LJS 184: 3 Reasons You NEED to Master the Jazz Blues




Welcome to episode 184 of the LJS Podcast where today we kick off "Jazz Blues Month!" In this episode, I discuss 3 reasons why you need to master the jazz blues. If you go deep into understanding and navigating a jazz blues it will unlock countless secrets for becoming a great jazz improviser. Here's why!
Listen to episode 184







We are starting "Jazz Blues Month" here on the LJS podcast, but we are going to be digging in deep into a jazz blues strategies for learning, strategies for improvising over it and strategies for mastering it.
But I cannot think of a better way to start than to try to impress upon you the importance of mastering a jazz blues — getting this song form under your belt, being able to play it backwards, forwards, sideways, up, down. Because if you know a jazz blues, it is going to make jazz, in general, so much easier.
So, in today's episode, we are going to be digging into 3 reasons why you absolutely need to master a jazz blues. But first, a story of the first jazz standard I ever learned.







In this episode:
1. A story about the first jazz standard I learned
2. Reason #1: If you want to understand the tradition of jazz, you need to understand the blues
3. Reason #2: A jazz blues contains most of the crucial harmonic movements in jazz
4. Reason #3: The jazz blues is the perfect platform for developing improv skills







Thanks for listening to this episode of the Learn Jazz Standards Podcast. If you aren't already, make sure you are subscribed on iTunes, Google Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
I look forward to having you join me in the next episode!
Important Links
Jazz Blues Accelerator 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!