steps of an action plan, and working out a schedule are all activitiesthat seem to flow pretty naturally from my head, through my fingersand a keyboard, and onto the computer screen. Even implementingthe first few steps of a plan seems to be easier than followingthrough on the last parts. Somehow that initial spark of interest in anew project fades out over time. But if you want to achievegreatness—in particular, if you want to become a monsterjazz musician—you have to develop the habits of follow-through and completion. They are the traits that trulydifferentiate those who realize their dreams from those who don’t.Well, the good news is that there are specific skills you can practiceto become better at finishing what you’ve started. The first one isprobably the most important: choose clear, detailed, finite goals.Don’t just tell yourself, “I want to become a better jazz player,” or, “Iwant to build up my chops.” While these are certainly admirableaspirations, they are too vague to be useful. You’ll never know whenyou’re done (in fact, you’ll never really be done with projects likethese—they’re lifelong pursuits).Focus and articulate your goals so that you’ll know exactly whenyou’ve achieved them. “I will learn the melody and chord changes of‘All the Things You Are’ in all twelve keys over the next twomonths”—now that’s a clear, specific goal you’ll be able to track andmeasure. When the going gets tough, when your initial enthusiasmstarts to wane, you can strengthen your resolve by checking yourschedule and seeing how far along in your project you’ve come.Another important skill in developing the habits of follow-through andcompletion is the ability to adjust and reevaluate your goals. Maybe“All the Things You Are” is just too tricky in the key of F#, and it willtake you a disproportionate amount of time to get it down. Or maybetwo months is too ambitious a time-frame for your project. Whateverthe problem, those who are skilled at finishing off tasks know whenthey need to modify their plan, and they adjust accordingly. So don’tbe afraid to edit your goals: learn the tune in the nine most commonkeys you play instead of all twelve, or take three months for the taskinstead of two. You’ll still be accomplishing a lot and getting closer toyour dreams.



It’s also important to defuse your perfectionist tendencies if you havethem. No task is ever truly complete, particularly if you setchallenging goals for yourself. There is always more to learn, more topractice, more to perfect, even within the most focused projects.Accept the fact that you don’t have to master every new topic youpursue. You probably won’t play “All the Things You Are” flawlessly inall twelve keys if you’ve just learned it recently. You’ll certainly soundbetter in some keys than in others. And that’s fine. Learn the tune,play it well, and then move on to your next project. All of this is notto say that you can be sloppy and rush through your schedulemindlessly. Obviously, you want to do the best job you can. But thebest “closers” strike a balance between being thorough and finishingtasks off.Finally, keep track of your completed projects just as you keep trackof goals for the future. Write down exactly what you accomplishedand learned. If you made changes to your original plans, describewhat those changes are and why you made them. Keeping a recordof your accomplishments can be great motivation as you pursue jazzmonsterdom. You can look back and see how much you’ve learned,which should provide you with the confidence you need to learn evenmore. I’ve found that I often get more done than I might originallythink, and it’s only by keeping track of my completed projects that Irealize this. I think you’ll find the same is true for you as well.Action Plan: Choose a clear, specific musical goal that you caneasily track and measure. If you’re already working on something,just write it down in detailed language. Include a schedule. Yourproject probably shouldn’t last any longer than two or three months.Keep track of your progress as you go, and be prepared to makeadjustments to your plan. Then, when you’ve completed your task,write down what you did and what you learned. You’ll have aninspiring record of your accomplishments, and you’ll be motivated foryour next challenge.



The Virtues of the Weak LinkHow Being the “Worst” Member of aBand is Actually the Best Opportunity

You Can Find For aspiring monster jazz musicians, the best learning resourcesare not books, videos, the latest technology, or fancy newequipment. These can all be powerful tools, but your fastest and



most effective growth will come from associating withaccomplished players. Maybe you take lessons with an experienced musician. That’sgreat, and it’s certainly one of the best ways to improve. Or maybeyou are friendly with some skilled jazz players in your hometown, andyou can talk about music with them occasionally. That’s also a goodavenue for expanding your knowledge. But there’s another,extremely powerful way to learn from great musicians: play musicwith them! Sure, it sounds simple, but it’s too often overlooked by lessexperienced players. They’re usually just too shy and insecure toinitiate a session with better musicians. But, as I hope to show you inthis lesson, the benefits are so great that you should really learn toset aside any feelings of embarrassment or fear of rejection. Be the“worst” member in a band—it’s one of the best things youcan do for your musicianship! Ask any athlete about competing against (or even training with)better athletes, and you’ll hear the same response: It’s one of thebest ways to improve in your sport. Sure, your pride might suffer abit as you’re being pushed around the court or the field, but thosefeelings quickly fade as you observe how these skilled athletes playtheir sport, and as you start to judge what you must change in yourown game in order to keep up. Music isn’t a competition, of course, but similar dynamics are atwork. Playing in a live situation with accomplished musicians givesyou an up-close view of what it’s like to make music at a very highlevel. You’ll notice the details that define a great band: the way thedrummer recognizes your rhythmic patterns and highlights them, orhow the bassist seamlessly leads you into the chord changes, or howthe horn player has complete control of his solos. You’ll step up your own playing in order to keep up with them.You’ll also see clearly how much work you have to do to reach thatlevel of excellence. Playing with great musicians is like going to the



Empire State Building and taking the elevator to the top, instead ofjust reading about it or looking at pictures in a book. I know what you’re probably thinking: Being in a band with greatplayers will certainly help you, but what’s in it for them? Why wouldthey want to play with a less experienced musician? Or even worse,what if they embarrass you or put you down? Well, first of all, let me say that this probably won’t happen. It’strue that there are some good musicians out there who arenevertheless insecure about themselves and who take their anxietyout on those around them. But, in my experience at least, thesepeople are the exception, not the rule. The really great musiciansunderstand that all sincere learners are on the same path, andthey’re more than willing to help others along the way. The more important lesson here, though, is that jazz is biggerthan our own small fears and insecurities. Don’t let your musicaldevelopment be held back because you’re worried about what somepeople might say about you. Playing with great musicians will helpyou tremendously, so set aside your fears and seek out thoseopportunities. Once you’ve done this a few times, you’ll find that you’re lessanxious about yourself and your music. You’ll gain better perspectiveon what’s important and what’s not. You’ll be less concerned abouthow people might criticize your playing, and you’ll be more focusedon the music itself. Being the worst member of a band will improvenot just your technical skills, but also your whole mental approach.Action Step: Seek out accomplished musicians and ask to play withthem. Maybe you’ll be lucky enough to audition for a great band andland the gig. Then you’ll be able to practice regularly with betterplayers. But even if that’s not a possibility, there are plenty of otheravenues. Go to local jam sessions and introduce yourself to thehouse band. If they know you’ve come specifically to play with them,they’ll usually give you that opportunity. If you like the scene, keepgoing back for a few weeks. Get to know the good players and invitethem to your own sessions. The more you play with great musicians,the faster you’ll become one yourself.



The Benefits of Strengtheningthe Weak Link

How Being the “Best” Musician Is Alsoan Opportunity for Growth

In our last lesson, we talked about the virtues of being the "worst"—i.e. the least experienced or knowledgeable—musician in a band.Playing with better musicians simply makes you better. Today,though, I want to take a look at the opposite situation: Whathappens when you’re the "best" musician in the room? This can alsobe a great learning opportunity, provided that you’re willing to do alot of work.



I should probably be more specific, though. Sometimes the strongestmusicians are simply brought into a musical situation as “hiredguns”—they play a specific role in a band, but someone else isdirecting the music. That’s not what I’m talking about today. If you’rethe best musician in a group that plays together regularly, eventuallythe other band members will turn to you for guidance. And that’swhere a unique opportunity for growth appears: the challenge ofleading a band.One of the most important skills for a band leader to have is theability to listen to the whole group, even as he concentrates on hisown instrument and parts. And just like any other skill, it can bepracticed and developed. You must learn to divide your attentionbetween yourself and your band mates. Of course, the better youknow your own parts, the easier it is to listen to the otherinstruments as you’re playing. This is a tremendous skill to have,since your own playing will become more informed by the musicbeing created around you. Your level of musical communication andinteraction will deepen considerably.As you become more comfortable dividing your attention betweenyour own musical responsibilities and the sound of the band as awhole, you’ll start to notice areas that need to be improved. Maybethe groove just isn’t strong enough in one particular tune, or thecomping on another tune is too muddled. Here is where another keyskill of a band leader is required: the ability to diagnose musicalproblems.This can be trickier than it might seem at first. It may be fairlyobvious that the rhythm section isn’t tight enough, but figuring outwhy that’s the case can take a lot of careful listening and analysis.Maybe the drummer’s swing feel is slightly different from thepianist’s. Or maybe one of the horn players is rushing a bit during hissolos, and the bassist is following him but the drummer is not. Thereare dozens of variables and possibilities, but a skilled band leader willbe able to root out the problems. Sometimes this is too great achallenge to overcome in a live situation, so recording rehearsals andconcerts can be a great help (see lesson 11: A Mirror for Your Ears).



Figuring out what exactly is creating your band’s musical problemswill sharpen your ears and greatly raise your overall awareness.Once you’ve identified what needs to be changed, you might alsohave to help your band mates do the actual changing! Your pianistand guitarist may be stepping on each other’s toes harmonically, butthey might also be so used to playing a certain way that they don’tknow what to do differently. And here is another learning opportunityfor you as the band leader: To help the other musicians, you’ll haveto learn their parts. Knowing exactly what the pianist and guitaristare playing will give you a new perspective on your own instrumentand role within the band. As you help your band mates improve,you’ll also be making yourself a better musician.Action Step: Play regularly with musicians who are not asknowledgeable or experienced as you. Once you’ve earned their trustas a source for guidance, start to listen for musical areas that can beimproved. Try to hear the band as a whole even as you’reconcentrating on your own parts. Think about what needs to be fixedand how you can go about fixing it. You’ll learn a lot about howbands work and how different instruments approach the music.Some of you might be wondering how I can advocate being theworst musician and being the best. It’s simple, really: all playingsituations are learning opportunities. You should take advantage ofas many of them as you can—whether you’re the mostknowledgeable musician, the least knowledgeable, or somewhere inbetween. Try to grow as much as you can no matter where you findyourself playing. It’s the surest path to becoming a monster jazzmusician.



There’s no such thing as (JAZZ) ghosts.Are you stuck in the past? Are you afraid of ghosts? Listen, I’m thefirst person to tell you to check out the past, study the masters anddig deep into the tradition. But the only reason to do that is to usethat experience and knowledge to springboard yourself into thefuture. You use the past to create the future. You don’t need torecreate the past.So many jazz musicians and jazz educators have ridiculous opinionsabout what is jazz and what is not. They put limits on themselvesand on their music. They pigeon hole the music and in doing so theypigeon hole themselves. They get caught up in the details and losesite of the big picture—‘this is jazz, that is not; this is real bebop, thatis not, etc.’



That sort of thinking only has the effect of limiting your creativity.Jazz doesn’t care what you do. Charlie Parker doesn’t care what youdo. Just because Charlie Parker did something one way (either inmusic or in his personal life) doesn’t mean you have to. He doesn’tcare. In fact if he were still alive I would bet he would applaud youfor creativity and originality not imitation.I heard a story about Thelonious Monk, and if I remember correctlyhere’s how it went. Monk was at a club watching a young pianoplayer perform. Now, this piano player had clearly done hishomework and really checked out Monk’s music. Seeing that Monkwas in the audience this player decided to perform one of Monk’stunes. He pulled out all of his Monk licks and played the tune as closeto how Monk would as he could. He imitated his tone, his feel and hisvocabulary. So, what was Monk’s response? “I already know how Iwould play it; I want to hear how you would play it.”There are no rules and there are no mistakes. The only thing thatmatters is self-expression and connection with other people. That’s it.This sort of limiting belief pops up in all sorts of ways. As a drummerI like to experiment with time-feel. I use this as a device to createinterest and tension in a piece of music. I might change the time feel(i.e. Latin feel for the bridge, rock feel for the tag, modulate toanother meter for the C section, etc) through out a piece of music. Imight change for each soloist, or maybe just for the bridge. I’llchange only sometimes on the bridge or change in different ways,never locking myself into anything. The bass player I play with mostoften (in several bands) is hip to this and is a creative and open-minded person himself, so he goes with it and enjoys the interestcreated. Heck, he does it himself. But sometimes I’ll use this stuffwith less creative people and I get responses like ‘actually the bridgeon that tune is supposed to be a swing feel’ or ‘actually, so and soalways played it this way’. So What! I’m not ‘so and so’.So study the tradition and study the ‘rules’. Then throw them awayas fast as possible. Do your homework but then let your ears and



your heart guide your music. There are only two types of music inthe world: good and bad. Good music is any music that moves youand inspires you. Draw on all of your influences and roots. If yougrew up playing punk rock before you starting checking out jazz, thatmusic is still in you. If it comes out in your improvising…THAT’SGREAT! It’s part of you. It’s part of your artistic voice. Your punk rockenergy combined with your jazz sensibility could come out soundingfantastic and totally original. Jazz is all about originality andindividuality. Innovation is the tradition.

Don’t forget to play music.Many up and coming jazz musicians get so caught up in learning theirinstrument that they forget to play music. They spend all their time inthe ‘shed’ working on the techniques and concepts of jazz and neverplay music with people. That’ akin to a baseball player spending all ofhis time practicing fielding ground balls, or sprinting around thebases, but never actually playing baseball. Playing the ‘game’ is asimportant to becoming a monster jazz musician as practicing thetechniques. There are many skills that can only be developed whileplaying with a band. For instance—locking up with the groove,playing in tune, listening and reacting to the other players, recoveringfrom form mistakes, ending tunes, blending, interacting, andcomping to name but a few.



I learned this lesson the hard way. I was once that guy whopracticed, practiced, practiced, then I got my butt kicked. I went toBerklee College of Music. They used a numbered rating system toplace students in ensembles. I had wanted to take one of Hal Crook’sensembles for the entire time I was there, but I didn’t have highenough ratings (his required ensemble ratings were among thehighest). I auditioned every semester to raise my ratings. Finallyafter two years my ratings were high enough. I joined his ensembleand showed up for the first day. He called a standard (What is thisthing called love-I believe) and then counted it in at breakneckspeed, well above my comfort zone. I got my butt kicked.After the class I went right back to the practice room. I practicedhard all week trying to prepare for next weeks class. When I showedup the next week there was already another drummer behind the kit.I figured out pretty quickly that I was being kicked out. (To makematters worse the other drummer was a friend of mind who feltterrible about the situation) Hal showed up a few minutes later andtook me out into the hall way to talk to me. He said ‘Chris, you’re notready for this ensemble. I could keep you in the class and kick you’rea## all semester, but that wouldn’t be good for either of us. Whatyou need to do is play one session with other players everyday for ayear, then call me and we’ll talk. Play duos, trios. Play with otherdrummers. Get any playing experience you can. You don’t need to bea better instrumentalist; you need to be a better musician.’Needless to say that was a rather crushing blow to my ego. Here Ithought I had finally arrived; I mean I was in Hal Crook’s ensemble.Then I got booted. After a few days of feeling sorry for self andwalking around with my tail between my legs, I got over it, and I gotto work. I scheduled every session I possibly could. I would literallybook 15-20 sessions per week. Honestly about half of those wouldinevitably end up being cancelled but I still ended up with at leastone session per day and a couple of days with more than one.I met several musicians with whom I became great friends with anddeveloped long and fruitful musical relationships. I played lots of duosessions, with saxophonists, guitarists, bass players, piano players



and even other drummers. I developed regular practice bands withweekly rehearsals.I began to learn how to play music, instead of just my instrument. Ilearned how to follow, how to lead. I learned about group dynamics,and the bass/drum hook up. I learned tunes, practiced followingendings, and had a lot of fun doing it.The result? A year later I called Hal and we played a session-just me,a bass player and him. I nailed it. He shook my hand and told mehe’d call me next semester for an ensemble spot. I took twoensembles with him and then went on to study privately with him.So go out and play with people. Chances are you already haveseveral musician friends. Become the ‘organizer’ and start setting uppractice sessions. If you don’t have many musical friends then startlooking for them. It’s really easy to meet people. Go to local jamsessions. Be sure to show up early and watch the house band.Introduce yourself on the break and sign up to sit in. Hang out andtalk to the other attendees. Be present on the scene by attending thesessions week after week. Then simply ask people if they’d like toplay a session.If you’re in music school then that’s a no brainer. There should betons of people to play with. Or you could use Craig’s List. Graduallyyou can become more picky about who you play with but at first juststart playing. As you meet better and better players you can invitethem to your sessions.You can’t learn jazz in the practice room alone. While practicing isimportant it must be combined with playing with other musicians(And listening, and playing gigs, but more on that later.). Whenyou’re putting together your practice plan and routine, schedule intime for sessions. Sessions should be thought of as part of yourlearning strategy. It’s a bit of a balancing act but it’s one that worthstriking. Try playing regular sessions you’ll see what I mean.



Three Powerful Ideas to Get the Most Out OfYour Jazz Group’s Practices

Choose a purpose for the groupWhen putting a practice group together it is important to decide upona purpose or focus for the band. What does everyone hope to get outof it? What areas of music will you focus on? The clearer the group ison this the more productive your practice sessions will be, muchmore productive in fact. So decide ahead of time. You could focus onany element of music really, but here are a few ideas for you.• Learn jazz standards• Learn bebop tunes• Study the music of one musician



• Study the music of one period of jazz• Explore one aspect of musicianship like dynamics, phrase

length, thematic development, etc• Write original tunes• Learn familiar tunes in all twelve keys

This focus might shift after a period of time say after a month withone topic, or it might be the whole focus for the entirety of theproject for instance you might decide to learn the Bebop repertoireand spend two years learning tunes and arrangements by CharlieParker, Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk, Lennie Tristano, Bud Powelet al. Having this kind of focus will have a profound impact on yourpractice band.Set parametersSetting parameters for a piece of music will make the piece morecohesive and logical. This is helpful at all levels and with all styles butit is particularly useful with free playing. For instance, you maydecide to play free with only the following stipulation: each memberof the band must leave a big chunk of space (5 or more seconds ofrest) in between every phrase. This will help the band to see theimpact of leaving space and will create some really cool textures. Oryou could decide to play with a wide range of dynamics or at onlyone dynamic level like PP (really quiet). You could all place limits onyour instruments: So maybe the bass player can only play on the Dstring with his bow, the drummer can only play on his cymbals, theguitarist can only play rhythmically on muted strings and thesaxophonist can only use her left hand. Placing limits like this on yourplaying, while frustrating at first, can really force your creativity towake up and make you think about making music in a different way.Or if you are playing a tune your parameters could be as follows:• Play the entire piece with a two feel• Each soloist can only use chord tones to solo• You have to switch time feels every chorus with one person

assigned to cue and communicate the change



• Play the entire tune with one big dynamic shape- each solobuild upon the last and climaxes right before the out head(melody).

• OR perhaps a scenario like this: the saxophonist plays basslines, the guitarist solos, the bass player plays rhythmic singlenote comping ideas and the drummer improvises counter‘melodies’ to the guitarist

The possibilities are endless. The great thing is that once you do afew of these ‘predetermined’ scenarios you’ll start to see moreoptions at your other sessions. These parameters and scenarios willstart to happen naturally. Then you’re truly improvising and makingmusic on the fly, instead of just playing notes and rhythms.Talk through the arrangement ahead of timeRather than just getting together and blowing on some tunes (Whichis fun and is an important part of the learning process) put yourcreative minds together and come up with an arrangement. It doesn’thave to be great and it doesn’t have to be on par with DukeEllington. Keep it simple at first.

Here are some examples of ways to start tunes, end tunes and ideasfor the body of the tune as well.• The band plays the changes from the last 4 or 8 bars as an

intro• One instrument plays the first A section out front rubato then

sets up the time and cues in the band• The drummer takes 8 bars out front• Play the A sections swing feel and the bridge a Latin feel• Play the A sections Latin and the bridge swing• Experiment and mix up different time feels on different sections

of the tunes—swing, double time, Latin, rock, half-time,calypso, Bossa Nova, Afro-Cuban, two feel, metric modulation(go to 6/4 or 3/4). The possibilities are endless

• Bring the dynamic way down on the bridge



• Have the comping instrument drop out for the first chorus ofevery solo

• Write rhythmic kicks that the band (except the soloist) playsduring the first chorus of every solo

• Tag the turnaround and fade out• End on beat one of the top• Learn classic jazz endings and apply them to the tune• Tag the turnaround and switch the groove• End on the melody and have the saxophonist play a credenza

That’s just a small sampling of what is possible. Use your imaginationand start with what you know now. As you do more and more of thisyou will get better and better at it and you will come up with hipperways to arrange a tune on the fly. Eventually these things will start tohappened spontaneously, and that’s the whole idea.The more focused your rehearsal the more productive they will beand the better your band will sound. Play like this for awhile andsoon the band will develop a group sound. Be sure to get togetherwith like minded musicians who are interested in learning andchallenging themselves. Soon your band will be killin’ it on thebandstand too.

Is Your Brain About to Explode?I’ve had many students over the years who complained of beingoverwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of learning to play jazz. Thereis so much to learn and it can be difficult to know where to start.There’s instrumental technique, theory, the fundamentals,improvising, ear training, composing, playing with a band, intonation,arranging, reading, execution, musicality, a myriad different styles,learning tunes, and on and on. You can’t possibly work on all of theseareas at once. Trying to wrap your head around all of this canliterally make you feel like your brain is about to explode.Trying to comprehend every step of a huge process, like learning toplay jazz is futile. This approach will only serve to stress you out,keep you unfocused and halt your musical development. A much



better approach is to limit your studies to a few areas at a time. Ifyou’re relatively new to jazz you may start with instrumentaltechnique and the fundamentals. If you’re a seasoned pro, you mayfocus on improvisation or composition. It all depends on your presentabilities and priorities.But even these smaller categories can be overwhelming. Supposeyou want to get your fundamentals together. If you are thinkingabout learning all the major & minor scales, arpeggios, the modes,altered scales, mastering intervals, scale patterns etc, at the sametime think again. This unfocused approach will slow you down, nomatter how important you may think learning the fundamentals is(And it is).I once tried to write down every aspect of music I wanted to explore.I made a giant mind-map and had to stop, not because I ran out ofideas to practice and study, but because I ran out of space on thepaper! The more you learn about jazz the more aware you willbecome of just how vast it is and how many possible avenues thereare to explore. When I stepped back and looked at this mind map, Ialmost fell over. It was like 30 years worth of practice and study.This was a great exercise. It certainly helped me develop my longterm vision for my music, but there’s no way I could possibly setachieving this ‘thing’ as a goal. It was huge. I had to take from it themost important couple of ideas and go with them. If I tried to wrapmy head around all of that my brain most certainly would haveexploded!(Mind-maps are a powerful tool to brainstorm and organize yourefforts in a very visual way. I won’t explain how they work here forlack of space, but Google ‘mind map’ and you will find tons ofinformation about them.)Here are a few examples of potentially overwhelming, unbelievablegoals:

1. Memorizing every tune in the real book.



2. Transcribing every Charlie Parker solo ever recorded3. Learning every major scale, minor scale, bebop scale, arpeggio,

inversion and mode in all 12 keys.4. Memorizing every Bach invention5. Mastering every permutation of a pentatonic scale in all 12

keys. (If my math is correct that’s 1,140 permutations)6. Learning every tune from the second classic Miles Davis Quintet

catalogNow, your goals are going to vary depending on your present abilitiesand what goals you’ve already achieved. If you’ve already memorizedReal Book Volume 1, it’s not that big of stretch to see yourselfmemorizing Volume 2. But if you only know 1 tune by memory youwill probably not be able to see yourself achieving this goal. If youdon’t truly believe you can achieve a particular goal you won’tachieve it.“What ever the mind can conceive and believe it can achieve” –Napoleon HillSo start with a goal you believe in. Make it your goal to learn onetune. Then, learning a second won’t seem so tough. Once you knowtwo tunes it will be reasonable to believe you can learn five. And soon.Now don’t misunderstand me. Big goals and vision are important. So,while in the back of your mind you know you want to become a greatjazz musician, master the fundamentals and so forth, keep yourimmediate goals challenging but doable. As you achieve yoursmaller goals you can set bigger and loftier ones. Each time youachieve a goal you will build your confidence and accomplish moreand more. And then one day you’ll reflect and think ‘wow, I reallyhave accomplished a lot!’



7 Tips for Succeeding At Jam SessionsIn a previous lesson we talked about the importance of gettingexperience playing music with other people. Learning to play jazzdoesn’t happened in the practice room alone, and local jam sessionsare a great place to get some experience playing with people, getexperience playing in front of an audience and to meet othermusicians. Here are a few tips to help you get the most out jamsessions.Show up early and watch the house bandThis is important for several reasons. First of all, it’s important tosee/hear live music. It’s an important part of learning music that isfar too rare these days. You will learn a lot about your instrument bywatching a more experienced musician perform. You can learn about



posture, technique, embouchure, expression etc. You can see howthe band interacts with and responds to the audience and vice versa.Secondly, if the house band sees you showing up to support themand enthusiastically checking them out they will appreciate it. Andbelieve me, they will notice if you’re one of those musicians who rollsin right after the band finishes just in time to sit in and then takes offwhen you’re done. So support their music, and get to know them. Inreturn they’ll take care of you, and make sure you get to play. Andwho knows, after awhile they may call you for the gig!Focus on blending and connecting with the other musiciansMake it your goal to make the band sound better. If you’re a hornplayer try to blend with the other horn players. Use this as anopportunity to learn to play in tune. If you’re a drummer, focus onlocking up with the bass player and supporting the soloist. If you’re aguitarist be clear with your comping. Let the soloist know where youare. Aim for clarity. No matter what instrument you play listen for thedynamics. Blend in with band so that you have a presence but besure not to bury the other musicians.If you don’t know the tune, sit this one outIf you don’t know the tune that was called you don’t have to play. It’sbetter to sit one out and jump back in on the next tune than to makethe whole band suffer because you don’t really know the changes.This is a sign of confidence not weakness. The other musicians willappreciate it.Don’t try to show offAfter spending hours and hours in the practice room developing yourchops and learning some hip new bebop licks it’s very tempting to tryto impress the other musicians with your new found hipness. But it’sa dangerous trap. You will most likely come off looking bad andmaking the music as a whole sound worse. You’re there for the musicfirst and foremost. Do your job as a musician first. This is a sign ofmusical maturity. After you can do that then worry about being hipor modern.



Be respectful and supportive of the other musiciansThis is just simple etiquette. Encourage the other musicians even if(And especially if) you are much more advanced then them. Bepositive. Pay attention to their solos and get involved by clapping andcheering them on. When it’s your turn to solo, keep it short.Especially if there are a lot of people sitting in or waiting to sit in.There is nothing worse than that guy who shows up and plays a 25chorus solo while 10 people are waiting to sit in. This professionalismwill benefit you as well. People will enjoy when you show up to play.You will easily meet new musicians to play with and ultimately gigwith.Be proactive- learn the tunesLearn from the session. If a tune was called that you didn’t know,take the time to learn it during the week. Then at the next sessionyou can sit in on that tune. If you do sit in on a tune and suddenlylearn the hard way that you don’t really know the bridge (eventhough you thought you did) be proactive and practice it during thecoming week. Notice what tunes are called each week. There isrelatively small group of standards that will be called week afterweek. The more of these tunes you know the more productive andenjoyable your experience sitting in will be.Roll with the punchesIf you totally bomb at a session, don’t take it too hard. Learn from it.Try to figure out where you went wrong, what you could practice toimprove. Remember, jam sessions can be very difficult situations toperform in. You may not know any of the musicians sitting in. Themusicians may all be at very different levels of abilities. You maystruggle with a tune because the bass player is unclear, or thedrummer keeps turning the beat around. By dealing with theserealities of music you will become a stronger musician. You’ll learnhow to recover when things go awry, and even have a chance todevelop leadership skills (Be the guy who holds the band together).



Seven more ways to maximize your practicingAn ounce of preparation…The more prepared you are when you begin your practice session,the more productive the session will be. By a lot! Be sure to have aplan and a purpose for your session. Know exactly what you hope toaccomplish that day. Gather all the materials you will need ahead oftime. This means your guitar pick, your sticks, your reeds, yourinstrument, your CDs/IPOD, your metronome, your manuscriptpaper, a pencil, etc. Having everything you need to practice will allowyou to focus on the task at hand. If you have to stop your session togo search your house for a transcription or your metronome, you willbreak your momentum and it you down. It will take time to get backinto the ‘groove’ and continue learning. This may seem obvious, butit’s so obvious that most people tend to overlook it. This act alonecan make your sessions significantly more productive



Have good recordsI’m not talking about vinyl here (although that’s a good idea too). I’mtalking about a practice journal. Keeping a journal about yoursessions has several benefits. First of all it helps you to track yourprogress. Looking back through your journal can help you to realizehow much progress you have actually made. That will keep youmotivated. Second, it’s a great tool to decide what to practice at yournext session. You can reread it and pick up where you left off. Thiswill add continuity and consistency to your practice sessions. Itdoesn’t have to be fancy; just a few notes about your session will bebeneficial.Fend off interruptions with a stickThe vast majority of people in all walks of life are too generous withtheir time. Schedule your practice sessions and stick to them. Don’tbend your schedule for anyone except in extreme situations. Don’t letpeople interrupt you. If you need to keep a big stick next to you tofend them off, so be it. Just kidding. But make the people around youunderstand that you are not to be interrupted during your practicing.Explain to them the importance of focused practicing and don’t letthem steal your time. Ask them to respect that time.Push the envelopEach and everyday you should push forward slightly. Whatever youaccomplished yesterday, you should pick up where you left off andpush a bit farther. If you are in the habit of always learningsomething, always getting better in some way, no matter how small,you will achieve your musical goals. Here are few ideas you can applyto just about any practice topic to take it farther:1 Increase the tempo2 Decrease the tempo3 Learn it in another key4 play it with a different time feel5 Play it in a different meter6 Add dynamics



7 Learn more of it (another scale, another page, another tune,another bar, etc)Under promise/over deliverPlan your practice sessions so you can finish your routine and planthe majority of the time. It feels great to accomplish everything youset out to do and then some. If you’re always leaving things undoneand not getting through your daily plan then your plan is unrealistic.You’re over promising and under delivering. This will cause youstress and anxiety. By all means push yourself, but you want to seeyourself hitting your daily goals. This is how you gain mastery andincrease your musical confidence.Celebrate your victoriesWhen you accomplish a goal, no matter how small, take a momentand bask in the glory. If you learned a new tune, or finished amethod book pat yourself on the back. You’re moving forward withyour music and you should be proud of yourself.Play for the spirit of the musicDon’t forget about the whole reason you started playing in the firstplace. It’s easy to get caught up practicing and forget to play for fun.Schedule time into your practice session simply to play, the way youdid when you first started out. No limits, no judging. Just for fun!Dedicated to Your Musical Success,Chris [email protected]

21waysThe Monster Jazz Formula by Chris Punis

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