In a soloing rut. HELP!

bradjonesbass · #1 01-31-2008, 06:21 AM

I've been asked to take a solo on a tune Sunday - on my fretless. It's a smooth jazz tune in Eflat and the section they want me to solo over is a 2 chord vamp - Eflat - Aflat/Eflat. Simple enough, but how to keep it interesting for 8 bars?

gre107 · #2 01-31-2008, 06:24 AM

Listen to the chord changes and then sing/hum/whatever what you hear in your head for a melody then transfer that to the bass. This way what your playing is personal and sincere and the audience will relate to that.

Overall, that is what makes a great/nice solo.

Jimmyplaysabass · #3 01-31-2008, 07:01 AM

haha you could always tap a melody in Ab with your right hand on the D and G strings while keeping a bass line with your left hand in Eb on the E and A strings.

Eb and Ab are a 4th apart so you should be able to keep it interesting relatively easy, you could also change the left and right hand from Eb and Ab (respectively) to Ab and Eb (respectively)

ElectrAcoustic · #4 01-31-2008, 07:28 AM

Fretless soloing.. my go-to is to cop Jaco's use of intervals.. play 3rds all the way up the scale.. 1-3, 2-3, 3-5, 4-6 etc.. he also used 6ths alot.. 1-6, 2-7, 3-9, 4-10, etc.. and when in-doubt, vibrato.. full on rubber band it.. cheers and happy slinging..

bradjonesbass · #5 01-31-2008, 07:42 AM

This is for a church service and the song is a smooth jazz version of the old hymn "Great is thy Faithfulness", if that helps. I will be soloing over a vamp at the end of the song after the melody line is done.

kerryg · #6 01-31-2008, 07:25 PM

Very old trick here - break your eight-bar "blank page" into smaller, more manageable chunks.

Try breaking it into four equal parts, each two bars long.

Now come up with a simple little melody for the first two-bar part. Go with melody rather than "playing fast" or "running scales or patterns", nobody cares about that except other bassists. We'll call that section "A". If you're totally stuck, listen to "Bridge Over Troubled Waters" by Simon and Garfunkel for a library of great ideas over the I - IV chord progression; you might try playing melodies on your bass along with that.

Now for the third and fourth bar, come up with a two bar "answer" to that. We'll call that section "B".

Now repeat your first two-bar melody. We'll call that section "A" again.

Now come up with a different two-bar answer to "A". We'll call that section "C".

Form: A-B-A-C.

Voila, you're done. Around about now the ideas usually start flooding in, rebelling against that discipline, and this advice can now be discarded.

But if they don't, that'll get you through.

bradjonesbass · #7 02-01-2008, 10:23 AM

Okay... I've gotten some great suggestions and I'm going to combine them into my own idea and go with it. I'll let you know. A-B-A-C using the C minor Pentatonic scale as a basis, with section A being a melodic idea, B being a counter melody or scalar pattern, and C being a Jacoesque run in 3rds up to the 12th fret C harmonic sliding down and then grabbing back onto the root for the sax solo at bar nine... cool.

kerryg · #8 02-01-2008, 11:24 AM

I'm sure you'll do your best to make these ideas sound like they are not only related to each other, but that they proceed in logical succession, each building on the other to a logical conclusion like a well-supported argument - "A exists. B also exists. Furthermore, C exists. Therefore - D".

If you get a chance to record it and post it, it might be most enlightening for people to see what the result of that compositional process is. IMHO, improv is merely composition sped up to realtime - good composition is improv slowed down, with a chance to take "mulligans".

Muss · #9 02-01-2008, 11:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kerryg

Very old trick here - break your eight-bar "blank page" into smaller, more manageable chunks.

Try breaking it into four equal parts, each two bars long.

Now come up with a simple little melody for the first two-bar part. Go with melody rather than "playing fast" or "running scales or patterns", nobody cares about that except other bassists. We'll call that section "A". If you're totally stuck, listen to "Bridge Over Troubled Waters" by Simon and Garfunkel for a library of great ideas over the I - IV chord progression; you might try playing melodies on your bass along with that.

Now for the third and fourth bar, come up with a two bar "answer" to that. We'll call that section "B".

Now repeat your first two-bar melody. We'll call that section "A" again.

Now come up with a different two-bar answer to "A". We'll call that section "C".

Form: A-B-A-C.

Voila, you're done. Around about now the ideas usually start flooding in, rebelling against that discipline, and this advice can now be discarded.

But if they don't, that'll get you through.

+1
Very good advice... the old question\answer is always a winner!

Johnny StingRay · #10 02-01-2008, 01:02 PM

DON'T THINK ABOUT IT! You are good enough of a player to not even let it cross your mind or try to plan it out. DON'T. Let the Holy Spirit guide your playing, let the mood of the congregation guide your playing. You are talented enough to let it go and your solo will be excellent. There is a point in your playing career that all you have learned, practiced, and played has been nicely tucked into your memory and your hands and fingers know what to do, just don't think about it because then your brain will get in the way. Let it happen. Trust me. Let it happen and it will. That is the essence of why we play, to reach a point where we shut the "logic" and "questioning" of the brain OFF and let our instincts, habits, and emotions take over and JUST PLAY!
I wish you excellence, not luck because there is no luck in letting go and just playing.....the Holy Spirit will guide you.
Peace,
John

bradjonesbass · #11 02-04-2008, 11:30 AM

Went well. I didn't get a chance to record it, but I was happy with it, and I hope the LoRD was as well. It ended up not being so much of a solo, more of a busier part than I had been previously playing, and we made it 4 bars, then went back to the head.

I'm really starting to dig playing fretless. I find myself using it on almost everything that doesn't require slapping or a grindy rock tone - I put flatwounds on my fretless 6 recently. I used it all morning Sunday with my fretted 5 as a backup. I never picked up the fretted bass.

jpark369 · #12 02-05-2008, 08:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kerryg

I'm sure you'll do your best to make these ideas sound like they are not only related to each other, but that they proceed in logical succession, each building on the other to a logical conclusion like a well-supported argument - "A exists. B also exists. Furthermore, C exists. Therefore - D".

If you get a chance to record it and post it, it might be most enlightening for people to see what the result of that compositional process is. IMHO, improv is merely composition sped up to realtime - good composition is improv slowed down, with a chance to take "mulligans".

very well said. great post.