understand the harmony
Unlock the freedom
Private jazz studies and improvisation coaching with Simon Yeh for serious musicians ready to break through plateaus, develop real harmonic fluency, and finally connect what they hear to what they play.
Collegiate-level educator • Professional saxophonist
Macro-to-micro jazz instruction • Online lessons available
Most Jazz Students Stay Stuck for Years
They practice scales
They memorize licks
They watch endless YouTube videos
They learn theory concepts one at a time
But when it’s finally time to improvise…
Everything still feels disconnected
The harmony moves too fast
Solos sound repetitive
Phrasing feels forced
And instead of sounding free, most players feel trapped inside patterns
The problem usually is not effort
The problem is that most musicians never learn how harmony actually works at a deeper level
Imagine Finally Hearing the Music Clearly
Imagine sitting down with your instrument and:
hearing harmonic movement in real time
understanding where lines naturally want to resolve
improvising across an entire phrase instead of chord-by-chord
and finally feeling confident navigating standards without guessing
That’s when improvisation becomes musical instead of mechanical
That’s the difference between collecting jazz information and developing real fluency
A Different Approach to Jazz Education
Most jazz education teaches improvisation vertically:
one scale for every chord
Simon Yeh teaches jazz from a macro-to-micro framework
Students first learn:
key centers
harmonic function
phrase movement
tension and release
and how music flows across larger sections
Then the micro language gets applied inside that structure:
bebop vocabulary
chromaticism
voice leading
rhythmic phrasing
articulation
and advanced improvisational concepts
The result is playing that sounds connected, intentional, and expressive instead of fragmented and scale-based
Designed for Serious Musicians
Perfect for:
Saxophonists wanting deeper improvisational fluency
Jazz students feeling creatively stuck
College and advanced high school musicians
Worship and CCM musicians wanting stronger harmonic instincts
Pianists, guitarists, bassists, and other improvisers
Producers and composers wanting deeper harmonic understanding
Musicians preparing for auditions or ensembles
Players tired of surface-level jazz education
Study Options
Single Lesson
Highest Cost • Lowest Value
Best for:
trial lessons
auditions
specific questions
Includes:
one-on-one coaching
personalized feedback
and guided next steps
Perfect if you want outside feedback
Not ideal for long-term transformation
Weekly Private Lessons
Most Popular Option
Designed for musicians wanting:
consistent growth
accountability
deeper fluency
and structured progression
Includes:
weekly lessons
customized practice systems
harmonic and improvisational development
ear training
and ongoing progression tracking
This is where most major breakthroughs happen
Mentorship Program
Highest Value
For serious musicians wanting faster growth and direct access outside traditional lessons
Includes
unlimited text access
monthly deep-dive coaching session
recording feedback
personalized guidance
and real-time troubleshooting between lessons
Instead of spending weeks stuck and searching random videos online, students receive direct guidance tailored specifically to their playing and goals
Why Private Study Accelerates Growth
The internet gives musicians unlimited information
But information alone rarely creates transformation
YouTube cannot
diagnose your weaknesses
correct subtle habits
adapt to how you think
or guide your development in real time
Many musicians spend years consuming jazz content while unknowingly reinforcing the same limitations
The right mentor dramatically shortens that timeline
Because great teaching is not about giving more information
It’s about giving clarity, structure, and direction
About Your Instructor
Simon Yeh is a professional saxophonist, educator, arranger, and collegiate-level instructor with years of experience teaching jazz improvisation, ear training, harmony, and advanced musicianship
His teaching combines deep harmonic understanding with practical improvisational application, helping students move beyond memorized patterns and develop genuine musical fluency
Simon’s macro-to-micro teaching approach has helped students strengthen:
improvisation
harmonic awareness
phrasing
rhythmic confidence
and overall musical freedom
Don’t Spend Another Year Feeling Stuck
Most serious musicians are capable of far more than they currently realize
The difference is often not talent
It’s having the right guidance, structure, and feedback consistently over time
If you’re ready to stop spinning your wheels and finally develop deeper confidence, fluency, and freedom in your playing, lessons with Simon Yeh are designed to help you get there.