I’m just chilling today. Going to a friends 40th bday party. Tomorrow I’m playing jazz in duo with Harry Diplock at the Green Note in Camden. Will probably be dusting off some tunes for that on Sunday afternoon. What’s happening with you guys?

Today I’m mainly just with my son but I when he’s napping I’m going to be doing some last minute Ute practise for my gig tomorrow. It’s a gig paying tribute to the “big 3” of jazz violin; Venuti, Grappelli and Stuff. Playing tomorrow afternoon at the great Ronnie Scott’s. Check out the setlist in the photo. I’m basically…. Cramming melodies (the Venuti ones are the hardest) Doing some arpeggio exercises with the changes of the tunes that I don’t know that well Making sure I can totally play my own tunes properly Listening through rehearsal recordings to make sure I know the arrangements by heart. Btw if you are in London and you fancy coming, check it out below. https://www.ronniescotts.co.uk/find-a-show/matt-holborn-giants-of-jazz-violin What are you up to this weekend?

The title sounds more serious than it really is… I recently posted a video in a Facebook group about what we get out of learning other players’ solos. A few people commented who are quite against this approach. One of them, who is actually a really great player, said he’s completely against learning jazz this way. His view is that it goes against the very essence of jazz, which he feels should be about freedom of expression. I can see where he’s coming from, but I don’t totally agree. I responded politely in the thread, of course, but it made me think it might be an interesting discussion to bring over here into SKOOL. I did briefly consider inviting him in to join the conversation, but I’m not sure he’d be that into it. Asking someone who already disagrees with you to come and join your own SKOOL group might come across a bit combative. So instead I thought I’d start a new thread here. Does his opinion resonate with anyone in the group? I’d genuinely be interested to hear people’s thoughts and would welcome the discussion.

Hi all Just a quick note to let you know that I’ll be increasing the membership prices for my Skool community next week. (If you are already signed up, your price won't change a bit, don't worry) Over the past few months I’ve added more structure and content. A monthly Transcription Lab More content in the Classroom (10 tunes to learn, Weekly exercises with transcriptions) A clear learning pathway for people starting out in the classroom Ths is on top of my usual weekly practise club and the Etudes we work on. As it continues to grow, it makes sense to adjust the pricing to reflect that. If you’d like to join at the current rate, you can do so before 9th of March. Anyone who joins before then will keep that price going forward. If you’ve been meaning to get involved, this is a good time to do it. You can join here: https://www.skool.com/jazzviolin/plans

When you first started learning jazz violin, what practical thing held you back? Swing feel, learning tunes, improvising, technique… something else?