"Plate Envy" for Jazz Musicians

My daughter, Ruby, loves to eat off of my plate. She could have the same food on her plate, but, of course, it tastes better off mine.

It reminds me of how we can learn solos off records and play all the pitches and rhythms perfectly but still not sound as good as the record.

Don't worry – noticing the discrepancy is a good problem to have.

Much better to be aware than oblivious of the need for improvement.

I sound like a jazz Yoda.

Anyway, the reason you don't sound as good as the record is due to phrasing, i.e., how you play the notes.

Here's a short list of what you need to focus on: 

• dynamics

• articulation

• feel

• inflection

• tone

An in-depth discussion of each of these techniques is beyond the scope of this article. My course, Phrasing Secrets, is a great resource if you're interested in digging in further.

But here's a broader takeaway that's worth remembering...

Exaggerate your phrasing techniques.

Take dynamics for example: Play your louds louder and your softs softer. If you don't have enough contrast between them, your dynamics won't translate to an audience.

You see, the problem most people have with phrasing is that they think they're playing with varying dynamics, articulations, etc., but in reality, everything sounds the same.

One more tip, if you're smart enough to work on your phrasing, practice improvising with fewer notes. That way you'll have more headspace to focus on how you’re playing rather than what you're playing.

Restricting yourself to chord tones is a great way to limit your note selection. Improvising with chord tones will also help you learn chord changes on a much deeper level so you don't have to "skate" over the harmony, pretending like you know what you're doing.

Just know that chord tone solos can sound a little wonky if you're a beginner or intermediate improviser. You need to spend some time finding chord tone combinations and sequences that sound good. (Running up and down the standard arpeggio is gonna get old fast.)

Chord Tone Magic is a great resource for soloing with chord tones and actually sounding good. It's a collection of chord tone etudes over popular chord progressions like “There Will Never Be Another You” and “St. Thomas.” Plus, I've included a bunch of bonus videos in which I walk you through my thought process as I composed the solos.

Best of all, there's still time to save 20% on Chord Tone Magic with code WEEKENDMAGIC. But the discount code expires at 11:59 pm ET (New York time).

Click here to get Chord Tone Magic and save 20% with code WEEKEND MAGIC.

Happy shedding,

Jeff