LanguaTalk

Learn Jazz Standards Podcast

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 a...

How to Improvise Over Sus Chords

28 mins; August 07, 2017

4 Strategies For Improvising Over Major 2-5-1’s

29 mins; July 31, 2017

How to Beat Performance Anxiety and Quiet Your Inner Critic

37 mins; July 24, 2017

Why The “Vibing” Culture In Jazz Has to Go

20 mins; July 17, 2017

Bossa Nova Basics with Livio Almeida

31 mins; July 10, 2017

4 Awesome Tools For Jazz Musicians

20 mins; July 03, 2017

How to Compose a Jazz Solo From Scratch

25 mins; June 26, 2017

How to Use Pentatonic Scales Over Any Chord

20 mins; June 19, 2017

5 Most Important Jazz Musicians You Need to Listen To

28 mins; June 12, 2017

How to Create Killer Jazz Solos By Thinking Like a Composer (Feat. Jeff Schneider)

34 mins; June 05, 2017

5 Tips for Never Losing Your Place In a Jazz Standard

23 mins; May 29, 2017

How to Become an Expert Sight Reader (feat. Brett Pontecorvo)

34 mins; May 22, 2017

4 Steps for Playing What You Hear In Your Jazz Improv

25 mins; May 15, 2017

How to Use Scales In Your Jazz Solos the Right Way

26 mins; May 08, 2017

How to Develop Relative Pitch (Feat. Aimee Nolte)

27 mins; May 01, 2017

5 Tips for Playing Jazz Ballads Like an Expert

22 mins; April 24, 2017

How to Use Triads to Improve Your Jazz Improvisation

23 mins; April 17, 2017

Why I Stopped Hating My Playing

25 mins; April 10, 2017

8 Reasons Why Jazz Musicians Should Shed Classical

29 mins; April 03, 2017

4 Important Jazz Chord Progressions You Need to Master

24 mins; March 29, 2017

How to Organize Balanced Jazz Practice Sessions

23 mins; March 20, 2017

How to Improve Your Jazz Solos By Using Guide Tones

26 mins; March 13, 2017

Birthday Episode feat. 8 Special Guests with Musical Failures

45 mins; March 06, 2017

Everything You Need to Know About Jazz Jam Sessions

32 mins; February 27, 2017

How to Become an Expert Jazz Comper

32 mins; February 20, 2017

3 Ways Practicing in all 12 Keys Will Make You a Better Musician

24 mins; February 13, 2017

Why You Should Stop Practicing

20 mins; February 06, 2017

3 Ways to Develop an Original Sound On Your Instrument

25 mins; January 30, 2017

How to Make Extra Money From a Jazz Side Hustle

22 mins; January 23, 2017

Should I Go to College For Jazz?

35 mins; January 17, 2017

How to 2X The Results of Your Practice Sessions

27 mins; January 09, 2017

Why We Play Jazz

26 mins; January 03, 2017

How to Keep Your Jazz New Years Resolutions

24 mins; December 26, 2016

How to Become a Better Jazz Musician Just By Listening

26 mins; December 19, 2016

An Important Jazz Improv Technique and How to Use It

23 mins; December 12, 2016

A Jazz Master You’ve Probably Never Heard of Before

27 mins; December 05, 2016

5 Questions I Ask Myself During My Jazz Gigs

18 mins; November 30, 2016

How to Tell Stories With Your Jazz Solos

20 mins; November 21, 2016

14 Jazz Practicing Ideas

23 mins; November 15, 2016

How Mastering Tempo and Rhythm Can Transform Your Jazz Playing

29 mins; November 10, 2016

How Playing Gigs For Free is Destroying the Music Economy

17 mins; November 01, 2016

How Charlie Parker and John Coltrane Became Great

27 mins; October 25, 2016

Music Advice I Wish Someone Had Told Me

21 mins; October 17, 2016

Ear Training For Jazz Musicians

23 mins; October 11, 2016

5 Jazz Solos You Should Learn and Why

22 mins; October 04, 2016

Jazz Challenge #4 Learn a New Jazz Lick

14 mins; September 26, 2016

Jazz Challenge #3 Write Your Own Jazz Solo

18 mins; September 19, 2016

Jazz Challenge #2 Practice the Blues in all 12 Keys

19 mins; September 12, 2016

Jazz Challenge #1 Write Your Own Contrafact

18 mins; September 06, 2016

4 Fears That Jazz Musicians Face (And How to Overcome Them)

26 mins; August 30, 2016

Why Jazz is Unpopular and What We Can Do About It

28 mins; August 23, 2016

Gig Etiquette 101 for Musicians

21 mins; August 15, 2016

How to Play at Fast Tempos and Not Get Burned

26 mins; August 08, 2016

4 Steps to Finding More Time to Practice

21 mins; August 01, 2016

How Studying Jazz Can Make You a Better Musician

36 mins; July 25, 2016

Jazz Talk With Larry Koonse (Part 2)

37 mins; July 18, 2016

Jazz Talk With Larry Koonse (Part 1)

31 mins; July 11, 2016

8 Jazz Records You Need To Listen To

18 mins; July 06, 2016

Practicing With a Metronome

16 mins; June 27, 2016

LJS 15: 5 Steps to Learning Jazz Language By Ear

19 mins; June 20, 2016

10 Important Jazz Standards You Need To Know and Why

23 mins; June 13, 2016

The Art of Playing Duo

43 mins; June 07, 2016

Social Music, Bus Drivers and Jazz Musicians with Peter Bernstein

34 mins; May 31, 2016

4 Ingredients to Becoming a Better Jazz Musician

29 mins; May 23, 2016

Interview With Bruce Forman

44 mins; May 16, 2016

The How and Why of Jazz Composing

32 mins; May 09, 2016

2 Exercises For Hearing Chord Changes In Your Solos

18 mins; May 03, 2016

How Playing Free Can Make You a Better Improviser

33 mins; April 27, 2016

Why Jazz Is Important to Society

27 mins; April 18, 2016

How to Play Well With Others, Gig Etiquette and More

51 mins; April 12, 2016

3 Things Every Jazz Musician Should Practice

23 mins; April 04, 2016

How to Overcome Low Self-Esteem as a Musician

17 mins; March 29, 2016

How to Properly Learn a Jazz Standard

27 mins; March 22, 2016

4 Habits For Better Practicing

23 mins; March 18, 2016

Click here to see more

Learn Jazz Standards Podcast

Useful pages

Find a tutor

Languages