I'm trying to get better at soloing

[jamisonsalamand]

I'm really not that great at soloing, and don't quite know how to get much better at it. I'm confident in and know how to improve all my other skills except this; it's like a blank space in my mind. Does anyone know ways I can improve at this?

[MalcolmAmos]

What are you doing now?

[puddin tame]

just solo a lot, and listen to a lot of solos

[Jpeachbass]

Jamey aebersold books. These have backing tracks so you can solo till you pass out. And the band never gets tired. They have blues, jazz, funk, fusion and latin ones available.

[jamisonsalamand]

Originally Posted by MalcolmAmos

What are you doing now?

I play for my high school's jazz band, I'm working on walking lines with stuff from the real book, I'm playing through "Standing in the Shadows of Motown"(James Jamerson's stuff), I'm working on the book Slap It, and I've ordered a lot of various other things to work on like 30 Etudes by Simandl and Bach's Cello Suites.
I play through the major scale, major scale modes, harmonic minor scale, and melodic minor scale, all in groups of three, and intervals like thirds, fourths, etc, through two octaves(going around the circle of fifths). I practice almost all of this every day.

I might want to change the question to how to get better at soloing as well as improvising bass lines in ways other than straight walking lines, but I don't know how much these go hand in hand.

[Beginner Bass]

http://www.jazzbooks.com/mm5/merchan...re_Code=JAJAZZ

This helped me a lot.

Also, for walking, I was reading an article on Ron carter's curricullim for his private lessons. One of the exercises he gives his students is to take a basic 12-bar blues in F and, without shifting from 1/2-position (Frets 1-3), and using solely chord tones, with nothing other than straight 1/4-notes, and walk. It's a great place to start. Then when you're good at walking, the same thought process you use to outline chords in a walking line can be applied to soloing over a progression.

[MalcolmAmos]

Can not get around it soloing must have some of the melody - the tune - in there somewhere. Not trying to yank your chain, can you play Happy Birthday by ear? How about When the Saints go Marching in?

IMHO for us mortals the bass is not a great solo instrument, sometime best to let the other instruments take the solo. If you are going to take solos give this some thought.

• Take the solo playing the tune.
• After the tune has been established - then embellish the tune with some improvisation, i.e. your interpretation of the tune. And yes, pentatonic notes over the chord changes can build a lot of improv. Pay attention to the text that comes on the screen as the video progresses. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0iZ1j00wSU Four note phrasing. Pausing let the melody breath.
• After the normal measures of a verse give the lead back playing the tune.

Does a couple of things. 1) The audience can identify with what you are doing and 2) going back to the tune alerts the rest of the band you are ready to end your solo and are just before returning the lead to someone else.

The tune has to enter the picture. Of course IMHO.

I might want to change the question to how to get better at soloing as well as improvising bass lines in ways other than straight walking lines, but I don't know how much these go hand in hand.

Again IMHO that depends on how melodic your bass line is going to be - and gets back to how I feel about the bass being melodic. There are probably a bunch of band members playing melodic - who is taking care of the beat - we are in the rhythm section......

Ask your jazz band director this question see what he/she has to say.

[kscbass]

Learn lots of melodies, listen to how singers phrase the melodies (learn the lyrics too). Pay special attention to the length, dynamics, slurs, etc, singers use when interpreting a melody. After you really feel you know the melody, start composing a solo using the same note values, dynamics, rests etc. you learned with the melody, basically all you got to do is change the notes and leave everything else the same, your ears will tell you what are the good notes. Another plus of this exercise is that by using a phrasing (in your solos) identical or similar to the melody you are making it easier for the piano or guitar player to comp behind your solo, in other words it will be more predictable for them to know when to comp.
Another great exercise is to try improvising within one octave, this will make it easier for you to play notes you already can hear (I'm assuming you can sing and recognize the sound of all the intervals). This will also force you to make smoother voice leading lines.
Hope this helps.
Kai

[Beginner Bass]

Also, for solos, try and sing your solos. It helps with your phrasing, because you have to breathe at some point.

[subexpression]

Try humming solo ideas over top of the rhythm section. It usually produces a more natural solo. Many great improvisers do this...and if there are any mics on stage, sometimes you can hear them humming away or "scatting" while they're playing their instrument. Whenever you're in your car driving along and you start verbalizing some idea...that's the wellspring of creativity you need to draw from. It's already in you, and all you need to do is encourage it to come out and pour it out through your fingers.

I've done the "nursery rhyme" method too. Since limericks and nursery rhymes like "Old King Cole", as well as many others are rigidly metered, they make good templates for improvisation...you simply fill in the notes with nearly anything and it works great! I've also done syncopated version of "Mary Had A Little Lamb", "Man From Nantucket" and many others...they supply you with endless possibilities. They also give you complete ideas spanning multiple measures.

[HaVIC5]

I have a series of videos that I've posted here a couple of times before (only a couple, I swear!) that deal with a lot of the creative and expressive components of soloing. Rather than focus on scales/chords (which is what you'll probably first encounter), I get a little more into the nuances with phrasing and how to approach actual playing. Check it out if you'd like.

http://adamneely.com/lessons/bass-solo-concepts/

I've done the "nursery rhyme" method too. Since limericks and nursery rhymes like "Old King Cole", as well as many others are rigidly metered, they make good templates for improvisation...you simply fill in the notes with nearly anything and it works great! I've also done syncopated version of "Mary Had A Little Lamb", "Man From Nantucket" and many others...they supply you with endless possibilities. They also give you complete ideas spanning multiple measures.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjCJrCH66iU

[subexpression]

Originally Posted by HaVIC5

I have a series of videos that I've posted here a couple of times before (only a couple, I swear!) that deal with a lot of the creative and expressive components of soloing. Rather than focus on scales/chords (which is what you'll probably first encounter), I get a little more into the nuances with phrasing and how to approach actual playing. Check it out if you'd like.

http://adamneely.com/lessons/bass-solo-concepts/





http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjCJrCH66iU

Yep, it's tried & true!

Like you said in your video (as many other musicians have said), music is a language. It has its own vocabulary much like any spoken language. We don't make up our own words...we just rearrange what's already available.

I'm a firm believer in taking other harmonic or rhythmic devices already in existence and using them to produce my own music. While plagiarism is a reality, there's no shame in musical quotation of old standards and public domain songs. I suppose it depends on how granular your quotation is. If the phrase is too recognizable, you might be headed for legal trouble.

But, in the west, we have a long musical tradition of respectfully borrowing from and imitating our contemporaries. Use your own judgement.

A quote from Shelton Berg's book, The Goal Note Method:
"We don't create, it's already there...We just choose" - George Balanchine

(on the flip side: does anyone think "Werewolves of London" sound an awful lot like "Sweet Home Alabama"?)

[subexpression]

In my last post, I mentioned Shelton Berg...and I decided to see what he's doing lately.

I stumbled across this excellent 13 minute interview:
http://www.artistshousemusic.org/vid...full+interview

You can get his book on jazz improvisation "The Goal-Note Method" here:
https://www.kendormusic.com/store/in...wCat&catId=263

I have it, and it's an invaluable resource.
I've learned more about the process of improvisation in this book than all of my Jamey Abersold books combined (and I love Abersolds play-a-long books).

[James Judson]

Keep your solo under 3 seconds. Bassist job is making "EVERYONE ELSE" sound good. Only your MOM wants to hear your bass solo. You want to clear the dance floor (you got it "bass solo").

[subexpression]

Originally Posted by James Judson

Keep your solo under 3 seconds. Bassist job is making "EVERYONE ELSE" sound good. Only your MOM wants to hear your bass solo. You want to clear the dance floor (you got it "bass solo").

It entirely depends on the genre. It's not uncommon for jazz bassists to solo over the entire form...which could be well over 32 measures.

At most of the jazz shows I've been to, everyone is seated and no one is wiggling around in front...unless they've had too much to drink

Rock, pop, country, funk, etc. are entirely different disciplines which don't allow for epic bass solos...especially when the bar is paying you to keep people dancing. You're right.

[Kyon`]

Originally Posted by James Judson

Keep your solo under 3 seconds. Bassist job is making "EVERYONE ELSE" sound good. Only your MOM wants to hear your bass solo. You want to clear the dance floor (you got it "bass solo").

I don't feel this is true at all, a good solo on any instrument is a good solo regardless. Sure the basses main role is still supporting the other musicians making them sound good but there's nothing wrong with the bassist taking a solo or two. It can be fun for the bassist, the band, and the crowd. I mean listen to some Jaco's early bootlegs where he was playing more R&B dancehall type stuff. His solos were groovy, funky, and musical.

As others have mentioned, soloing isn't just doing acrobatics through modes. It's a language, and you can learn a lot by just listening to other instruments and your own speak it. Pick out what you like or don't like. Think about the phrase more so then the theory itself. I think even if you can just sit around and try and figure out some melodies by ear or even memory like twinkle twinkle little star or happy birthday you can get yourself in that mindset to think melodically. Then add your rhythmic interruptions, embellishments, and nuances from there.

[dalconthenovice]

i started reading sax solo's and trombone solos

really boosted it, i always had the groove, just never had the melody or dynamics, both sax and trombone solos did it in for me

[JTE]

First, most bass players (even ones famous for soloing) aren't really great improvisers. So to learn to solo over changes in a jazz context, listen to the great soloists. That means horn players for the most part. As good as Jaco and NHOP were, they weren't as good at creating improvised solos as was Miles, Dizzy, Bird, etc. So, the first lesson is, LISTEN to really good soloists.

Second, you need the tools to be able to hear something in your head, and make it come out of the bass. So, as has been said earlier, if you can't find "Happy Birthday" on the bass, you need to learn the skill of being able to hear something and then play it on the bass. So, the first two lessons help you get good ideas, and learn to make those ideas come out of the bass.

That's the key there- scales, arpeggios, modes, licks, tricks, are only tools to get you to the second part. The first part (coming up with great ideas) is the hardest part. Making it personal is even harder.

Here's my (very time-consuming, but hugely helpful) method to creating a good solo.

A. Lock up your bass so you won't even be tempted to touch it
B. LISTEN to a recording of the changes over which you're going to be soloing. Listen to different recordings of the song, listen to the actual melody. If there are lyrics, learn them. LISTEN a lot. Repeat this step for a long time.
C. Listen to the changes only, and SING out loud what you think a cool solo would be. Do this a few times to get the hang of it, then record your sung solo. That is the music that's in you right at that time.
D. Only NOW do you get your bass out, and you learn EXACTLY what you sang. The notes are only about half of what you need to execute. Get the phrasing, the inflections, the slurs, the soft and loud notes, etc.

That's what makes a great soloist. Also, you'll need to practice the mechanics of switching from soloing to "normal" bass playing. It's not just the volume or tone changes, it's also a mind-set change. And work on short solos ('though 3 seconds is too short and ignore morons who think the bass should be stuck where it was before Leo Fender invented the electric bass almost 60 years ago), being able to get in, make your musical statement, and get back to your other job.

John

[EpiRipper]

Originally Posted by subexpression

(on the flip side: does anyone think "Werewolves of London" sound an awful lot like "Sweet Home Alabama"?)

Have a listen to the Kid Rock song "All summer long"

[subexpression]

Originally Posted by EpiRipper

Have a listen to the Kid Rock song "All summer long"

Ha! Just watched the Youtube vid a moment ago...yep, add that one to the list!

Seems like it wasn't a rip off per se, but sort of a "tribute" to Sweet Home Alabama...I guess.