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Jazz Study

Anton is an exceptional player & inspirational teacher... and a lot of fun! He is organized & prepared, and so well versed in so many aspects of jazz performance and education... What more could a student want in a teacher?! — Susan Muscarella, Director, The California Jazz Conservatory

Anton Schwartz possess the perfect blend of musicianship; a top-flight saxophonist, an inspired composer, and a professional with a keen sense of the music industry and the jazz community-at-large. His teaching combines these gifts into…

…a unique presentation of sophistication, clarity, and personality; before you know it you've got the keys in your pocket! — Joe Gilman, Musical Director, The Brubeck Institute

I've really enjoyed your approach in the weekly workout sessions. Your teaching style strikes me as a rare combination of clarity, curiosity, creativity, and practicality. — Michael Gold, saxophonist

Anton is a superb teacher. He listens to my playing and singles out specific areas for me to focus on, which has improved my improvisation dramatically. He is engaging & enthusiastic... — Terrigal Burn, pianist

Anton Schwartz, Jazz Educator

Anton is passionate about helping professional and recreational musicians overcome hurdles in their musical pursuits. He has taught extensively at the California Jazz Conservatory, the Stanford Jazz Workshop, the Lafayette Summer Jazz Workshop and the the Brubeck Institute. He has been Artist-in-Residence at Harvard University and the Brubeck Summer Jazz Colony and has given clinics at dozens of jazz institutions, including the SFJAZZ High School All-Stars, Seattle JazzED, KPLU School of Jazz, and the Bellevue Jazz Festival Rising Stars program. He also teaches privately in Seattle and Oakland.

Anton brings the precision of a scientist—he has degrees in Mathematics from Harvard and Artificial Intelligence from Stanford—and the soul of an artist. He is a highly accomplished performer and recording artist; see his biography for more information.

Here are the most recent postings on Anton Schwartz’s jazz blog:

To stay posted four times a year on Anton’s teaching activities, as well as pointers and thoughts about learning jazz, sign up for his jazz education email list.

Individual Lessons

75 minutes • $90

Anton teaches lessons out of his studios in Seattle, Washington and Oakland, California, as well as via Skype (see below). He works with intermediate and advanced students of diverse instruments who have an interest in some or all of the following:

  • Improvising fluidly over chord changes
  • Powerful expression through music
  • Internalizing advanced harmony
  • Fluency in the many idioms of jazz, plus funk & blues
  • Phrasing
  • Saxophone technique, including sound production, articulation, altissimo and inflections.
  • The physics of musical sound
  • Efficient practice methods for a busy lifestyle

Anton particularly loves working with musicians who have studied scales and chords but are frustrated in their efforts to use those devices to make great solos.

Skype Lessons

60 minutes • $60

Like in-studio lessons (above) but via two-way video on Skype or FaceTime.

Combo Lessons

90 minutes • $120

Anton works with jazz combos at his studio, on either a one-time or a periodic basis. He listens to their playing, points out areas of strength and weakness, coaches them to improve the weak areas during the lesson and suggests ways for them to further develop on their own. He has worked with beginning to advanced groups since 1995, at the Jazzschool, The Brubeck Institute and the Stanford Jazz Workshop, and has taught entire courses and workshops on a great number of the components that go into successful ensemble playing.

Anton is an accomplished & effective clinician.

He gives workshops frequently at a variety of institutions.
Below are some of his upcoming teaching engagements.

Upcoming Events

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Oct 20 Saturday
Jazz Night School - Seattle, WA

Clinic

“Jazz Scales”

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10am-1pm
The number of scales you’re expected to know as a jazz musician can feel overwhelming. This workshop gives the big picture view of how scales interrelate, and how you can think of them as an organized palette, not just a long list to be memorized. We’ll discuss pentatonics, modes of the major and melodic minor, the diminished scale, bebop scales, blues scales… exploring them with regard to constructing lines, brightness/darkness, functional harmony and more.
Prerequisites: Knowledge of seventh chords (major, minor, dominant, diminished) and major & minor scales.
Oct 20 Saturday
Jazz Night School - Seattle, WA

Clinic (FREE)

“Random Roots: A New Jazz Practice App”

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1:30pm-2:30pm
Random Roots is a new app for iPhone & iPad that trains musicians to execute musical ideas in multiple keys… and in the process forces them to internalize music at a deep level. It is made for beginning through professional level players, and includes features for teachers and their students. It is specifically designed to help you increase your ability to play musical ideas that you hear in your head. In this workshop app’s author, saxophonist & educator Anton Schwartz, will demonstrate the app, discuss the educational principles it embodies, and answer questions from an insider’s perspective.
Workshop registration (free of charge) is required.
Nov 10 Saturday
California Jazz Conservatory - Berkeley, CA

Clinic

“Ear Training for Songs”

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3:15pm-5:15pm
Listen to enough jazz standards and you’ll start to recognize the same recurring building blocks that comprise the bulk of their chord changes. Familiarity with them can make learning songs much easier, and be invaluable in composing. In this workshop the instructor will present a number of harmonic devices found in songs, and work with the students on identifying them by ear.
Prerequisites: working knowledge of music theory and jazz harmony.
Nov 11 Sunday
California Jazz Conservatory - Berkeley, CA

Clinic

“Jazz Scales”

Show More Info

11am-2pm
The number of scales you’re expected to know as a jazz musician can feel overwhelming. This workshop gives the big picture view of how scales interrelate, and how you can think of them as an organized palette, not just a long list to be memorized. We’ll discuss pentatonics, modes of the major and melodic minor, the diminished scale, bebop scales, blues scales… exploring them with regard to constructing lines, brightness/darkness, functional harmony and more.
Prerequisites: Knowledge of seventh chords (major, minor, dominant, diminished) and major & minor scales.
Nov 11 Sunday
California Jazz Conservatory - Berkeley, CA

Clinic (FREE)

“Random Roots: A New Jazz Practice App”

Show More Info

2:30pm-3:30pm
Random Roots is a new app for iPhone & iPad that trains musicians to execute musical ideas in multiple keys… and in the process forces them to internalize music at a deep level. It is made for beginning through professional level players, and includes features for teachers and their students. It is specifically designed to help you increase your ability to play musical ideas that you hear in your head. In this workshop app’s author, saxophonist & educator Anton Schwartz, will demonstrate the app, discuss the educational principles it embodies, and answer questions from an insider’s perspective.
Workshop registration (free of charge) required at cjc.edu.

You may also browse a list of workshops Anton has offered in the past.