I need some help with solos...

[Precisionb87]

I play in a band that plays funky blues. It was originally a 5-piece, but has now become a 3-piece. This means more bass solos Ive got great pocket (if I don't say so myself) but I need a little bit more to say during improv solos.

I don't really slap, but I have heard some guys incorporate a little bit of finger style be-bop-like jazz licks during their solos which really interests me. Some of which is actually super-funky.

I guess my question is, where do I start? Does anybody know of any good videos on youtube to really listen to? Any artists I should check out? I'm looking to steal a couple good licks fast

[Chrispurchase]

Check out this thread AMAZING Jeff Berlin Lesson excerpt

[FretlessMainly]

I'd recommend The Music of Paul Chambers by Jim Stinnett. There are three volumes, but Vol I might be enough to get you going.

No affiliation, but you can get them from Jim on-line:

http://www.jimstinnett.com/books.html

[JimmyM]

listen to good soloists and steal their licks.

[Slyonbass]

If you know some basic theory, I think a good place to start is with major and minor pentatonic scales. Once the notes are under you fingers you can start imitating guitar bluesy type licks in the groove, style and tonality of the song you're playing - simple and effective.
Here's a link if you need some general theoretical info:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentatonic_scale

Good luck!

[HeadyVan Halen]

Listen to different instruments. Alot of time we think 'just bass', but I love super funky jazz guitar licks or the way drummers solo and change the feel of the groove. It's not all about notes!! Phrasing is actually more important than how many notes you can play.

My biggest weakness on solo's is REMEMBER TO BUILD..in other words it's like 4-play...most times you don't wanna start with your knockout move...build up to the climax. Attempt to have a intro--build up--knock out..

[Jpeachbass]

a

[JTE]

Soloing in general is a skill to be learned. And the starting point (even though I'm a bit of a theory geek) isn't scales, modes, chords, etc. It's ideas. So, JimmyM's suggestion is where you start. He says "listen to good soloists and steal their licks". That's pretty much how every great soloist started.

Now I'll add a few warnings. First, he says "listen". That means put down your freakin' bass, turn off the phone and the computer, and LISTEN with your heart and ears to good soloists. Sing along with what they play. LISTEN to how the notes in the solo interact with the chords, LISTEN to how the phrases are built, LISTEN to how the phrasing of the solo line interacts with the rhythm section, LISTEN to the shape of the solo- how it starts, builds, and ends.

Second- he says "... good soloists". That really means "don't listen to bass players". Great soloists are great no matter the instrument- it's the music they play that makes it great, not the technique on a specific instrument. So, listen to really really good soloists- and that means horn players and singers generally, not bassists nor guitarist (I'd make an exception for Joe Pass, Mike Stern, and possibly Larry Carlton on guitar- and Ron Carter, and maybe Abe Laboriel on bass). Listen to Miles Davis, Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra (the master of phrasing), Wayne Shorter, Bill Evans, Oscar Peterson, etc.

Next JimmyM says "steal their licks" and that's a can of worms. Yeah it starts with licks- but the point is to cop what they're doing- but also learn WHY it works- that's where the study of theory starts coming into play. Stealing licks is a process where you'll first learn to play exactly what someone else played- that gives you both the physical approach, AND the music. Study how they used the notes against that chord- and extrapolate to other chords.

Now the next step is the hard one- Take a bit of music over which you're going to solo and record it. Then lock up your bass and listen to that bit over and over again. Just listen to it. Then after about 20 times, (with your bass still safely locked away where you won't get to it), play that bit of music back and SING what you think would be a good solo over it. Do that a couple of times, but not too many. You want it to be fresh, but not neccesarily the first thing that pops out of your head. Get to where you think you have a decent (not great, you're just starting) solo thought up and record yourself singing that solo^*.

Then sit down with your bass and that recording and learn EXACTLY what you sang. Not just the notes, but the dynamics, the flow, the phrasing, the pacing, the whole expression. Now THAT'S a solo that's all you. You let the music guide your fingers, instead of the typical bass solo which is the fingers randomly twitching until the drummer hits a rim shot...

John

^*Don't worry if your singing sucks. My singing was once described as "imagine Yoko Ono and Linda McCartney singing a duet". The point is that you'll know in your head what you were going for and the recording is just a reminder. Besides, the more you do it the better you get at singing too, and THAT'S a much more useful skill for a working bassist than soloing.

jte

[Spin Doctor]

Learn all your pentatonic scales (not just the "major" and "minor') then learn to maniuplate them in 3, 4 and then 5 note groupings. If you play blues, pentatonics are all you pretty much need to solo. The modes are good too a la, Leon Wilkerson since he played a lot of modal stuff when he was with Skynard, but pentatonics will definitely get you through. Once you do that, I guatantee you will start hearing exactly what's going on it those solos you hear on the blues records. Worked for me anyway...

[JimmyM]

thx jte...that's exactly what i meant but was too lazy to write at 5 am

[Precisionb87]

thanks for all the help so far

[Intenzity]

Yea, what they said!

And oh..if there was only a place on the web that had things like ii-v licks, and bass transcriptions and stuff. Oh wouldn't that be a cool web site to go to.

OH WAIT. There is

and speaking of blues and soloing, check out a posting from just last night - the first chorus of John Coltrane's solo on a minor blues, Mr. P.C.

It's his solo but in bass clef, from a song named after a bass player for bass! I think it created a worm hole.

http://bassoridiculoso.blogspot.com/...ltrane-mr.html

You can see the solo and hear it thanks to the fine guys at bopland.org and their super cool lick maker/player web service they have.

There is a slow, playable-by-normal-humans version, and a version at the tempo he recorded it at, which is just stupid fast.

Take a look at the lines he plays, and figure out what makes them the way they are - like "oh, i see, he starts on the third of the chord and then goes up the scale in a little pattern like that" or however you like, based on your own personal memory preferences. Then start taking a lick he may have done on a minor chord, and change it so it works on a dominant chord, take his recipe and put your spin on it.

Then repeat with other players you like.....for the rest of your life

[deadwtxsky]

very nice.

[Bass4FTM]

Let me start by saying I am new to bass talk, I have been playing for about 7 months.

I have really ben studying the Major and Minor Pentatonics, I can play them forward and backwards. The problem is 1 How do i make music out of that? 2 Should I approach this and bass fills in the same manner?

[onosson]

I concur with all the advice given, and I would add, or emphasize rather, that it is really important to think like a singer.

One snag is that you mention you're in a funky blues band. One of the difficulties for solo bass in a blues setting is that very often the other players will drop out (if the drummer is really nice he'll keep a bit of time going) - leaving you on your own to carry the melody, changes, *and* rhythm - rhythm being crucial to blues IMHO and IME. I always try to encourage the other musicians to back me up, at least a little bit (subtle beats, airy chords) when doing blues bass solos - it frees you up from having to shoulder all of that at once.

[TC2112]

http://www.studybass.com/

http://www.activemusician.com/Online...Lessons--t12i9

http://scottsbasslessons.com/video-t...oloing-ii-v-i/

check the video lessons from Scott. He has some great tips on soloing over different progressions including your basic blues vamps