5 Struggles With Playing Great Jazz Solos

I recently ran a poll of over 2000 musicians playing all sorts of instruments over on our YouTube channel. And the question was, "What do you find most challenging about jazz improvisation?". And here were the options that we gave:a) Creating melodic and cohesive solosb) Understanding and applying jazz theory during improvisationc) Developing a strong sense of timing and rhythmic feeld) Building confidence to take risks and explore new idease)Spontaneously connecting with other players during jazz jamsI'm about to reveal to you the answer and which one of those was the biggest challenge for musicians in this poll, as well as go through each five of these and give you actual strategies to improve on them. In this episode:The poll results show that out of 2000 musicians:1.  51% said creating melodic and cohesive solos is the biggest challenge to jazz                  improvisation. 2.  24% said that understanding and applying jazz theory during improvisation3.  10% said developing a strong sense of timing and rhythmic feel4.  9% said building confidence to take risks and explore new ideas 5.  7% said spontaneously connecting with other players during jazz jams6.  The most important thing that you can do to create melodic and cohesive jazz solos7.  How to do the melody development exercise8.  Practicing with motivic development helps in creating cohesive jazz solos9.  Learn and internalize jazz language 10. Composing your own solos helps in developing better improvisation11. Jazz theory isn't thought about during jazz improvisation12. How to develop a strong sense of timing and rhythmic feel13. The essence of improvisation14.  Playing with other musicians helps develop spontaneity in connecting with other         players during jazz jamsImportant Links:Free Guide to learning standards by ear: Learn Jazz Standards the Smart WayLJS Inner Circle MembershipListen to the Learn Jazz Standards PodcastLearn Jazz Standards Inner Circle: Get 50% off your first month! Want to get your jazz question answered on the podcast? Click here.

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The LJS Podcast is the podcast where you get weekly jazz tips, interviews, stories and advice for becoming a better jazz musician! Hosting the show is the jazz musician behind learnjazzstandards.com, author, and entrepreneur Brent Vaartstra, who’s one goal is to answer any question about playing jazz music you may have. Jazz can be a challenging music to learn and play, but it doesn’t have to be so hard. Each episode features a specific musical challenge that jazz students may come across, where it is discussed and answered. Special jazz guests frequent the show, sharing their expertise on an array of different musical subject matter. Listeners are invited to call in with their jazz questions to the podcast hotline, where it could get answered on a future LJS Podcast episode. Join thousands of other listeners getting free jazz education every week!