Monster Jazz Manifesto

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MonsterJazzManifesto
About Chris Cooke

I've never come across a person who
could explain what, and how to practice
as well as Chris can.
When I first saw Chris play at a jam here in
Boston, I thought, that's the guy I want to take
lessons with. Luckily for me, he's as good a
teacher as he is a player.
I would recommend Chris to anyone

looking to take their understanding of
music to a deeper level, I don't know
anyone who will give you a more honest, and

passionate education.
Mike TuckerDrummer and Band
LeaderBoston, MA
________________________________
"Chris is certainly the best jazz music
teacher I've ever had, but he's more than
that: he's one of the best teachers I've ever
had--in any subject." He has a special talent
for taking complex topics and breaking them
down into the simplest possible parts.
Chris' lessons have been a huge help for

me.
Ken HiattAccordionist, Band Leader,
TeacherWaltham, MA
________________________________
Ive gone through a few of Chris courses. The
concepts in here are essential to mastering
your instrument. I struggle with knowing what
to practice from the wealth of information that
there is. Using Chris course, Ive made
more progress in the last couple months

than at any other time. Ive also gained
Man, what can I tell youIve been

working with The Monster Jazz Formula
for only 10 days now, but it changed the
way I practice. Im much more focused2
weeks ago I bumped into one of your clips on
the Internet. I actually believe that the whole
thing was created for me:)
Guy Shkolnik, Israel

________________________________
After millions of methods about what to study,
finally a method that lets you understand

how to study to reach your real musical
goals! Thank you Chris!
Maurizio Iosa, Rome, Italy
________________________________
Ive been a fan of Hal Crooks books and
method. Chris videos are the next step to
reinforce how to practice improvisation

that compliment these books. .a great
addition to a jazzers library of learning but

more practical than most books that try to help
you to play jazz..
John Kozinski Becket, MA
________________________________
You have a direct and genuine approach to
the development and sharing of knowledge
which makes the medicine go down with great
ease. It is satisfying to have a kind of
jazz-practice guardian-angel!
Liam Fionescu London, England
________________________________
confidence in playing which feels greatthanks

Chris!
Thanks for all the advice, I feel you were

talking to me, Thanks!
Troy H., B.C. Canada

________________________________
C.L. Young
________________________________
2008 LearnJazzFaster.com LLC All rights reserved ~ www.learnjazzfaster.com
Thanks for being the first person Ive

ever heard to say these things out loud,
and with such creative awareness., and
at the same time encouraging instead of
discouraging..I will look deeper!
Smilin Steve
________________________________
Im a pro musician and music teacher myself
and got a degree from Laval University
(Qubec). Chris youve got a vision and a
passion that Ive rarely seen from other
teachers. I think youve got some ideas that
can be a real revolution in the jazz
education and music education in

general. Keep up the good work and the
inspiration!
Dave Dub
________________________________
Thanks for your enthusiasm for this subject,
and most importantly, for giving the matter so
much thought and study.
Im an older player, burnt out from teaching
,but really wanting to get back to PLAYING.
This is exactly what I need to get to way

ahead of where I used to be!
Chris, You seem to always nail this

thing down! Congrats to another great video
that keeps us thinking different.
I used to make the same experiences and

actually know that when youre in that space
the music just flows out of your instrument.
But it needs the ability to let go of the fear of
not playing well as Kenny Werner said in his
book Effortless Mastery.
I also try to promote the art of playing music
by ears as well on my website
youcantrustyourears.com, but my focus is
more on the aspiring or amateur musician to
lay out a plan on how to accomplish this goal.
However, your method is highly

recommended for the serious student.
Best wishes,
Henry Krupp
________________________________
Ive made the transition from classical

to jazz keyboard largely due to your
monster formula as it help me set useful
goals after many months of wandering in a
fragmented way and getting nowhere. That
was about 1 1/2 years ago.
Alex
________________________________
My latest focus has been listening, transcribing

solos and playing what I hear in my head. As
soon as i stop singing, Im up in head thinking
instead of hearing and feel lost. I cant believe
how this has changed my playing!! Ive
ordered Ran Blakes Primacy of the Ear and
cant wait to read it. The psychologist in me is
fascinated by the process of learning by
hearing rather than more cognitive processing.
Your method works ; it is efficient and it

gives confidence.
Thank you SO much for taking the time

to share your knowledge.
Albert D. Haut-Ittre, Belgium.

________________________________
Ginny Simonds
________________________________
Milton
________________________________
ChrisI think your work will become
transcendental good job!
http://learnjazzfaster.com
2008-2015 LearnJazzFaster.com
Hi Chris! I own the monster jazz formula

since 2009, and it really changed my life!
Unfortunately, the modern life style is killing
the wings of mind and free spirit, and people
are not aware or do not believe what a human
mind can do..Thank you for setting up my
mind not only for musical, but life development
also! True words of wisdom from a
modern philosopher!
Themis Nikoloudis
________________________________
Now, one can understand exactly what
Michael Brecker and Bill Evans were talking
about, when they said they were concentrating
on very small portions of music and learning
them as thoroughly as possible. Great job man
and thanks a lot !!
Guy Shkolnik
________________________________
The Monster Jazz Formula is a detailed

and motivational approach to reaching
your goals as a jazz musician. This is not
just a method for novices - reading through

Chris Punis' books prompted me to rethink my
own concepts and approaches to teaching and
practicing - after 20 years of professional
playing and teaching! I highly recommend The
Monster Jazz Formula and plan to introduce it
to my own students and fellow musicians.
Joel Yennior--Trombonist; Instructor at
the New England ConservatoryBoston,
MA
________________________________
If you're serious about learning jazz I

highly recommend you check out what
Chris has to offer.
Braun Khan - Church Music Director,
Private Instructor, Bassist
________________________________
The Monster Jazz Formula for me has

been a delightful approach in learning
the basics of creation, awareness and
deep inner feelings, thank you very
much
Armando Salazar Santo Domingo,
Dominican Republic
________________________________
As a teacher I see myself improving and also
passing the knowledge in a more effective
way!!! Thank you for sharing jazz monster
formula!!!!
Javier Vargas (Jazz Studies teacher at

the National Conservatory in Santo
Domingo)
________________________________
Your Monster Jazz Formula is spot on! Next to
my senior recital, I've found defining and
refining my own values, goals, vision and
mission... to be the most productive and
enlightening exercises I've ever done.
Slide Ackerman, Boston, MA
________________________________
The Monster Jazz Formula materials are

in a class by themselves. Any musician
would be miles ahead having these courses in
their "repertoire".
Darryl Ruff
Kelowna BC Canada
________________________________
The Monster Jazz was nothing else than a
fresh re-beginning of everything I learned
since ever: My Music (and so my
practicing) began to live and improved

10,000-Times!!!...thank you very much Chris
now, practicing and performing is grand joy
every day!!!...
Stefan--Zrich, Switzerland
The most thorough method to organize

your jazz practicing to attain the most
progress.
David Bond
Mexicali, Mexico
________________________________
I have been playing for over 45 years, and
have studied with some of the world's best
teachers. But as a teacher I see students
become overwhelmed with the amount of
available information and what to do with it in
the limited hours of a day. Your systems allow
for individualized pinpoint focusThis is
something that I have never found

taught in the field of music before, and I
swear by your material.
You are truly the Tony Robbins of the music

education world,---keep it up.
Chuck Decker, Woodbine NJ
________________________________
Your knowledge is great, but on the top of
that, it is the way you present that makes it
unique. You do not make any tricks or give
away half-hearted information and I have
learned a lot from your materials. It is great
that you cover up the mental topics as well,
not just technical stuff. We are lucky to be
able to wade through your methods!

Bruno T. Slovakia
The Secrets To Becoming a Monster Jazz Musician.

What you now hold in your hands is just a snap shot of my years of extensive research, practice,
performance, trial & error and studies with many of the top teachers in the jazz world.
If youve ever struggled with music, or you havent been able to get your playing to where you want
it, dont fret. Its not your fault. (But it is your responsibility!). There is a lot of misinformation out
there, outdated methods and plenty of missing pieces to the jazz puzzle.
In this book I aim to shine a bright light on what exactly it is thats holding YOUR music
back. And Im going show you how to get past it all and get your playing and your musical progress
on track.
Im going hand you a few keys to the jazz kingdom. These are things you can start doing
immediately to put a little speed in your musical progress. Youll see the results the first time you use
them. Make this your way of practice and in just a short while youre a different player all together.
A better, stronger, more creative and in control player. The kind of cat that turns heads and
commands respect from other cats.
Up till now, this information has been virtually unknown to most students of jazz.
Practically a Secret.
You see, many of the top players dont actually know how they got to the level they are now at. If
they do, they dont know how to articulate it to their students (or they dont want to). They might be
able to tell you what they do now. But they cant tell you how they got there.
These secrets are certainly not taught in music school. In fact many of the problems and challenges
we face as musicians are perpetuated by the very institutions whose job it is to help us learn.
Personally, I attended Berklee College of Music back in the 90s. I wouldnt trade in my time at
Berklee for the world. But, I also have some pretty harsh opinions of the music education world.
Like I said, Im here to shed light on some of these major problems with learning jazz.
You see, I know from personal experience and from the experience of my students that it is
absolutely possible for anybody to take their music to levels far beyond what they might even think
possible for themselves. It doesnt matter how old you are, how long youve been playing or where
youre from.
There are fundamental principles of musical success. Just like there are universal laws like gravity.
And once you understand them, anyone can put the principles of musical success to work for
themselves and achieve a VERY high level of musicianship - and reap all the amazing benefits that
comes along with that - like having more fun, sounding great, getting gigs, respect from the cats,
love from the audience and so on.
Can you do it without working at it? No. You cant. But if you want it, it can be yours.
I highly suggest you take the time to read this manifesto right away. Theres a very big
idea inside that many people have used to become Monsters - once they grasped the
concepts that you are about to receive right here for free.
Who is Chris Cooke?

You might know me from one of my many YouTube videos
(Over 108,173 views and counting) Maybe youve seen my
Monster Jazz Core Concepts video series or perhaps you
already own one of my courses like The Mindful Music Method
or The Monster Jazz Formula.
You might be familiar with my work with Charlie Kohlhases
Explorers Club or the band Gypsy Schaeffer. Maybe youve
even seen me perform in Boston, New York or in New England
somewhere.
To be honest, Im not really in the limelight right now. Ive
spent the last few years focused on teaching. And working to
nail down and simplify systems and methods for success with
jazz that anyone can use to realize their musical goals and
dreams.
But rest assured, on the following pages youll get to know me. Ill be sharing a few embarrassing
stories of my own musical path. And youll find out why I feel its so important for you to listen to
these ideas about success with jazz.
Ok, But Why Do I Care About Getting To Know You?

Touch. Good question.
The reason is this: I know from personal experience that my own past struggles and frustrations are
pretty much universal in the jazz world. My story resonates with my students and can help them
uncover problems and challenges of their own.
On the following pages Im going to spill the beans about jazz education and dispel many of the
myths and misconceptions about becoming a great player. Ill shed light on why most people never
become Monsters and give in to their frustrations and fears, only to spend their lives wondering what
if.
Or even worse, become music teachers themselves, only to spread the pain.
In a just a second Ill tell you all about my own struggles and failures with jazz. Im going to tell you
a few deep dark secrets and how I almost gave up after years of spinning my wheels.
Believe me; I dont really want anyone to know this much about me. But I really believe deep down
that its the only way to really help you with your musical struggles.
You see the fact that youre reading this means that you and I are probably a lot alike. For as far
back I can remember, I have always wanted to be a jazz musician, one of the cats.
From the first time I heard Trane and Miles I knew I wanted to be a player. I knew in my heart of
hearts that I wanted to do that.
Do You Remember Falling In Love With Music?

Do you remember the first time you played your instrument? I bet you were fascinated, excited and
enamored with it to say the least. I bet it just looked and felt amazing in your hands. And the sound
was just pure electricity.
Music was so much simpler back then. We would play around, play being the operative word, and
figure things out that sounded great to our virgin ears. We had no expectations, no judgment. We
didnt know how much we were supposed to know to be a real musician. We hadnt acquired any
music school baggage yet. We played for the sheer joy, for the experience.
Well, that soon would change for me. As I started taking music lessons and playing in the school
band, little by little the requirements were piled on one after the other, week after week. As soon as I
barely got through one lesson another was thrown on the pile. Then another, and another and
another
Slowly but surely the joy and electricity were stripped away and
replaced with judgments, expectations, rules and standards. But
back then I didnt know this was a problem. I wasnt aware of what
was really happening. I was digging myself into a dark musical
abyss of un-mastered material and half-learned concepts.
I just couldnt keep up.
And the fact is that most

people cant. But that
didnt stop me from
thinking that I should be
able to keep up. So I
practiced and studied
more and more.
Then I discovered jazz. I fell in love with it, with the sound and the
story. The sound was something Id never heard before. It was rich
and stimulated my ears like nothing else. And the characters were
no less enticing. They were one part cool and one part rebel. They
were different. They did their own thing. And their music was
simultaneously hip and sophisticated. It wasnt long before I knew that thats what I wanted to do.
Thats who I wanted to be.
Soon I found myself in music school, studying jazz. This problem I wasnt even aware of yet was
only intensified. The workload increased. 10 fold. I was bombarded by musical concepts, theory,
technique, harmony, improvisation, ensembles and on and on.
I just couldnt keep up. And the fact is that most people cant. But that didnt stop me from thinking
that I should be able to keep up. So I practiced and studied more and more.
I developed an addiction to practicing in fact. I would put practicing before everything else in my life.
I lost girlfriends, had no social life and even gave up a free trip to Italy all in the name of practice.
I practiced 8, 9 even 10 hours a day on some days. I never mastered anything, but I kept trying to
go further and build on this weak foundation.
There was just soooooo much to practice, I had to try to fit it all in. I didnt have much time after all.
I was already 18 years old! But soon I was already 20. Then already 22. Then already 25.
Instead of building a magnificent musical castle on top of a sturdy and unbreakable foundation, I
was building a rickety shack made of a hodge podge of materials held together with duck tape and
kite string and all resting on quick sand.
I just knew that logging hours was

mandatory for top jazz musicians.
The more the better I reasoned. So I
pressed on further into the
downward spiral to utter confusion
and defeat.
list.
Somehow I knew that something was wrong, that

something wasnt working. But I thought it was me, not
my methods. And I sure as hell didnt have time to stop
and figure it out. There Was Still So Much To Practice!!!
With every day of practice, study and class there was
more information about jazz and music piled on top. Just
to keep things interesting I added learning piano to my
It was around this time that I really started to question whether I had it or not.
So I Would Practice Harder.

I read or heard somewhere that Bird, Trane and other top players all practiced 6, 8, even 14 hours a
day. So I thought thats what I gotta do too. I never tried to find out how or what they practiced.
I just knew that logging hours was mandatory for top jazz musicians. The more the better I
reasoned. So I pressed on further into the downward spiral to utter confusion and defeat.
And of course most teachers were of no help. They just fed the fire by throwing on more information,
more tests, more homework, more papers, and more practice topics.
I dont blame them though. They didnt know they were adding to the problem. For many of them
they view it as their job to give you more stuff, so you get your moneys worth. For others thats
exactly how they were taught so thats all they know.
And for those for whom music happened to come really easy or who happened to stumble on to the
right path and take the right actions and make the right choices they didnt even know the problem
existed.
Soon I Was Beating Myself Up About A Variety Of Things
I wondered if I had it, if I had enough talent.
I wondered if I came from the right background. I was a white kid from the suburbs who
had no other musicians in his family and grew up listening to rock music. What right did I have to
think I could learn to play jazz?
I would even beat myself up for not feeling music intensely enough when I listened to
it. I was so cluttered up with expectations that I couldnt even enjoy listening to music anymore.
I wondered if I was creative. Imagine that. Creativity, which I now believe is a birthright,
simply the combination of trust, receptiveness and the result of feeding the creative well spring,
eluded me. But how could I be creative when I hadnt truly mastered much at all, and I was so
tripped out all the time about whether I was creative or not. Truly a vicious cycle.
I wondered if I was disciplined enough. Most people cant discipline themselves to exercise
for 20 minutes three times a week. Here I was locking myself in a practice room for 6-8 hours
every day, and I wondered if I was disciplined. Crazy!
If I had a bad gig, I felt terrible. If I had a good gig, I wondered if it was a fluke. I actually
purposefully would NOT tell people about my gigs and recitals. I was afraid I would blow it and
look like an idiot on stage.
Unfortunately, I could go on and on about these things I would beat myself up about. But I dont
want you to think Im a total basket case;-)
But The Truth Is, If Most People Were To Lay Their Fears And
Insecurities Out On The Table We Would All Look Like Basket Cases!
When I was at Berklee I was surrounded by people just like me. We had all accepted the false belief
that jazz was hard. That it was supposed to be a struggle. That if you werent a tortured artist, you
werent a real artist.
One by one I watched many of them drop out of school and out of music all together. Even top
players who we might think have it all together feel these same pressures.
But luckily something inside me wouldnt let me quit. Believe me I thought about it. I just hated the
idea of wondering what if for the rest of my life more than the idea of continuing my dysfunctional
music education.
Finally something happened that shook me to the core. Ever since arriving at Berklee I wanted to
take an ensemble with the great Hal Crook. After three years I was able to register for one of his
ensembles. I had finally arrived! I was now one of the cats. I mean I was in one of the best
ensembles in the school playing with the best players in Boston. Led by one of the best jazz
educators on the planet. I was one happy M.F. the day I got into that ensemble!
Well, I showed up, got my ass handed to me and
was promptly thrown out of the ensemble. This was
a major turning point in my life.
Hal Crook did what only a great teacher could do.
He was completely honest with me. He was blunt
and to the point but compassionate at the same
time. He basically told me that I wasnt ready for
the class; that I didnt need to be a better
instrumentalist.
I needed more experience playing jazz with people.
Here was this master trombonist and master
teacher telling me that I didnt need to practice as
much, I needed to PLAY.
Something clicked in my head.

Now I knew I was doing something wrong and I had a great teacher affirm that conclusion. And for
the first time it dawned on me that I might be able to figure out what that was. And then learn to do
the right things.
This began a fantastic journey/fanatical quest up out of the musical abyss of frustration and failure
and ever closer towards realizing my musical dreams.
First of all, I did just what Hal prescribed. I scheduled every session I could with every player I knew.
I didnt have as much time to practice now, so I chopped my practice routine down to what I thought
were the bare essentials. I was practicing less than ever but improving at a faster rate than ever
before. I was starting to get results.
Soon I found myself approaching the top players in the school to play sessions. And a funny thing
happened. Most of them said yes! I had this false assumption that I needed to be great player before
I could ask them to play. Boy was I wrong. You see the top players just wanted to play jazz too. All I
had to do was ask. They were ready and willing since most everyone else was too busy hammering
away in the shed or procrastinating in front of the TV.
I began to feel good about music again. I was inspired again.
But thats Not the End of Story.

This lesson from Hal was a major ah ha moment for me. I realized that what I did outside of the
practice room was just as important as what happened in it. But I as long as I was rethinking my
whole approach to jazz I figured Id take a look at my practicing too.
It was soon crystal clear that there was plenty of room for improvement in the practice room too. It
was obvious that my old methods were inefficient, unproductive and usually boring & mildly
torturous. It was clear that I had to learn how to REALLY practice. But now I was ready to figure it
out.
I began a search to find out what the top players did differently. I began to block out what most of
my other teachers were dumping on me and got busy learning jazz for my own sake, paying
attention only to those teachers who I thought were really valuable to MY situation.
I read everything I could get my hands on. I read biographies of great players. I read books about
success and achievement. I read about learning, practicing, art, self-esteem and personal
improvement. I was on a mission.
The next year, after playing a ton of sessions and radically altering my practice habits I called Hal
Crook up and told him I still wanted to be in his ensemble. He scheduled a session with a bass player
and myself and I nailed it. He invited me to play the
following semester. I went on to study with him
privately for the next 13 years.
I also took workshops with Kenny Werner, Danilo
Perez, Dave Liebman, Joe Lovano, Jeff Watts, Pat
Martino, Ran Blake, Rashied Ali, among others.
Out of all this, a vision for my music started to grow.
It was clear to me now that my old approach to
learning jazz was a dead end street. I threw out all
of my assumptions about learning jazz and gradually
10
became clearer and clearer about what worked.

I began to uncover patterns among the best players. And I began to see how the big pieces of the
jazz puzzle fit together. And how if you were missing critical pieces you would spin your wheels with
music no matter how hard you tried.
After many years Ive been able to funnel this all down into systems, formulas and paradigms for
musical success that I use with my students as well as for my own practicing, studies, rehearsals and
gigs.
I did my time in the music abyss and I couldnt be happier to be out of it.
Now, dont get me wrong, Im not there. Music is an ongoing process and there are still plenty of
things I could improve and learn. I have learned to embrace the fact that Ill never get there. I love
the fact that there will always be music to learn and areas to explore.
And now I can use these tools to move ever forward with music. To be excited about your future and
what opportunities the universe might throw your way is a fantastic feeling. And a feeling that is very
different from falling into that abyss of jazz confusion.
If any of that sounds familiar to you or hits a chord then youre in luck. In a few moments Ill be
going into depth about the undesirable effects I discussed above (you know, the abyss), Ill reveal
the root causes and tell you about the solutions.
So Why Am I Sharing This All With You?

First of all, I care deeply about jazz. I care about the jazz world. Its my life.
Ive seen my own frustrations mirrored in the experiences of many of my students. Ive witnessed
them having breakthroughs and epiphanies and seeing the truth for themselves.
There is nothing more gratifying for a teacher than to see his students learn, put the pieces together
for themselves and simply IMPROVE with their music.
When students tell me or write emails to me to tell me about their own struggles and how they saw
themselves in my story I feel connected. I feel like Im making an impact. When they tell me how
they were inspired or moved, or that they had an epiphany it feels awesome. They did the work, they
made the effort and they found the answer. I know its them, not me. But if my ideas, teachings or
writing about jazz can be a catalyst for great change in a persons musical life than I am a happy
person.
Secondly, There Is No Reason In This Day And Age

For A Person To Not Realize Their Potential.
11
The tools are there for anyone to take and use for their own development. I feel much gratitude that
I happened upon these tools. Now I feel a responsibility to spread the word. I want to tell the whole
jazz world about this. I want to change the way music is usually taught.
Dont get me wrong there are many fabulous teachers out there who really do care and really do
make a difference. But they are far and few between. Or theyre stifled themselves. Theyve bought
into the status quo. And they simply perpetuate these problems by feeding the fire of information
overload, confusion and failure.
To be honest, when I first thought about teaching this stuff and writing and creating courses I was
very apprehensive to say the least. I didnt want to take time away from my own playing, performing
and practicing. But I realized that I had to. I just had to share it.
Besides, believe it or not, sometimes I feel like I might get more out of teaching than the student.
Teaching and articulating ideas so someone else can understand them is one of the most powerful
ways to learn.
Theres one more reason for me writing this book. My personal vision and mission in life is to be a
major voice in the jazz world. To make a real contribution to the world of jazz.
I realized that playing music and creating my own art was only one of the ways I could realize that
vision.
By helping other jazz musicians who were in the same boat I was, I could impact the jazz world far
greater than just by my own music alone. If I can help create 10, 50, 100 even 1000 more successful
and contributing jazz artists I could impact the world in a more positive and profound way than I ever
imagined. Let me help you to become one of them too.
The Jazz Musicians Lament:
Paying Too High a Price for Musical Success That Never Comes
If I asked you right now, What one thing determines the level of success youll achieve with your
music? How would you answer?
Your
Your
Your
Your
Your
Your
Your
Your
Your
Your
Talent?
Intelligence?
Skills?
Creativity?
Persistence?
Discipline?
Knowledge?
Teachers?
Technique?
willingness to practice 20, 40 even 60 hours a week?
12
What If I Told You It Was None Of The Above?

What if I told you that your talent, creativity, technique, strengths and
discipline do NOT determine how far you will go with your music?
Now dont get me wrong. These things are important but they are almost never the deciding factor in
why some players become great players.
Why? Because these things only determine your potential with music. They do not guarantee that
you will become the player you want to be or how far youll go with your music.
The fact is, there are literally thousands of musicians who possess all or most of these traits and yet
fail to realize even a tiny fraction of their potential.
My point is that your potential in music and your actual success in music are two very different
things. You dont get the gig because of your potential. You dont become one of the cats because
you have potential. Potential alone cant make you a Monster Jazz Musician or guarantee that your
music will go down in the history books.
Now, ask yourself this
Does Your Current Musical Level Equal Your Potential?

Are the actual results youre achieving with your musicyour musical progress and your quality of
gigsequal to your potential? Do you believe your current levels of musical growth, your gigs, your
band, your experiences on the band stand, are all that youre capable of?
If you can honestly answer Yes! to those questionsif you know in your heart of hearts that you
have already achieved everything that youre capable of, if youre improving in music at the fastest
rate possiblethen please stop reading this book right now. Theres nothing here that will help you.
But if youre like most jazz musiciansif your answer to these questions is No! If you just know in
your gut that you could be so much more if you only had a few answersthen this book is going to
be a godsend to you.
Because by the time you finish reading this book Im going to give you an Ah-ha moment that will
explain why youre not getting the results you want, why youre not the player you want to be.
Youll understand precisely why youre practicing more and more and improving less and less as a
jazz musician. Or why you might be paralyzed by the music, overwhelmed and unable to practice and
advance in any real way, why youre a chronic procrastinator. (Hint: Its not your fault.)
And this will be a giant step forward for you, a giant step to opening the floodgates of musical
advancement and achievement. Youll be able to get busy improving and hitting your musical targets
one by one.
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While other frustrated jazz musicians continue to bang their heads against their own limitations, this
simple realization will empower you to sky-rocket your music into the stratosphere as if those
limitationsreal or imaginedsimply dont exist.
Specifically, Im Going To Show You How False

Assumptions And False Beliefs Are More Responsible For
Your Hindered Musical Progress Than Anything Else.
Becoming aware of these things may be difficult to stomach at first. But once you see them for what
they are you are going to be free and able to achieve your big musical vision.
Im going to show you specific tools and strategies that you can apply immediately to your music so
you can begin getting results right away. Ill show you how to take your foot off the breaks and get
real momentum happening to carry you further and further forward.
If you arent already aware of it, information overload is becoming a major problem in the world
today. We are constantly bombarded by new information. It comes at us from all directions. This
problem is systemic in the whole world not just the world of jazz. But within jazz its a very real thing.
It was a problem even 50 years ago, but now its downright out of control.
Musicians Dont Need MORE Stuff To Work On; They

Need A Way To Deal With What They Already Have.
Theres already thousands of books about composition, harmony, ear training, technique, styles,
rhythm, improvisation, and every other topic and sub-topic of music you can think of. Then theres
DVDs, online courses, blogs, YouTube videos, music sites. There are schools and lessons, workshops
and clinics. Then of course there are thousands if not millions of recordings to check out and learn.
(Which, consequently, is where you should be focusing much of your attention anyway).
Im going to show you a way to deal with this exploding brain feeling, the feeling of overwhelm and
exhaustion. Once you know how to sort through this mountain of stuff and keep only whats truly
valuable to YOU, music becomes easy again. You might even fall in love with music all over again.
I knowyoure skeptical. Youve heard thousands of big promises from teachers, books, sites and so
on. But please hear me out. If I can deliver on even one tenth of this promise to you, the time spent
to read this book will be the best investment youve ever made.
And you wont just benefit today. Youll benefit for the rest of your life. In fact these ideas and
concepts will only become clearer and clearer to you over time. Youll only become better and better
at using the tools and strategies. This will create momentum in your music the likes of which you
may not have ever seen before.
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Have You Ever Wondered Why You Arent Making The Progress
With Music That The Other Players Around You Are?
Has your frustration level reached high enough levels to begin doubting whether theres something
wrong with you?
Have You Ever Asked Yourself?

Why am I not a better player?
What am I doing wrong?
Whats wrong with me?
Will I ever succeed in music?
And have you ever found yourself wondering
Why Is Becoming A Jazz Musician So Hard?

Frankly, if youve ever asked yourself these nagging questions before, you are NOT alone.
Just about every email I ever get from my students telling me about their biggest challenges are
from people struggling to keep their head above water. They are overwhelmed and even angry that
they cant seem to get where they want to go.
They wonder if they have what it takes.
They wonder if they are practicing the right stuff.
They dont know where to begin or how to choose what to practice.
They are frustrated that their playing is so inconsistent.
They are frustrated with certain problem areas in their music that theyve been
struggling with for years.
Sometimes they even feel like its not fair that some players got all the luck and talent
and left them with their confusion and frustration.
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They are downright pissed off that they cant seem to get it together!
Until, just a few years ago I wouldnt have been able to give you an answer to these problems. I was
just finally beginning to figure out how to get results with my own music!
But I decided to try to put it all together so others could learn from my experience (and plentiful
frustrations!). Now, as I tried to organize this into something that would be truly beneficial and easy
to use for other jazz musicians I quickly realized that this would be a Tall, Tall order.
It took me much longer than I ever could have anticipated to put all the pieces together, to figure
out the pattern. The culmination was something I created and call The Monster Jazz Formula. You
may have heard of it.
In a moment Ill tell you more about The Formula but I dont want to take up too much time with
that now. First lets take a good, hard look at how NOT realizing your full potential is affecting your
life. Then well move on to the root causes and the solutions.
Practicing Ever More and Ever Faster; Advancing Ever Slower

Many jazz musicians approach learning jazz as if it were a race one that keeps getting harder and
harderwith no end in sight. We want to be so much better than we are right now. We are in a
hurry to figure it all out. We reason that once we get a certain level of musicianship we will be happy.
That the gigs will fall into our laps and we will live happily ever after as one of the cats.
We practice more and more but always come up short. We go down this path and that path, buy this
book, that book, take lessons with this teacher, that teacher. We practice this topic for awhile then
that topic. We constantly change directions. We may even get to the point where we are changing
our practice routine daily and never achieving any results with any of it, certainly not any results that
come out in our playing effortlessly with inspiration like its supposed to be.
Perhaps we have become so overwhelmed by this process that we become numb, like jazz zombies.
We just go through the motions and wait for someday when it all magically works itself out.
By going deeper and deeper into this musical abyss we get ourselves into a vicious cycle,
a self-perpetuating cycle. By switching topics before ever achieving any kind of mastery we never
experience whats possible with mastery. We lose, if only temporarily, our creativity and our innate
ability to learn. Our playing is inconsistent to say the least. And we struggle. But the struggling
becomes a way of life. It becomes our reality. We expect this struggle even. Since we struggle and
never achieve mastery we never play at a level thats good enough. We assume we must be
practicing the wrong things or not enough of them. So we switch. Again not achieving mastery. And
so on goes the cycle.
As our frustration increases we seek out the magic bullets. We know there must be that one thing
that will make us a Monster. If only we had that magic bullet everything would be great and we
would become one of the cats, garnering the respect of our peers and the admiration of the
audience.
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So we jump into learning to play Giant Steps, or maybe we figure that the hippest players are
masters of cross rhythms, or maybe we try to master every single permutation of every single chord
structure weve ever heard of in every single key. If we can get that down than surely we will have
arrived. We practice things that are way too advanced for us, way too broad or way too vague. We
never go deeply into any one topic, any one small area of music. So again we dont achieve mastery
and we perpetuate our cycle down into the abyss.
We completely lose sight of the point of music in
the first place: To express ourselves, create and
connect with other people.
This is a very painful place to exist. Each time we
perpetuate this cycle we chip away at our selfesteem and confidence. This can have the effect
of rippling out into our whole lives. This brand of
ineffective and fear centered practice can literally
effect the quality of our entire life.
We can begin to obsess about music. Its all we
think about. We might even go so far as to put it
before everything else in life. We can lose sight
of the REAL priorities in life, the important people
in our lives, like our girlfriends, boyfriends, wives,
husbands, children, siblings, parents, friends and
so on. We might sacrifice our social lives to
practicing. And even turn down a free, all
expense paid family trip to Europe like I did - because I couldnt bear to take the time off practicing!
Now dont misunderstand me. Becoming a great player does require commitment and some sacrifice.
Its just that the things we should sacrifice are things like television, or getting high and watching
Jackass, or watching dancing babies on YouTube, or reading trashy magazines. We dont sacrifice our
lives.
I read an interview with Wayne Shorter once where the interviewer asked him to talk about his life
as a jazz musician. Wayne said something along the lines of Music isnt my life. My life is my life.
Music is just a part of it.
But how many of us lose sight of our lives and become obsessed with becoming a great jazz musician
to the detriment of everything else? Or give up on our dreams all together.
The level of stress and pressure that musicians and artists can put on themselves can be ridiculous.
This pressure can literally lead to depression, health issues or even substance abuse. Its no secret
that the art world is full of drug addicts and alcoholics.
But There Is Another Way.
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There is a healthy way that can actually lead to more fulfillment in life and Monster Music Skills!
There is a mindset and a set of healthy beliefs that can put you on this path. There are tools and
strategies that pioneers before us have figured out, that we can use right out of box to achieve our
musical goals.
Believe me, the Healthy Way is infinitely more desirable than living and practicing and
performing down in that deep dark musical abyss.
Looking back on it, I cant believe how long I endured those frustrations myself before I said,
Enough is Enough! It is my hope and intention to short cut that process for you. So you can
achieve your musical goals faster than you ever thought possible. And have a life while doing it.
Now lets talk about each of these major problem areas in depth and surface the causes
AND the solutions.
Major Musical Challenge #1
The Myth Of TalentFear Of Not Having It.

Probably the most wide spread and debilitating problem with jazz musicians is the fear that they
dont have enough musical talent. Now talent is a very slippery concept to cover. How do you
quantify talent? How do you know if you have enough of it?
The truth is, if you love jazzin other words you get it when you listen to it, it resonates with you
then you most likely have all the talent you need to go as far with music as you wish. This fear of not
having it can become a self-fulfilling prophecy. In other words a fear of failure can actually create the
real failure. Self-doubt can keep you from doing the right things, taking the right risks and following
through on your plans and goals. If you believe you arent talented enough you will most certainly
create that reality for yourself. I believe it was Richard Bach who wrote Argue your limitations and
surely they are yours.
The great jazz piano player Bill Evans actually believed that he was not particularly talented with
music. So he had to rely on his analytical musical mind to dissect the musical ideas and concepts that
he was attracted to and build his music piece by piece through patient and thorough practice and
study. And look what he did with music. Hes one of the Giants! Today, to think that Bill Evans was
not talented is a preposterous idea.
Evans chose to focus on his goal of playing great jazz, rather than focus on his limitations. Instead he
did whats called leveraging your strengths. He focused on specific areas of music that he was
naturally inclined to explore. He explored those areas as deeply as he could and the rest is history.
His methods might have been a complete disaster for a more natural player like Lester Young and
vice versa.
The Law Of Dharma Or Purpose Of Life.

This law states that each and every one of us possesses a unique set of abilities and a unique way of
expressing them. If you ponder that idea for a moment and then consider some of the most original
voices in jazzThelonious Monk, Charlie Parker, Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday,
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Ornette ColemanIt becomes quite evident that these pioneers of jazz discovered their
musical purpose. They gave back to the world ten times over in the form of beautiful, inspiring
music. Not all of them had blazing chops or virtuosic control of music. They certainly couldnt play
everything. But they did have a profound understanding and intimate knowledge of their true voice.
So whats the solution to this problem?

Remove the word talent from your vocabulary. It doesnt matter. How does the saying go, The bars
are packed with talented people. Instead, focus on finding those things in music that really hit you
where it counts, that flow to you and out of you almost effortlessly. You dont have to be someone
youre not. Through consistent and purposeful practice and observation you can surface your
strengths and then get busy leveraging them to put you on the path to becoming a one of a kind jazz
musician, A Monster. Thats what you really want in the first place, right?
Information Overload: AKA Exploding Brain Syndrome.

Information overload presents a serious challenge.
But its also one thats not quite as elusive as talent.
You can use simple tools and strategies to deal with
this one. Well get to these tools in a second.
Information Overload Rears Its

Ugly Head In Several Ways.
First of all, there is an incomprehensible amount of
information about learning jazz available to us. Think
back to how it must have been to learn to play music
in the 20s or 30s. Students of jazz would have only
been exposed to a tiny fraction of the musical ideas
floating around the world today. They might have
been able to hear a small sample of the music being
played at the time on the radio. Maybe they got their hands on one or two books from the classical
tradition or some sheet music. There were few if any books about learning jazz so that wasnt a
problem.
A student most likely learned by watching and emulating local jazz musicians, playing the music with
peers and perhaps taking lessons with one of the local professionals. Their choices for what to
practice were, again, tiny compared to the overwhelming choices that exist today. Over the years
jazz musicians took the art form in incredibly diverse directions. Slowly but surely there were more
players. Recording and duplication processes improved dramatically and with these improvements the
number of records available to study increased exponentially.
More and more teachers began to analyze the music and create methods to teach it and to write
books about every musical topic under the sun. Soon there were many different styles of music and
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many different approaches to learning it. Its amazing to think that players in the 50s came up
against this challenge of information overload too. They had to deal with the music of Louis
Armstrong, Count Basie, Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Duke Ellington, Charles Mingus, John Coltrane
and all of the other thousands of great jazz musicians.
Jazz slowly made its way into the formal education world and with it thousands more books and
resources were created and became available to the student of jazz. This process has continued to
grow out of control to where we are today; there are many thousands of books, DVDs, methods,
teachers, classes, courses, workshops, lessons and of course opinions. Most Teachers and authors
also make a wonderful case as to why their particular book or approach is the right one.
And almost all of this information is available to you right on your computer thanks to the Internet
and the World Wide Web. This problem is only going to get worse as more and more people produce
information at dizzying speeds and this information gets passed around cyberspace as fast as it can
be created. (Yes I am aware of the irony of creating more information about information overload.)
Now on the surface, all of this information appears like a valuable resource to learning. And it is, IF
you know how to filter through it all and find the truly valuable gems that are relevant to YOUR
situation and most importantly relevant to your musical purpose.
Now, so far Ive just talked about information overload as it relates to the jazz world. Obviously jazz
musicians arent the only ones busy creating more information. Everyone is. Now we have cable TV
with hundreds of channels. We have Internet television, Netflix, Hulu, file sharing, YouTube,
Facebook, Twitter, thousands of news sites, millions of blogs. We have cell phone calls, text
messaging and email. We have the internet available on our smart phones along with our music
collections, practice apps, videos, etc. We can download sheet music and order any book on any
topic we can think of from Amazon.com.
Its no wonder we are overwhelmed and swimming in a sea of information trying to keep our heads
above water, let alone trying to advance as players and really say something with our music.
Attention is becoming a scarcity. We are fragmented, distracted and disconnected. But attention is
one of the most important things you have. Where you put your attention and the quality of attention
you focus there will determine exactly where you go with your music. Attention is a precious asset
many waste daily. If you focus on the wrong things you will not be successful. If you focus on too
many things you wont be successful.
So How The Hell Do We Deal With All Of This?

There are two things we need to do to deal with this challenge and to move towards our goals. One
is to create a foundation for musical success to help us choose whats important and sift
through the mountain of information. The other is to protect and defend our attention. We need to
develop bulldog instincts to fend off people (and devices) that try to steal our attention and our time.
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If Everything in Music is Important

Then Nothing is Important.
Lets talk about foundation first.
In a quick nutshell the way to deal with all of this information can be distilled down to three steps.
1. Get clear about your musical values and priorities. (This is what will make it easy to choose WHAT
to practice from the, literally, gazillion choices you have)
2. Determine your goals and targets with music. What are the desired results?
3. Determine the actions needed to get there. What do you need to practice? What skills do you
need to acquire?
Ok, That Sounds Simple, But How Do I Choose My

Goals. There Are So Many Musical Topics To Choose
From.
It all starts with figuring out whats important to you, what your values are. Your values are your
priorities in music. The clearer you are about your values the clearer you will be about what to
practice. Without clear values and priorities youre lost in the sea of musical choices.
Now remember. Your values will change and grow as you change and grow as a player. Your values
are not set in stone. None the less, get them down on paper and put them in order of priority. You
should review them from time to time and make any changes you see fit. In fact, print them out and
tack them to your wall. That way you can always use them as a litmus test to see if you are
operating in harmony with your own personal values.
From this list of values you can now create a vision for your music - a vision to inspire you and keep
you moving in the right direction. And from that you choose musical goals and targets. What would
you like to accomplish with your music within the next year? A year is a good timeframe for a longterm goal. While it is a good idea to have a long-term visionlike 5, 10 yearskeep your goals to a
year or so. Otherwise it becomes way too hard to conceptualize all of the details. Then again, one
year is farther than most people think into the future so even that may be a stretch. At first you may
decide to start with a shorter time frame like one month or even one week.
Next you need to turn that goal into a step by step plan. If you have any aversion to making plans
like many of us creative types who prefer to fly by the wind remember this: plans are simply tools to
keep you moving forward. Nine times out of ten the way your plan unfolds turns out dramatically
different from how you wrote it down. Thats fine. Its just a tool. Use it and enjoy the results of its
power.
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Heres A Quick but Deceptively Powerful Way to Make a

Plan Using the Backward Planning Method.
1. You start with the end goal in mind. Describe it in as much detail as possible. The clearer you
are about your goal the more likely you will hit it. What will it look like? What exactly will you
be able to do? When do you plan on hitting it?
2. The next steps are easy. You simply work your way back to today, where you are right now in
relation to the goal.
3. What step will you have to achieve right before you reach your goal?
4. What will you have to achieve right before you reach that step?
5. How about the next step?
6. Continue this simple process and work your way backward.
The Steps That Come Just Before You Reach Your Goal Will Be Bigger And Less Detailed.
The Steps That Are Closest To Today Should Be As Detailed As Possible.
So that you can answer the question What exact result am I going to get in my practice
session TODAY?
As you move forward towards your goal, you will make adjustments to this plan. You will flesh things
out into greater detail as you approach them. You might add steps, drop steps, change directions
slightly or adjust the order.
So to recap you want to make sure that the order makes sense and that you arent adding anything
extra. Its like my grandmother used to tell me when she was cooking pasta and meat sauce You
have to cook the onions just enough. Not too much, not too little. Its the same with plans.
Dont worry about getting it perfect. Perfect is the enemy of good. And good in this case is good
enough. Just by adding this framework and forward momentum to your practicing you will move
forward at a faster rate. For me and many of my students, that rate was faster than ever before once
we applied these tools and strategies to our music.
So after having completed this plan, your practicing will be greatly focused and youll find that you
begin to move forward faster and faster. This is a deceptively simple concept. But learning jazz
should be simple. I know, I know. Theres so much to learn and practice! But remember, you cant
possibly conceptualize or take responsibility for your entire ascension from beginner jazz musician to
jazz master guru all at the same time. Your brain will simply explode!
But what you practice today and this week should be simple, simple enough for you to dig in deep
and to attain mastery. That means really simple. Thats a lesson that I learned from a variety of
22
places but most notably from checking out Bill Evans. He taught that in practicing less truly is more.
By digging into the simple concepts in a very real and true way you provide a musical foundation that
you can take as high as you want. Do that kind of practice for a few years and you get Bill Evans.
Thats sounds good to me.
Practicing Harder; Advancing Less

Many jazz musicians find that the results they are getting from their practice sessions are incongruent
with the effort they are putting into them. In other words they practice their butts off but dont
achieve the musical ability they want so bad. And they are not getting these results nearly fast
enough.
Once you have a foundation for your music, once you know what your goals are and what your
musical priorities are, you still need to deal with the actual practice session. Im talking about your
practice habits. Now you know what to practice. Next we need to learn HOW to practice it, and
achieve the result we want.
Enter the Power Practice Paradigm

This concept is already implied in the goal and values concept. Basically: Choose a Goal. Divide and
Conquer (As my mentor Hal Crook says: Divide and Conquer. You cant fail that way)
But I think it needs further explanation because understanding and applying this system will teach
you how to shred through musical goals.
Youll develop consistency in your playing so you sound good all the time. In fact youll be
able to accomplish just about anything with music that you put your mind too and as a little bonus
youll start getting the respect from other players that you want.
Step 1: Results Based Practice. Each day when you approach your practice room you want to
take a moment to be as clear as possible about the purpose of the practice session, about the
desired results.
Many, many students approach the practice room with no idea about what they will practice or what
the point of it is anyway. But there needs to be a point, a purpose, a result.
You start with a goal. Hopefully that goal is connected to your foundation - your values and your
vision.
But, lets say your goal is to learn Miles solo on Freddie the Freeloader. You might define that goal
like this: Upon completing this goal you will be able to play the solo on your instrument, from
memory, along with the record, in tune with Miles.
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You must be clear about your desired result. Without this clarity you will spin your wheels forever, I
guarantee it. With clarity you will conquer everything you put your mind to. So always begin by
choosing your target results for the day.
Step 2: Next you need to simplify. This is what I call the Make it Easy concept. Make the
material you are working on easy enough so that you can actually succeed at playing it and
practicing it.
Divide And Conquer. You Cant Fail.

How do you make it easy? Well there are 3 fundamental ways.:
1. Play less of the topic.
2. Play it more slowly or at an easier tempo.
3. Play it out of time, no tempo.
So if youre working on that Miles Davis solo and your goal is to learn and memorize Miles solo on
Freddie The Freeloader up to tempo, with the right notes, the right rhythms and the phrasing of
Miles, youre not gonna jump right in and try to learn the whole thing.
Well start with less of the topic. Well start with the first few bars. Well start by playing the pitches
out of time and slowly. Youll simplify the material down to the point where you can actually play it
correctly, easily and absorb the sound. Maybe even just 1 or 2 notes. Then you can begin to practice
it.
Step 3: That brings us the next step. I call it the Play It until You Own It concept. Take your
time and practice the simplified version of the topic until you have it mastered, until your body and
ears can play it without thinking. Until you have a sensation where it feels like your body and
instrument are playing it by themselves and you are just there for the ride to listen and enjoy.
That is the kind of mastery that it takes to play jazz on the level of the greats. When they got up on
the bandstand, playing music was easy. Not because of talent, but because of smart practice and
mastery. They were free to focus on making great art.
This is the old slow and steady wins the race concept. Youll have to ignore your ego when it tries to
get you to hurry up and move on. But as you master the topic in this way you will be laying a strong
foundation for your playing which will make learning future topics much quicker and easier. You will
also be training yourself and your body to expect that type of mastery, that feeling of control and
ease. Then you will be in a position to really kill it on stage.
Ok, so youve got a clear result, youve made it easy enough to work on and now youve practiced
the first phrase of Miles solo until it plays itself. Now what? Simple.
Step 4: Push the envelope. Take it up a notch. Add the next few notes. Meditate on them; absorb
the sound until your body just plays them. Then combine the new phrase with the first phrase and
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practice that. Move through the whole piece in this fashion until you have the entire piece
internalized.
By the time you do this you will already have made great leaps forward. Your ears will be stronger your sense of pitch and harmony more acute. Youre positioned to take it to the next level, little by
little, step by step. After you complete it you will have made some serious frickin progress. As
opposed to just jumping in and rushing through the solo, leaving certain trouble areas behind and
generally perpetuating a mediocre level of performance. That would lead to persistent trouble spots,
inconsistency and unimpressive playing. Do you want your playing to be inconsistent, mediocre? I
didnt think so. You want to play like a monster.
By going through the tune using the power practice paradigm you will have learned more about
phrasing like a master than most players learn in five years. And you probably did it in a week or
two.
Your Ears Will Be Considerably Stronger As Will Your Ear/Body Connection.

On The Bandstand Your Playing Will Be More Sure and More Focused.
Additionally as you begin to expect this level of mastery it will become easier for you to know what to
practice the areas where you struggle, the things that still feel unfamiliar. You simply target them,
pick a result, make it easy, play it until you own it, and push that envelope. Thats the Power Practice
Paradigm.
Question: what you could do with this process. How would it affect your playing?
Imagine feeling strong and confident on the bandstand. Imagine applying this process to your
current routine. How would it affect it? What would be different about your music? Apply and practice
this approach and you will see your music take off. Youll see a difference in a few days. A week
later youll be surprised at your progress. A few months later you will be making more progress than
possibly ever before. A year from now youre a different cat.
Persistent Problem Areas That Just Wont Go Away.

Now this is a biggie, a major frustration for many jazz musicians. Weve all got these demons and
skeletons in the closet.
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This could really be any area of music, big or

small that a musician struggles with and never
successfully figures out how to conquer.
It might be sight-reading. Or it might be sightreading certain things like sixteenth note rhythms
or ledger lines, or bass clef.
It might a certain style of music like Latin jazz.
It might be certain keys, or certain meters.
It might be up-tempo playing or maybe ballad
playing.
It might even be something as small as the
bridge of a certain tune.
For a bass player it might be using a bow or
soloing.
For a pianist it might be the pedals.
For a trumpet player it might be the upper
register.
Why Cant I
Get It
For a saxophonist it might be intonation.
In some cases it might be as simple as attacking the problem area with ye ole Power
Practice Paradigm like we just talked about.
But sometimes there are really things that we struggle with despite our best efforts.
Weve all got these things that haunt us. Weve tried in vain to get them together but we never quite
get there. Occasionally they pop up at a gig or session and we cringe while that familiar knot in our
stomach comes back once again.
There are a variety of causes for this situation we find ourselves in.
Lets deal with the more abstract and psychological one first, Self-concept. Now, your self-concept is
made up of every belief you hold about yourself. Its really quite an amazing and important thing. In
fact, I might even go so far as to say that it is everything! Your beliefs about yourself and specifically
about your music and musical abilities will determine how far you go with music.
Somewhere along the line you decided that playing in three was difficult or that eartraining was hard,
sight-reading was impossible or that you could never learn to play fast. Try as you might, you
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continue over the weeks, months and maybe years to struggle with these areas. Each failed attempt
only further solidifies your negative beliefs in this area and this too becomes a perpetual cycle.
So, how do you break this cycle and conquer this problem area once and for all?
Begin by recognizing the fallacy in your assumption about this musical area. If you can learn to play
in four, it stands to reason that you can play in three. If you can play in one key it stands to reason
that you can play in another key. If you can learn to read in treble clef surely you can learn to read in
bass clef. If you can play bebop why cant you learn to play Latin jazz?
Nothing In Music Is Hard. Only Unfamiliar.

Once you understand that this negative assumption does not make sense you can get busy breaking
through the barrier.
What youll need to do is change your belief system, as well as apply the excellent habits of practice
and goal attainment weve already covered.
First lets talk about changing your belief system. Now whenever we try to change our minds we find
ourselves in a tricky situation. Your mind can be very clever and will always resist change at first.
Especially if this is an old problem area.
Start by consistently reminding yourself that this is a false assumption. Then begin to change your
inner dialogue. You see, the way we talk to ourselves has a tremendous impact on what we think
about ourselves. Watch out for the word CANT. Its probably the most dangerous word in the English
language. Of course if English isnt your first language then youll need to deal with whatever the
equivalent translation is in your language.
If you catch yourself saying something like I cant play fast or I cant play in tune or I cant sightread or I cant improvise, stop yourself immediately. Awareness is your greatest tool for change
and musical growth. Then correct your inner speak with something more positive and optimistic.
Usually its a case that you WONT or HAVENT YET learned to perform well those areas. So replace
that language with I Can and I Will.
Next, go through the goal setting process. Determine exactly what you want to be able to do.
Determine the steps to get there. Add to this, add why you want to do it. Determining why you want
to learn something and why your music will benefit by learning it can be a powerful motivator.
Focus on the goal and the benefits not the obstacles or the reasons why you cant do something. In
fact try to come up with as many ways you will benefit and as many reasons why you CAN learn it.
And then hit it with the Power Practice Paradigm. Break the problem down to the smallest most easily
achievable step you possibly can. Than work on that one step, that one result until you nail it. Then
go on to the next step. As you begin to see yourself succeeding in this area you will slowly build up
confidence and soon your false assumption will dissolve and slip away and you will be on your way to
breaking the boundary for good.
27
Watch out for that mind of yours though, especially at the beginning. It will try to trick you into
falling into old patterns. Persevere and youll get through it. We all go through the dip, that plateau
that seems like well never beat. Just divide and conquer. Stick with it and you WILL get it. Thats
half of success right there.
Common sense? Yes. Usually ignored? Yes. The master key to success? Absolutely!
Each time you address and conquer one of these problem areas you should celebrate the victory.
Each time you achieve any goal for that matter, you should celebrate, congratulate yourself and feel
good about the victory.
With each step forward you are increasing your musical foundation, your creative wellspring and your
self-confidence. And you will be on your way to achieving your musical dreams.
In Closing
I hope by now it is clear to you that there is no reason for you to not achieve any goal
with music you put your mind to.
There are so many musicians who end up frustrated and give up on their dreams all together. This is
unfortunate and unnecessary.
By becoming aware of all the many false assumptions we have we remove the constraints that are
holding us back from musical achievement.
By applying excellent practice habits and practice planning skills we move forward faster. As we move
forward we improve and strengthen our musical foundation as well as our learning and practice skills.
We become more focused and more productive.
Our music improves and our lives improve. Along the way we throw away more and more false and
negative beliefs about our music.
We become freer and freer and more truly artistic than ever before.
Our musical growth and artistic output increase exponentially as we move ever closer towards our
musical vision and our true potential.
These are some of the many principles and techniques covered in The Monster Jazz Formula. I hope
this little sampling of ideas helps you put some speed on your own musical development.
28
A Quick Recap of the Monster Jazz Principles
What Ive hopefully accomplished this manifesto is to get you thinking about your music differently
than you have before.
Heres a quick recap of what we covered.
1. How talent is not nearly as important as you think. Besides, you probably have more
talent and untapped potential than you need.
2. The law of purpose. Focus on finding your purpose and leveraging your musical
strengths. This is the path that all great players have taken, consciously or not.
3. In order to deal with information overload we must first determine what is
important to us and what we want to achieve. Then we determine the necessary steps
and the information we actually need to achieve those musical goals. We only need as
much as we need to say what we want to say.
4. How, seemingly, the whole world will try to steal your attention and your time and
how fending these distractions off will exponentially improve the productivity of your
practice sessions.
5. Practice for results, plain and simple. By learning some small thing or improving some
small area of our music each and every day we skyrocket our musical development forward
towards the stratosphere.
6. Define your desired musical results
in detail and discipline yourself to work
on that result until you hit it. This habit
alone will put you ahead of the pack.
7. Simplify your target result down to
the very next step - a micro step.
Divide and Conquer.
8. Work on it until you hit your target until you own it.
9. Push the envelope. Whats the very
next micro step? Find it and repeat the
paradigm.
10. Check out your self-concept and
false assumptions about music.
Work step by step to rewire you mind and to finally conquer those pesky problem areas.
29
If you follow these suggestions you will be well on your way to achieving your musical dreams and
goals, and it will happen a lot faster than you might have imagined possible.
If you dig these ideas and you see the tremendous possibilities to transform your music, this is just
the beginning.
If youre ready to take it to the next level, you can. And I walk you through the step by step process
in The Monster Jazz Formula.
Find out all the details here:
http://learnjazzfaster.com/the-monster-jazz-formula-explained
The concepts and ideas presented in the course have changed the lives of countless musicians.
Its worked really well for me and for my students and I know itll work for you too.
I wish you the best with all your musical endeavors.
To Your Musical Success,
~Chris Cooke
30

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Wha

About Chris Cooke

I would recommend Chris to anyone

anyone who will give you a more honest, and

Chris' lessons have been a huge help for

more progress in the last couple months

Man, what can I tell youIve been

Guy Shkolnik, Israel

finally a method that lets you understand

reinforce how to practice improvisation

addition to a jazzers library of learning but

confidence in playing which feels greatthanks

Thanks for all the advice, I feel you were

Troy H., B.C. Canada

2008 LearnJazzFaster.com LLC All rights reserved ~ www.learnjazzfaster.com

Thanks for being the first person Ive

education and music education in

This is exactly what I need to get to way

Chris, You seem to always nail this

I used to make the same experiences and

However, your method is highly

Ive made the transition from classical

My latest focus has been listening, transcribing

Your method works ; it is efficient and it

Thank you SO much for taking the time

Albert D. Haut-Ittre, Belgium.

Hi Chris! I own the monster jazz formula

The Monster Jazz Formula is a detailed

just a method for novices - reading through

If you're serious about learning jazz I

The Monster Jazz Formula for me has

Javier Vargas (Jazz Studies teacher at

The Monster Jazz Formula materials are

practicing) began to live and improved

The most thorough method to organize

something that I have never found

You are truly the Tony Robbins of the music

able to wade through your methods!

The Secrets To Becoming a Monster Jazz Musician.

Who is Chris Cooke?

Ok, But Why Do I Care About Getting To Know You?

Do You Remember Falling In Love With Music?

I just couldnt keep up.

And the fact is that most

I just knew that logging hours was

Somehow I knew that something was wrong, that

So I Would Practice Harder.

Soon I Was Beating Myself Up About A Variety Of Things

I wondered if I had it, if I had enough talent.

Something clicked in my head.

But thats Not the End of Story.

became clearer and clearer about what worked.

So Why Am I Sharing This All With You?

Secondly, There Is No Reason In This Day And Age

What If I Told You It Was None Of The Above?

Does Your Current Musical Level Equal Your Potential?

Specifically, Im Going To Show You How False

Musicians Dont Need MORE Stuff To Work On; They

Have You Ever Asked Yourself?

Why Is Becoming A Jazz Musician So Hard?

Practicing Ever More and Ever Faster; Advancing Ever Slower

The Myth Of TalentFear Of Not Having It.

The Law Of Dharma Or Purpose Of Life.

So whats the solution to this problem?