How do you solo?

[Joaquin]

I have no idea how to solo.....any good tricks or demonstrations on Youtube?

[Schlyder]

You've been here 5 years.... I suspect you do have an idea how to use the search button, and /or Google.

[Kobaia]

some academic ways to get you out of a rut are:
Chord tones, Chord Scales, Super imposing, pentatonic, hexatonics, scale segments, as well as augmentation, diminution, inversion or reversal(or any combination of those 4) of the melody.

but generally it starts with a deep breath and picking a destination i want that melody to go in

[brndn123]

Me thinks its ironic that one of the hothreads in the Recordings Forum is "Best Bass Solo Ever"

Sorry for the hijack, please...continue

[Kobaia]

also this
Smoke On The Water - Guthrie Govan with Kim Se Hwang(HQ ver) - YouTube

[jonathanhughes]

Originally Posted by Kobaia

also this
Smoke On The Water - Guthrie Govan with Kim Se Hwang(HQ ver) - YouTube

Yikes.

[Kobaia]

Originally Posted by jonathanhughes

Yikes.

i know. is scary how good he is

[brndn123]

Originally Posted by Kobaia

also this
Smoke On The Water - Guthrie Govan with Kim Se Hwang(HQ ver) - YouTube

[grendle]

uhh...... that would be a vote for how not to do it i think......

[zackthompson]

It's all about groove man. You can play all the scales in the world in a solo, but if you don't groove, it can be one of the worst solos you've ever heard/played. Victor Wooten does one of the best examples of this by taking the 5 "wrong" notes out of scale and only playing those notes during a whole solo. Its pretty amazing. Buy his dvd "Victor Wooten's Groove Workshop." It will make you look at bass playing in a whole new way, and help you learn to solo.

[gard0300]

I know this is a generic response, but if I am lazy and I just want to through something together. I will start on the fifth or the seventh and just play some pentatonic runs, maybe a trill, a quick slide and end on a chord, or something along those lines. Its not always pretty, but noone except other bass players expect to much out of a bass solo.

[AlvarHanso]

Originally Posted by jonathanhughes

Yikes.

180px-GeorgeMichaelBluthYikes.JPG (image)

I can't believe they cheered that...

[Russell L]

I don't get many solos, and I'm not the best at it anyway. But, when I do get a bass solo I try to not try to make it sound like a guitar solo. That is, I let it be like a bass ought to be, so to speak. Sometimes, I just use the bass line to the song, but only add all those extra embellishments I've been wanting to play during the song, but could'n't. Then, I may get off on a tangent with some scale stuff, maybe hanging on a false root, or finding something that is kind of a motif for a bar or two.

But, basically, I never know what I'll end up doing until it just happens.

[Melik]

I do solo like Michael Brecker: Just playing a bunch of plain "wrong" notes with a good lining and phrasing!

[MelodiousThump]

Originally Posted by Kobaia

also this
Smoke On The Water - Guthrie Govan with Kim Se Hwang(HQ ver) - YouTube

Have to agree with grendle on this one.

[PDGood]

Originally Posted by grendle

uhh...... that would be a vote for how not to do it i think......

Another vote for grendle's comment.

[Fullback32]

How do I solo? I don't. Trust me, nobody wants to hear that from me.

[edbass]

Originally Posted by Kobaia

i know. is scary how good he is

Well, scary anyway...

[Martin89]

Soloing is best done by yourself, although I don't like it when the whole band stops playing.

[guroove]

Just go for it! Forget scales, theory etc. Start with some slides, play whatever notes you feel like and finish off with some neck bends and back flips.