LJS 134: 10 Myths About Playing Jazz You Need to Stop Believing




Welcome to episode 134 of the LJS Podcast where today we are debunking 10 common myths about playing jazz. These myths are limiting beliefs that are holding us back from our full potential and improving as jazz musicians. You may resonate with some of these. Listen in!
Listen to episode 134







I've heard countless myths about playing jazz and learning how to play it. These are limiting beliefs that hold us back from our true musical potential.
The truth is, I've fallen prey to these myths before too. But I've found that becoming a better musician is at least 50% mindset. Whenever I've conquered a limiting belief about my musicianship I've witnessed progress.
That's what I want for you too. So today's episode is all about 10 myths I commonly hear about learning to play jazz. I debunk them one-by-one.
Here's a quick list of the myths I cover:
1. Jazz is only for the exceptionally talented.
2. You need to learn a bunch of fancy skills.
3. You need to know a lot about music theory.
4. If you keep listening and playing you'll eventually get it.
5. The more hours you practice the better you will get.
6. You have to master something before you can move on.
7. You need a lot of chops to be a great improviser.
8. You need to be at a higher skill level to play out live.
9. You need to know hundreds of jazz standards.
10. You should compare yourself to the best player in the room.
Let's conquer these limiting beliefs together. Which ones of these do you most resonate with? Leave a comment below.
Important Links
5 Myths About Playing Jazz (Video)
"Accelerate Your Jazz Skills" free mini-course



Om Podcasten

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!