Solo Jamming

[Danger Deez]

I'm not sure if solo jamming is the right term for this, but here is what I'm having trouble with:

How does one sit down their bass and play a "solo?" Obviously there's no particular right answer, but surely there are some guidelines for creating something nice. I've been playing for a year and I have a pretty solid understanding of theory, I know my scales (though I'm still getting familiar with things like practicing the modes, etc) and I can play along with songs if I spend enough time with them.

But I want to just sit down for a 5-10 minutes each day and just noodle around. What are some guidelines and other things to keep in mind so it doesn't sound like a random stream of notes?

Thanks for your help!

[Coeball]

Try not to think about it too much just play according to how you feel. Most great solos are vechiles for the player's emotions, the only thing I would decide before hand is what note to start on.

[tranceFusion]

i am no expert, but it seems that you are pretty safe sticking to notes which are in the key you are playing.. (or the blues scale if its a blues song)..

[Joel S.]

Originally Posted by tranceFusion

i am no expert, but it seems that you are pretty safe sticking to notes which are in the key you are playing.. (or the blues scale if its a blues song)..

ehh... you don't want to hang on "bad" notes, but you'll VERY frequently hear soloists (and bass players in general) use notes that aren't in the particular mode they're playing to build tension. As a beginner, I wouldn't worry too much about them right now though.

This is one topic that comes up A LOT here, and I haven't even been a member that long. Everytime I've brought up soloing to my teacher, he (and others here) have suggested working out solos from people who play solo instruments (guitar, horns, etc).

[polsab78]

i'm no expert either, but here's what i do that works for me that might work for you too. i would normally play along a jamming track (like the ones found here http://www.freejamtracks.com/) or to any song that fancies me (simple ones at first).
then i just start playing along with it. start playing one note first and see if sounds "right". if it sounds "wrong" just move it a fret up or down, and you'll notice it becomes "right". then try to play any idea that comes to your mind, correcting wrong notes by moving your fingers a fret up or down.

at first it may sound awful, but eventually you'll get better at it. after playing a few notes, you might eventually notice that the correct notes you are playing corresponds to a scale pattern, so you can just base the next notes you're going to play on this scale to make it easier. i try to avoid this when jamming though, and just try to play melodic ideas.

[lbanks]

I'm no soloist, but I play how I feel. Unfortunately, I usually feel like Bootsy and they've already got one of them.

[Kyon`]

I kind of just think back to what I've done on trombone, then how I could just add more to it given I'm on bass and certain things just kind of come out easier then they would on my slide for me. The one other thing I've found that is effective is take some rest in between, even a whole measure. Gives something for the audience to hang onto and go ooo.

[Anti-Product]

I'm no expert either, but two things have helped me to get a little better at this: 1, from Jaco, was using open strings and harmonics in the key that you are thinking of. It's hard to explain without showing you what I mean, but listen to Continuum to get some idea. Victor also does it a lot, obviously from Jaco. 2, think of a simple chord progression beforehand and approach it more like a walking line where you are connecting the chords. If you make a nice sounding progression, then it becomes easier, at least for me, to make something that sounds like a melody instead of random notes, which is what I strive for in this kind of solo jamming. As far as transcription of other soloists, that is always an excellent way to get some new ideas, and something I don't do nearly enough. Personally, my ear needs a lot of work, but I have gotten ideas just from listening to songs and just using the feel and a little tricks like I did with Jaco rather than note for note transcription. But note for note is a great way to do it! Also, read Victor Wooten's book "The Music Lesson." He is not a great writer by any stretch of the imagination, but he outlines many great ideas that can be applied not only to soloing but also to bass playing in an ensemble, like Kyon' said, space in between notes is just one of the great points he makes.

[thecapm]

Get into the groove, man. Also, a large part of it is learning to translate your thoughts to your fingers. When you hear the tune in your head, make it heard through the speakers.

[Traver]

I generally find it easier to solo to some backing track. If I'm just sitting by myself, trying to get a nice solo going, usually nothing much happens, but if I start soloing over a some chords, a drum beat and maybe a bassline, I find it a lot easier to play something that sounds good.
So if you have some way of making/playing backing tracks, that might help getting the creative juices flowing.

[skeptikal]

I just started to try to start soloing when playing and it helps when you get a tempo or groove already going in your head to kind of keep the time. I cant just sit down and play a solo, but if I start playing a riff or something I can break into a solo knowing how it should sound because of the already established time and riff in my head that I just played.

Sorry kind of scatter brained but it works for me. Start playing a riff, remember the time and the sound, start soloing. I've hit a few bad notes but just keep going.

[MEKer]

1. Develop a melody in your head, follow it thru as far as you can and then duplicate it on your bass. This expands your capabilities AND you can come up with not only good solos but complete bass-driven songs.
And/or
2. What was said earlier: get a groove track or rhythm track and start noodling around---you'll get it.

Just make sure your solo is not just another 3 note groove on top of the base groove/rhythm. A solo should be complimentary to song mood and yet go somewhere in some melodic fashion even if, at first, all you are doing is stunning the audience with nothing more than a fast (but on time) scale thing.

Experiment and come up with your own solo style and then YOU can tell US some tips of your own!!
Good luck, hope my 2 cents helped a bit and happy playing.

[dhemstra]

sing! Whenever I solo I sing. It helps to connect my ideas to my instrument and at the same time build in breathing time. Learn your modes. If you don't you'll probably get stuck in your one octave major or minor scale. Don't start your solo's on the root, use the 3th, 5th, 7th or maybe even the 9th. Transcribing solos is also a good idea. Transcribing the melody is a good idea. Use the notes, rephrase them, add notes, etc.

Good luck!

[OliverH]

In 2006 I was in a band where the guitarist/drummer (I know, what a combination) used a looping pedal to add more guitar parts to certain parts of a few songs. I was intrigued and later bought the Boss RC2 Loop Station. Later I took over from that guy in the band and ended up playing the songs that involved looping, on the acoustic guitar, to great effect.

Anyway... I played around with the pedal a fair bit at home, trying out my bass, and seven string viola. I've found if I lay down a basic backing track with either bass, guitar or keyboard (or even record in one chord sequence from a CD by pluging the pedal into the computer or hifi) then I can practice soloing over the sequence.

You can add drums, change the tempo of what you've recorded in etc etc... I find it's a great tool for practicing sequences, building up harmonies etc.

[lomo]

2 ways:1)get a drum machine and groove 2)start learning chords on the bass-then you can play tunes by comping chords yourself and punctuating them with walking/fills. Look for stuff by Mike Dimin who's great at these type of arrangements.