Most people spend too long on theory and not enough time learning tunes.

That's the mistake. Because the real progress happens when you put everything into practice through repertoire.

Here are the 10 tunes I teach every jazz violinist, chosen specifically because they get you playing with other musicians as quickly as possible, whether that's in a straight-ahead jazz setting or the Django world.

1. Minor Swing

A simple minor tune that most jazz musicians know. It is a great starting point because the harmony is straightforward, which means you can focus on making music rather than getting lost in theory. Listen: Django Reinhardt

2. I Can't Give You Anything But Love

Sits right in the middle of the jazz tradition. Works across both worlds. The focus here is on thinking in one key centre and actually hearing the harmony, not just following shapes. Listen to Louis Armstrong's classic 1929 version to hear how it should feel.

3. Honeysuckle Rose

This is where you start to see real ii-V movement. Dominant chords leading somewhere. It teaches you how harmony moves without losing the sense of home. Fats Waller, who wrote it, is the place to start listening.

4. All of Me

One of the most commonly called tunes at jam sessions. Learn this and you can play with a lot of people straight away. It introduces secondary dominants and movement to the relative minor, classic songbook harmony. Billie Holiday's version is one of the most celebrated.

5. Autumn Leaves

One of the most useful tunes in jazz, full stop. It clearly maps the relationship between major and relative minor, and the ii-V-I patterns appear constantly across the repertoire. Miles Davis and Cannonball Adderley's version on Somethin' Else (1958) is essential listening.

6. Billie's Bounce

Your introduction to the jazz blues. The focus shifts here, less theory, more feel. Pentatonics, blues scale, targeting the right harmonic moments. Blues is core jazz language. Go straight to Charlie Parker's original 1945 recording to hear where it all came from.

7. I Got Rhythm (Rhythm Changes)

This is essential. Rhythm changes is one of the most common progressions in jazz and unlocks a huge amount of repertoire once you understand it. I break it down from the ground up.

8. There Will Never Be Another You

This is where things get more advanced. Faster moving harmony, multiple key centres, longer sequences. The key is staying relaxed and not trying to follow every chord.

9. How High The Moon

A really important standard in straight-ahead jazz. It moves between different key centres, which can feel tricky at first. Once you get it, you've taken a big step in understanding larger harmonic movement.

10. Nuages

The ballad. This one is all about tone, vibrato, space and musicality. Every note has to mean something.

These tunes aren't just chosen individually. Together they cover major and minor harmony, blues, rhythm changes, ballads and key changes, everything you need to start fitting into real musical situations.

For violinists, that's huge. Instead of feeling like you're trying to fit in, you actually start to feel like part of the band.

Learn the tunes. The theory will follow.

Want to go deeper? All 10 tunes are taught in detail inside the Jazz Violin Community. Join free to get started, or go straight to full membership to access the complete course.