I often get asked about how to learn a groove, or practice this or that style, particularly jazz. Practicing with a metronome is great practice in developing a sense of tempo and pulse, but how far does it go in develop a sense of groove … of pocket? This is where playing along to recordings is invaluable. The best advice I can give you is to simply find some good jazz records and begin playing along to them.

Playing with a metronome is wonderful and I 100% recommend it, but it’s not going to do a lot in helping you develop your inner swing. Playing to records will help your sense of time and help you develop your sense of the swing pulse. Also, it will help you learn to listen to other musicians. When playing with the recording, try to feed off the other guys and respond to what they’re doing. If the horn player plays a lick, try comping that lick somehow. Don’t think to yourself, “this is just a CD, I can’t jam with this.” Instead, close your eyes, and make it feel as if you’re driving the thing and these guys are following you. This works especially well within the improvisatory nature of jazz. Sure, you can play to rock records too, but rock doesn’t really allow for the same freedoms that jazz affords.

One good jazz album to start with is Coltrane’s Giant Steps or My Favorite Things albums. Elvin Jones is absolutly magnificent on these records and the tunes are pretty accessible, musically speaking. Also, Miles’ Kind of Blue record is great. “So What” is a wonderful tune to play along to. When playing along to these records, listen to the different styles of the drummers (Elvin, Art, Jo Jones, etc.) and begin mimicking them as you play along with them. You’ll find that the study of another artist’s sound will go a long way towards helping you developing your own.

Can you dig it?