You've used the apps. Want the brain that built them?

Theory is what makes you smart. Ears are what makes you brilliant.

A focused consult for musicians at any level trying to make sense of theory and ear training. Maybe a concept that won't stick. A solo that won't come together. A writing problem you can't see your way out of. Or just the feeling that you should understand what you're playing better than you already do.

The deliverable

A working mental model. Not a lesson plan.

By the end of our time together:

A mental model for the thing you're stuck on.
A few simple rules that actually stick, instead of a textbook chapter you'll forget in two weeks.
Custom exercises designed for you.
For your instrument, your style, the thing you are trying to do. Not generic drills.
A recording of every session.
To go back to whenever the model starts to fade.

One session is usually enough to break a specific problem open. Two or three is enough to rebuild how you think about an entire area.

The approach

Don't use paper. Use your brain.

Most theory teaching is backwards. They give you the rules and hope you'll eventually feel them. I give you the feeling and then name it for you. Theory is just the vocabulary for what your ear already knows — and once you have the right mental shortcuts, the rest unlocks fast.

I'll teach you how to hear any song and know what to play over it.
The thing every working musician wishes they could do. Sit in, jam, find the changes by ear instead of asking for a chart.
I'll teach you how to break the rules elegantly.
And sound smarter than you might actually be.
I'll teach you how to phrase and shape a solo.
Pace, build, coherence. So your solos say something instead of just filling space.
I'll teach you how to find color in your writing.
The kind of harmonic and melodic colors that advanced players take years to find.
I'll teach you how the same theory rules apply to any instrument.
Once you hear them, the instrument almost doesn't matter.

Fit check

Read this before you book.

This is for you if
  • You play an instrument and want theory and ear training that actually make sense — not a textbook you'll forget in two weeks.
  • You've taken theory before but it never stuck because you couldn't hear it, and you're tired of re-learning the same material.
  • You came up by ear and want the language for what you already hear.
  • You're stuck on something specific — a concept you can't hear, a solo, a writing problem — and want a senior brain on it.

Format

One session, or up to three.

Over Zoom or FaceTime. USD pricing.

60-minute consult
Single session
$200 USD
90-minute consult
Single session, deeper dive
$280 USD
3-session package
3 × 60 min
$540 USD

The package saves $60 vs. booking three sessions separately.

About

Twenty five years of teaching. A couple thousand students. Five apps.

I've taught a couple thousand students over the last twenty five years and built five music-training apps for iOS — Ear Trainer, Sing Trainer, Polarity, Build, and jAMSKOOL Kids. The apps are how I codified the way I think about music. The consult is how I work with you on yours.

Send me an email.

Tell me what you play, what you're stuck on, and what you've already tried. I'll write back within 48 hours and tell you honestly whether I can help.

mike@jamskool.com →