• Do You Know These Bebop Scales?

    Learn the ins and outs of 5 bebop scales – bebop dominant scale, bebop major, bebop dorian, bebop melodic, bebop harmonic – and how to use them in this lesson.

    Read the full article →

    James Wrubel Is Back! New 17-Minute Jazz Video Lesson Posted

    Thumbnail image for James Wrubel Is Back! New 17-Minute Jazz Video Lesson Posted

    I have a treat for you! After being away for 5 years, I caught up with James Wrubel (from our jazz courses) and invited him to do some helpful lessons for you. The first one is 17 minutes and available at: https://www.hearandplay.com/jazzlesson

    Read the full article →

    How Blues Influenced Jazz

    Thumbnail image for How Blues Influenced Jazz

    After getting an e-mail from a concerned student who bought Jazz 101 and was questioning why it focused primarily on the “12 bar blues” instead of “jazz,” I wanted to shed some light on blues’ connection to jazz and how there wouldn’t be jazz as we know it without blues. This article by the “Thelonius Monk Institute of Jazz” puts it perfectly.

    Read the full article →

    A Drop-Dead Easy Way To Play Dominant #11 Chords

    Here’s a quick 2-minute video lesson from our Jazz Piano 201 program taught by James Wrubel.

    It’ll show you a quick and easy way to play altered dominant chords — the #11 (aka – “sharped 11th”) to be exact!

    Read the full article →

    Jazz Greats: 16 video clips from the world’s best jazz musicians

    jazzgreats-small.jpgI just had to share this compilation of 16 youtube clips featuring the world’s greatest jazz musicians to ever live!

    Musicians like Bill Evans, Bob James, Bud Powell, Count Basie, Dave Brubeck, Fats Waller, George Duke, Keith Jarrett, Kenny Kirkland, McCoy Tyner, Oscar Peterson, Scott Joplin, Thelonious Monk, Tommy Flanagan, and more…

    Read the full article →

    12-Bar Blues You Can Use!

    In this post, I’m going to break down the main movements in James Wrubel’s “12 Bar Blues” video lesson. If you’ve always wanted to learn how to play blues, now’s your chance!

    Read the full article →

    Jazz 201 Released!!!

    I’m so excited about Hear and Play Jazz 201 releasing today! Let me tell you, the buzz about this course has got to be the most I’ve seen in a long time…


    Read the full article →