Essential Tunes to Learn

Do you feel like everyone is telling you that you need to learn millions of songs? Where do you even start!? Look no further! Using my database of dozens of musicians’ tune recommendations and using the findings of a survey of jazz educators, I have compiled two lists that will make picking out tunes to learn MUCH easier. One list focuses on 100 Great American Songbook standards and groups them into the 25 most essential, then the next 25, and so on. The other list focuses on 100 Jazz Standards, highlighting the 20 most popular and 20 essential blues heads. I even include some extra tunes that are essential if you live here in New Orleans.