The Jazz Roadmap

Are you studying jazz but unsure what to learn first?

The problem is not a lack of material. There are books on harmony, improvisation, voicings, scales, transcriptions and repertoire. The real problem is knowing what to study, and in what order.

The Jazz Roadmap organizes jazz study into a clear progression: 116 topics across 16 stages, arranged by dependency so that each concept prepares you for the next.

The journey begins before theory, with listening, expectation and musical perception. It then moves through the fundamentals of musical material, time and swing, tonal harmony, voice leading and the harmonic language of jazz. From there it progresses to voicings, repertoire, improvisation, scales, comping, modal and non-functional harmony, modern jazz, reharmonization, composition and, finally, how to practise and develop a language of your own.
Every topic answers three questions:

• What is it?
• What is it for?
• What breaks when you don't have it?

Each topic also points to where it is developed in greater depth in the reference books.

Whether you play guitar, piano, saxophone, trumpet, bass, drums or another instrument, the roadmap is designed for all instruments.

This is not a book designed to make you memorize more information. It is a map for deciding what to study, in what order, and why.

If you already play jazz, start at the stage that matches where you are. If you are starting from scratch, follow the roadmap from the beginning. The book also provides different routes depending on your starting point.

116 topics. 16 stages. One roadmap for turning scattered knowledge into a coherent path of study.