1001 Creative Ideas
I always ask my students to come up with a list of (at least) 10 different ways to play a melody or solo. Sparkling creative spirits in music is all about figuring out new and exciting ways to do manageable and pleasurable things sound different. Add character,...
How To Deal With Creative Blocks
Have you ever felt stuck in a rut? Jazz is all about expressing oneself creatively. But sometimes that liberating state of mind kind of feels closer to a rat in the cage than a lion out in the wild. Unleashing creativity is all about thinking outside of the box....
The Inspired Student: Performance Practice
Did you know that the areas of the brain activated while playing from memory are deactivated during improvisation? Playing a written melody and improvising a solo activates different regions of the brain. We all have a Classical musician friend unable to...