Help! I have an audition

applerocks · #1 11-26-2007, 07:53 PM

Hey guys,

I have an audition for a conservatoire that I've wanted to go to for years, to study their Jazz course. I have to play two standards at my audition and have decided on Blue Bossa and Scrapple from the apple.

Do any of you guys have any useful tips/tricks for playing these? For example, most applicable scales for soloing, jazz language that you could fit in, tips for playing a bit outside the box or even the arrangements that I should go for? Any advice would be appreciated!

Thanks!

BuffaloBass · #2 11-27-2007, 07:11 AM

I cant help, but wish you great success !

applerocks · #3 11-27-2007, 10:02 AM

Thanks!!

alexmoore10 · #4 11-27-2007, 10:05 AM

Are you set on these as I have a fab arrangement of Autumn Leaves set just for bass!!

applerocks · #5 11-28-2007, 02:31 PM

I'd love to play a solo arrangement but pieces have to be played with a full band!

needmoney · #6 11-29-2007, 02:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by alexmoore10

Are you set on these as I have a fab arrangement of Autumn Leaves set just for bass!!

I'd be interested in this for my next end of semester performance. PM me

middlebit · #7 11-29-2007, 03:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by alexmoore10

Are you set on these as I have a fab arrangement of Autumn Leaves set just for bass!!

I am interested in this as well, Sir!

applerocks · #8 11-29-2007, 05:40 AM

any help? anyone?

bassandbeyond · #9 11-29-2007, 11:17 AM

The main thing, of course, is to be able to keep good time and maintain the form while comping in the appropriate style for each tune (i.e. walking on Scrapple and bossa pattern on Blue Bossa). Make sure your comping is really solid before you start to worry about soloing.

As for scale/note choices, I don't know what level you're at, but for starters, it's always safe to stick with chord tones. Of course, on the Bossa, you will be using mainly roots and 5ths, starting every chord on the root. Watch out for the flat 5th on the Dmin7(b5)!

Basic R-3-5-7 arpeggios will get you through Scrapple, but it sounds better if you don't jump back down to the root on the start of EVERY chord. Try reviewing all 4 inversions of each chord in advance, so that you will see smoother ways of connecting the chords. For example, if you play R-3-5-7 on Gmin7, then you could neatly resolve to the 3rd of the C7 chord on the next downbeat.

I wouldn't start messing around too much with exotic scales and chord substitutions until you're pretty solid on the above described approach, but I'll give you one hip trick to try. The bridge of Scrapple is a standard rhythm changes bridge, with two luxurious measures per chord to blow on.

Because these dominant chords move through a perfect cylcle of 4ths, you can substitute another dominant chord a tritone away for any of them. i.e. on A7 you can play Eb7, on D7 you can play Ab7, etc. That will perk some ears up! But if you get confused by any of this, just go back to playing straight arpeggios. Good luck!

applerocks · #10 11-29-2007, 01:49 PM

Thanks for the help bassandbeyond! I'm down with the tritone stuff, that's a cool trick. But what about arrangements? Scrapple from the apple is clearly 2 sections, should I take over the whole thing or just the bridge? And are there any common modes that I can use to make soloing a bit easier? Also same with blue bosa? Can't I get away with 2 dorian scales over the whole thing?
Also, would an appropriate way for me to play these two be, once around playing the bass line, once around taking the lead, solo, and then back to the bass line?

Thanks for your help!

**WillPlay4Food** · #11 11-29-2007, 01:58 PM

bassandbeyond · #12 11-29-2007, 05:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by applerocks

Thanks for the help bassandbeyond! I'm down with the tritone stuff, that's a cool trick. But what about arrangements? Scrapple from the apple is clearly 2 sections, should I take over the whole thing or just the bridge? And are there any common modes that I can use to make soloing a bit easier? Also same with blue bosa? Can't I get away with 2 dorian scales over the whole thing?
Also, would an appropriate way for me to play these two be, once around playing the bass line, once around taking the lead, solo, and then back to the bass line?

Thanks for your help!

The scales suggested above by Willplay will work for Blue Bossa (although I'd be more inclined to play dorian on the Cmin). I'm getting the impression, though, that modes are still new to you. Therefore, I would recommend sticking mainly to chord tones for both comping and soloing for now. While it is possible to boil these chord progressions down to just a couple of key centers and just play off of a couple of scales, that's not going to sound great since you will not be outlining the changing harmony along the way. You can come up with plenty of musical ideas just sticking to chord tones for now.

As for arrangements, jazz standards are almost always played in the following form: 1st X: melody (played by lead instrument while you comp a bass line), 2nd X: lead instrument solos, followed by other instruments each soloing over as many repetitions of the form as they wish, all along you are still comping for them (you might get the last solo), Last X: melody again (while you comp).

bassmancai · #13 11-30-2007, 08:11 AM

Willplay I dig that youve got a scale sorted out for each chord but thats always a crazy way to approach a tune. If you've got a set of changes and you want to approach it from a modal / scale direction, you're looking for modes or scales that fit over a group of chords rather than each one. Otherwise you dont end up forming phrases with continuity because you're constantly changing the root, chord and scale in your head every four beats. Know what I mean?

**WillPlay4Food** · #14 11-30-2007, 12:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bassmancai

Willplay I dig that youve got a scale sorted out for each chord but thats always a crazy way to approach a tune. If you've got a set of changes and you want to approach it from a modal / scale direction, you're looking for modes or scales that fit over a group of chords rather than each one. Otherwise you dont end up forming phrases with continuity because you're constantly changing the root, chord and scale in your head every four beats. Know what I mean?

I didn't put the Nashville numbers in my earlier post but yes I understand the first 8 bars and last 4 bars are based on one tonal center and the 9 - 12 bars are based on a second tonal center.

I am working through this piece with my bass instructor (a Berklee graduate if that means anything). He is teaching me in order to truly know a song and be able to improvise over it I need to learn 4 things:

1) the melody or head
2) Comp or harmony
3) chord tones
4) chord scales

I'm currently on part 4. What we do is I'll start and play through the head once, then solo while he comps, then comp while he solos and then brings it to a close by playing the head again.

There is no way I could improvise on the fly using more than chord tones if I didn't understand which scale fits under each chord. It's working for me. I don't have a problem flowing between chords, but knowing the chords and chord scales I understand how the importance of each note changes as the chords change.

A Bb in C minor is a 'more important' note due to being a chord tone, than a Bb in F Dorian where it might be considered an avoid note. If I was thinking, "Oh, I'm playing 8 bars in C minor" the fact a Bb could be an avoid note in F Dorian might be overlooked at the wrong time. Know what I mean?

bassmancai · #15 11-30-2007, 01:54 PM

yeah man course, its a good way to go through it. I guess my point was that once youve intrinsically learnt it, make sure you don't get into the habit of mentally dividing a head or form until its got no sense of context...but its a good way to get through it my man!

Another thing I think is really important is something else you raised there, about notes to avoid. I don't think of any notes being ones to avoid, remember that even if you play something really discordant (in relation to the home key), all those notes relate to your tonic in some way. It just creates tension or colour, something to pass through or explore away from the tonic. So yeah okay you might theoretically say 'don't play the notes of a C# minor arpeggio over C minor' but all the notes in a C# minor scale or chord still relate to C minor, just not in a conventional way. If you think like this it really frees up your mind and gives you freedom to play any note over any mode, scale key or whatever. As long as you know what you're doing, where you've come from or where you're going, it works!