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    Just Play!
    Matt McVeigh
    • Dec 29, 2021
    • 2 min

    Just Play!

    There is a devious irony with regard to all creative endeavors. The action of engaging in creative activities is what develops our...
    3 views0 comments
    Rhythmic Transcription
    Matt McVeigh
    • Apr 14, 2021
    • 2 min

    Rhythmic Transcription

    What are the jazz notes? Seriously, what are the notes that distinguish jazz from other styles of music? What notes are different in...
    33 views0 comments
    Note Detective - Crossword Puzzle Transcription
    Matt McVeigh
    • Apr 8, 2021
    • 2 min

    Note Detective - Crossword Puzzle Transcription

    Humans seem to be hard-wired to move from left to right, top to bottom. It seems like a basic literacy concept so formally in-grained...
    36 views0 comments
    Transcription Prescription
    Matt McVeigh
    • Apr 2, 2021
    • 2 min

    Transcription Prescription

    Last fall, we featured a series of blog posts on transcribing. This was an important series and it laid out many of the basics of the...
    51 views0 comments
    Out of the Box Strategies for Learning Tunes Pt 3: Write a Contrafact
    Matt McVeigh
    • Mar 29, 2021
    • 2 min

    Out of the Box Strategies for Learning Tunes Pt 3: Write a Contrafact

    A contrafact is simply a new melody on an existing chord progression. There are tons of contrafacts and certainly this idea is not...
    24 views0 comments
    Out of the Box Strategies for Learning Tunes - Pt 2: Transcribe the Melody
    Matt McVeigh
    • Mar 5, 2021
    • 2 min

    Out of the Box Strategies for Learning Tunes - Pt 2: Transcribe the Melody

    If you have a Real Book, check out the melody to There Will Never Be Another You. I will save you some time. You will see the melody to...
    17 views0 comments
    Out the box strategies for Learning Tunes Pt 1: Make a Playlist
    Matt McVeigh
    • Mar 1, 2021
    • 2 min

    Out the box strategies for Learning Tunes Pt 1: Make a Playlist

    Learning tunes is where technique meets creativity. This is where the melody and the harmony This is where we get to put it altogether...
    12 views0 comments
    Memorizing Tunes
    Matt McVeigh
    • Jan 22, 2021
    • 2 min

    Memorizing Tunes

    Here is a quick 3-step strategy to memorizing any jazz standard: repetition, repetition, repetition. I mean....yes, and no. It is true...
    13 views0 comments
    Where do I Start?
    Matt McVeigh
    • Jan 18, 2021
    • 1 min

    Where do I Start?

    So this may sound a little cliche' but the best tunes to learn are the ones that you are most excited about. I used to spend a lot of...
    10 views0 comments
    Learning Tunes
    Matt McVeigh
    • Jan 13, 2021
    • 2 min

    Learning Tunes

    A musicians repertoire is like the chef's recipe's. This is largely what gives us our identity as a musician. We can amass serious...
    10 views0 comments
    New Year - So where are we going...
    Matt McVeigh
    • Jan 11, 2021
    • 3 min

    New Year - So where are we going...

    Have you gotten the ads from the "get in shape" crowd? I have, and it always feels strange to me. It isn't that I don't think I need it,...
    2 views0 comments
    Influence Pt IV: Language
    Matt McVeigh
    • Jan 11, 2021
    • 2 min

    Influence Pt IV: Language

    It doesn't happen often. But when it does I know it. Despite my intentions my fathers words come out of my mouth. These aren't bad...
    2 views0 comments
    Influences Pt III: Intensity of Craft
    Matt McVeigh
    • Dec 17, 2020
    • 3 min

    Influences Pt III: Intensity of Craft

    John Coltrane is the gold standard of pursuit. Coltrane's story focuses a lot on the last decade of his life. His pursuit of music was...
    3 views0 comments
    Influences Pt 2: Finding Voice
    Matt McVeigh
    • Dec 8, 2020
    • 2 min

    Influences Pt 2: Finding Voice

    I have had the benefit of falling in love with a lot of jazz musicians. Some are similar, but generally I fall in love with each one for...
    7 views0 comments
    An EZ Play Christmas Book, A Soap Opera Theme Song and the formation of Musical Influence.
    Matt McVeigh
    • Dec 1, 2020
    • 3 min

    An EZ Play Christmas Book, A Soap Opera Theme Song and the formation of Musical Influence.

    I have been thinking a lot about influences. How they change, and how they don't. How we can be initially inspired in a flash and then...
    6 views0 comments
    Matt McVeigh
    • Nov 30, 2020
    • 2 min

    Group Transcription - Pound Cake Phrase 3

    There is a lot of focus among improvisers on the third phrase of the blues, and rightly so. This is the phrase that pulls the first two...
    8 views0 comments
    Matt McVeigh
    • Nov 25, 2020
    • 2 min

    A Jazz Thanksgiving

    There is always jazz for every Occassion. Below is some selected music for the thanksgiving holiday. Vince Guaraldi - Thanksgiving Theme...
    2 views0 comments
    Matt McVeigh
    • Nov 23, 2020
    • 1 min

    Group Transcription - Pound Cake Phrase 2

    Last week's blog post focused on the first phrase of Lester Young's solo on Pound Cake. This post is going move into the second phrase...
    4 views0 comments
    Transcribable Solos
    Matt McVeigh
    • Nov 19, 2020
    • 2 min

    Transcribable Solos

    Transcribing solos (or parts of solos) is the single most important thing you can do to develop your skill as a jazz musician. But I am...
    3 views0 comments
    Group Transcription - Pound Cake Phrase 1
    Matt McVeigh
    • Nov 16, 2020
    • 2 min

    Group Transcription - Pound Cake Phrase 1

    The next several blog posts will work through a chorus of a Lester Young Solo. I am going to break this solo down phrase by phrase and...
    6 views0 comments
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