I've never had a piano lesson in my life. A jazz teacher once told me to get some simple chord voicings down so I could comp through changes. That's pretty much the extent of my skills. I can clumsily play through tunes whilst staring intently at my hands. I've got my grandfather's old piano in my living room and I've been trying to teach myself a bit more. I decided to start with ragtime, and I'm trying to learn Maple Leaf Rag. It's not easy. I'm stuck on the first 4 bars. I found a YouTube video that's helped, and every time I walk past the piano I give it a go. Here are a few things I've taken away from it so far. My instinct is always to play it too fast for my ability. I always try it fast first, but I only really make progress when I take it down a notch. The little leaps feel great, much more fun than the small leaps I make on the violin. It feels new and exciting. It's also shown me what I'm naturally good at and what I'm not. I think I've got a good sense of rhythm and coordination, but I don't have much of an eye for detail and accuracy. I'm happy to make mistakes, and I tend to leave them in unless I force myself to slow down and run through things again. The main thing it's taught me though applies to all of you a little. Having a difficult set piece to work on is really important when you're learning music. My goal is to be able to play jazz to some degree, but until now I've never had the drive to practise like I do right now. Practising chord voicings got boring quickly, but this really difficult tune has given me something to lock in with. So whilst it's important to keep practising the nuts and bolts, try to find a long term project to go alongside it, like a difficult transcription or even some solo classical music. It gives you something to "hold" in your hands. Jazz practice can feel very abstract and it's hard to measure progress, but having a piece on the go is a good reason to pick up your instrument.

Just watched the first Blues lesson? Here's your task. Have a go at soloing over the Blues in F backing track using the five lines and the sounds we work on in the video. Take a couple of the lines, play around with them, and record whatever comes out. Post your video below, or just let us know how you're doing and if you have any questions. Getting the first one down is the hardest part 🎵

Comment "IN" below to let us know you've taken on the challenge, so we can all cheer you on as you work through it. Then head to step one, get your violin out, and let's go. Looking forward to hearing you all 🎵

Comment “day 5” on this post to round off and compete the challenge ! Use this thread to ask any questions and post your progress video! You have now worked through a huge chunk of what makes up the mind of jazz musician How a jazz musician thinks and practises. Well done for showing up for these five days to learn something new. Today is all about Pentatonics as well as rounding off what we learned! Enjoy!

Comment “day 4” on this post to keep up your streak! Use this thread to ask any questions and post your progress video! Hopefully by now you are starting to see two things; How a jazz musician thinks and practises. The benefits of showing up for yourself regularly and practising something new! Today is all about “jazz language” and how we use pre prescribed melodic material inside an improvisation. Enjoy!