“God bless Sam Yahel!” – Gilad Hekselman

“This has helped me immensely!”

“Completely original concepts! Excellent instructor with clear explanations.”

“A very simple, yet profound concept of feeling ‘time’. It’s worth listening to many times.”

“Sam’s approach to time was very helpful. Unique – and not restrictive/punishing, but freeing!”

“What a fantastic masterclass! Great analogies from ‘life to music and back.’
Playfulness as key element of learning & solving problems to me is almost a philosophical truth (Homo Ludens).”

“Sam clearly lives these concepts, and really strikes me as authentically wanting to connect and convey his message.
He is a great listener! He was totally on point in answering questions, requesting further feedback/follow up.”

“I’ll never listen to a classical or Jazz piece the same way again! Based on Sam’s answer regarding whether one would be rhythmically disadvantaged with lots of classical training (which was masterful). Also his comments regarding time-feel were a masterclass in itself (will pull up the video and loop it endlessly). He’s a genius!”

“Sam offered a great presentation that was clear & motivating!
One might say he even offered some controversial ideas, that ended up to be well supported! I like that, and it really offered some perspective that I would not previously thought of in the same way. And, he did this in a more open format, responding to audience questions and needs. A rather rare skill, and enjoyable to experience.”

[00:00:00]: Intro Performance
[00:03:53]: Introduction
[00:04:40]: Understanding Time in Music
[00:06:23]: Magic Tricks: Perception of Time
[00:08:00]: Demo with “I Have A Dream” Speech
[00:10:14]: Exploring Different Tempos & Time Signatures
[00:12:01]: Magic Trick #2: Out-of-Time Playing
[00:14:17]: “Syncing” Recorded Music with Different Tempos
[00:16:42]: Time & The Illusion of Synchrony
[00:17:49]: [Q&A] Right Way to Use iReal Pro
[00:18:25]: Limitations & Benefits of iReal Pro
[00:20:13]: [Q&A] Framing the Beat Creates Context
[00:21:21]: [Q&A] Brain/Ear must be Trained for Musical Time?
[00:23:58]: [Q&A] Causes of “Bad Time” in Musicians
[00:24:28]: Grid-Based vs. Natural Time Feel
[00:26:18]: Demonstration: Feeling Different Pulses
[00:29:43]: The Concept of the Big Beat
[00:30:44]: [Q&A] Harmony Awareness in Improvising
[00:33:46]: Consonance & Dissonance in Jazz
[00:35:29]: Aligning Harmony with Musical Flow
[00:37:12]: [Q&A] Time Problems Caused by Harmony
[00:38:37]: The Trap of Measure-to-Measure Playing
[00:39:22]: Roots on Downbeats & Other Common Mistakes
[00:40:42]: Solutions: Thinking in Two-Measure Groups
[00:42:28]: Exploring Beats Within Measures
[00:46:02]: Exercise: Finding & Starting on Beat Two
[00:47:37]: TIP: How to Integrate Exercises into Your Playing
[00:49:01]: Natural Exploration vs. Rushed Learning
[00:51:09]: Advanced Exercise: Ending Lines on Specific Beats
[00:53:15]: [Q&A] Two-Bar Versus One-Bar Beat Exercises
[00:55:20]: [Q&A] “Beat Work” Away from Instrument?
[00:56:05]: [Q&A] Practicing the “Ands” of Beats
[00:57:05]: Metronome Exercise: Avoid Subdivision!
[01:00:02]: Listening as a Component of Good Time
[01:01:22]: Big Beat vs. Little Beat Syncopation
[01:01:47]: Syncopation on Big Beats (Funk)
[01:02:38]: Don’t just Syncopate Offbeats! 
[01:04:11]: Counting Exercise for Offbeats
[01:07:21]: Get to know Beats = Get to know Scales of Chords?
[01:10:27]: [Q&A] Does Classical Training affect Jazz Rhythm?
[01:15:27]: Creating Waves in Musical Phrasing
[01:16:01]: Symmetrical & Non-Symmetrical Waves
[01:16:48]: Don’t get Sucked into “Real Book Harmonic Rhythm!”
[01:19:03]: Non-Symmetrical Waves: Polyrhythms or Groupings
[01:23:58]: Summary & Final Thoughts on the Big Beat
[01:24:44]: [Q&A] Albums Exemplifying the Big Beat
[01:28:13]: [Q&A] Consciously Choosing the Big Beat Onstage?
[01:30:11]: [Q&A] Defining “The Big Beat” Concept
[01:31:34]: [Q&A] MLK Speech: Natural vs Intended Rhythm
[01:33:45]: Sam Yahel Trio “Lazy Bird” Performance