Singing Before Transcribing: Why I Find the Notes Last
I used to start transcribing music by picking up my bass and trying to find the notes. I’d listen to a little bit of the recording, search around the fretboard, then listen again. Now, I…
Transcribing Is Like Leg Day for Musicians. Don’t Skip It.
I’ve been working on a phrase from Antonio Hart’s saxophone solo on Sketches of Selim by Anthony…
Music Transcription Doesn’t Have to Be Perfect to Be Useful
When you’re transcribing a jazz solo, it’s easy to get caught up trying to figure out every single…
How to Internalize What You Practice on Bass (So It Actually Shows Up in Your Playing)
You spend hours practicing a bass line, lick, phrase, or musical concept. You get it under your fingers. You can…
You Know Your Scales. So Why Don’t Your Lines Sound Melodic?
This is much easier to understand when you can hear it. In the video above, I’m moving through a set of…
How Triad Inversions Unlock Continuous Melodic Lines
If you’ve ever listened to a great improviser and wondered how they seem to spin one long musical thought…
The Scale Isn’t the Goal. The Sound Is.
When you’re learning a new scale, it’s easy to think your job is to stay inside it. But that’s…
You Don’t Need an Hour to Build Your Musical Vocabulary
When I became a parent six years ago, one of the things I struggled with was finding uninterrupted time alone…
How to Build a Vocabulary of Musical Phrases
Many musicians spend years learning scales, arpeggios, songs, and even transcriptions, yet still feel stuck when…
How One Bass Phrase Can Turn Into Many Pieces of Vocabulary
A lot of bass players think learning a phrase means memorizing it note-for-note and then moving on to the next…
Why Some Musicians Sound Fluent
For years, I thought musical fluency came from several things. Now I think I underestimated one of them. More…