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Jazz Improvisation

Jan 22
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 ...

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Matt McVeigh

Jan 18
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 ti...

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Matt McVeigh

Jan 13
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 tech...

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Matt McVeigh

Jan 11
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,...

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Matt McVeigh

Jan 11
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 wor...

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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 ...

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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...

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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 ...

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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 ...

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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 ...

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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 o...

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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 g...

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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 p...

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Matt McVeigh

Nov 12, 2020
3 min

Beginning Transcription, Now What

Part two of this series takes a look at some of material to transcribe. If you are reading this, you probably already know that transcri...

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Matt McVeigh

Nov 5, 2020
3 min

The Transcription Process

If you were to ask, is there one thing someone can do to get better at jazz, there would be a very simple answer. Yes. There is one thing.

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Matt McVeigh

Oct 29, 2020
3 min

Practice Pt IV - Repertoire

My mother-in-law is a great cook! You know, the kind that you simple go weak in the knees the moment you walk in the front door. And on...

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Matt McVeigh

Oct 22, 2020
2 min

Practice Pt III - Acquiring Language

How did you learn to speak? If you are like most people, you were consumed with sounds and after about six months you tried to copy thos...

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Matt McVeigh

Oct 15, 2020
2 min

Practice Pt II - Technique

One of the reasons why solid technique is important is because it seems to lubricate the pathway of musical expression from the brain to ...

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Matt McVeigh

Oct 8, 2020
3 min

Practice Part I - The Warm-Up

We recently got a dog. We love our new pet, love spending time with him, and love the relationship we are building. And, he is a lot of...

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Matt McVeigh

Oct 5, 2020
2 min

5 Blues Heads to Learn NOW

The original title of the post was going to the five best blues heads ever - kind of impossible to objectify. So rather than doing the i...

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