The instant availability of information has changed the paradigm of teaching. Whereas at one time teaching and learning was information being passed, memorized, and repeated, students can now find their own knowledge. Learning now consists of using information in creative ways and requires a shift in how students are taught. This is quite similar to what occurred in music over a hundred years ago when jazz was introduced to the culture. Music moved from musicians playing what the composer wrote, to creating their own music within a structure. This shift is an apt metaphor for the changes being felt in twenty-first century teaching and learning. The processes of learning and creating jazz provide a way to illustrate new teaching methods that allow students to discover new knowledge through their own creative interests and to develop self-efficacy with the material.