Jazz Practice work out 2020 Intermediate players who want to be advanced players.

An intermediate player can play some tunes with a band or play along track. They usually have to read the music though from a fake book due to a lack of confidence. They are keen to move it up a notch. They feel overwhelmed with the amount of possibilities in a practice session. 

Below are some ideas on how to spend your time. Yes, it is a lot, but over the course of a week and little bit of each can be worked on. Over time your experience will accumulate. 

Have fun. 

1. Listening to recordings and determining:
   1. Instrumentation
   2. Form
   3. Solo order
   4. Solo length: full chorus/half chorus or whatever
   5. Style/era: Traditional, swing, bebop, Modern, Post-modern
   6. Cool licks to learn, find at least one to learn
2. Slow Warmup playing ii-V 1 chord progressions with scales or broken chords in the right hand with chord voicings in the left hand. Select the keys from your current repertoire.
3. Technique

• Sight reading: piano music, lead sheets, whatever…
• Comping chords, if you are a beginner practice writing them out first.
• Phrasing questions: legato, detached, swing 8ths, dynamic shaping over the phrase. With the study of phrasing in jazz I suggest listening to a “master” play the phrase and then mimic it. Same phrase, different players, different approaches. You will learn a lot of interesting things with this phrase

    4. Licks

• Transposing a simple lick in multiple keys, see step 2 for keys

    5. Review old repertoire
    6. Repertoire work, your new pieces
    7. Theory work
    8. Singing intervals
    9. Jamming with tracks, apps, or original recordings.
    10. Repeat step one.