Double Bass Beginner Jazz Soloing

[tbassherr]

I've been playing bass for a few years now, but mostly focused on classical/ orchestral repertoire. I've been working on my jazz chops recently. I've gotten relatively good at walking and providing rhythm, but when I asked to solo I always freeze. I've been practicing soloing over changes using the iReal Pro app, but I'm having trouble getting creative with melodic lines to use and getting the changes to sound seamless. Are there any recordings of improvised bass solos in jazz that I could listen to that might help me find more ways of creating melodic lines while soloing on bass?
Thanks!

 

[Ed Fuqua]

On one hand, I'd say forget about listening to bassists and start checking out some Prez solos. But I think the issue is a lot deeper than that. If you wanted to get to the point where you could talk about something you felt deeply about, that you wanted to communicate to other people exactly WHAT it was you felt, WHY you felt that way, HOW it made you see the world differently than before you felt that way I don't think the first thing you would want to do is go find out what somebody else said about something THEY felt deeply about.
The idea about playing a solo is communicating to the other musicians and to the audience how YOU, PERSONALLY are hearing that particular melodic and harmonic structure. And I believe that is best worked on by trying to hear your own personal voice clearly enough that you can play that on your instrument.
One exercise that helped me in that regard was this.

 

[shwashwa]

yeah, but the cat needs to listen to some jazz too...
start here:
Google

 

[Groove Doctor]

Can you play the melodies for each of the songs you are soloing over?

Start by putting your own embellishments & variations to these melodies. It helps maintain the flow of your solo, stops you freezing up, & sounds much less stilted/forced.

Eventually you will learn to find your own voice. I found it most natural to sing a phrase first, then learn how to play what I just sang.

 

[Jloch86]

Can you play the melodies for each of the songs you are soloing over?

Start by putting your own embellishments & variations to these melodies. It helps maintain the flow of your solo, stops you freezing up, & sounds much less stilted/forced.

Eventually you will learn to find your own voice. I found it most natural to sing a phrase first, then learn how to play what I just sang.

This. Melody. Melody. Melody. Melodies are what stick in people's brains for centuries.

 

[Sam Sherry]

TBSherr --

There's a lot of wisdom already in this thread. There's also this:

A lot of the work which can help you start soloing can happen away from the instrument.

Pop on your IReal and some earbuds and go for a walk around the block. Or listen to IReal while you're running your fitness routine. Or washing dishes. Whatever.

Great. Now sing a solo, hum a solo, whistle a solo, think a solo or whatever.

Great. Now pick up the bass. Don't play. Sing a solo, hum a solo, whistle a solo, think a solo or whatever.

Great. Now alternate singing, humming, whistling or thinking a phrase and then playing a phrase.

Great. Now try playing and singing (think Major Holley, Milt Hinton or George Benson and if you don't know who the first two are, seek them out). The point is not that you are trying to become a great singer but just as a way to get you out of your head.

Don't worry about outlining every change, or about making everything you go for. If you make a mistake you will still be allowed to graduate. But you will be soloing, and it will have intention, and people will say, "Very nice!"

Repeat repeatedly, and report back please!

 

[sean_on_bass]

My simple suggestion is to listen to more jazz to get the sounds in your head. I mean listen to a ton of it, every day. Jazz is a language of sorts, and listen to others speak it is a great way to start doing it yourself.

 

[Carl Hillman]

I've been playing bass for a few years now, but mostly focused on classical/ orchestral repertoire. I've been working on my jazz chops recently. I've gotten relatively good at walking and providing rhythm, but when I asked to solo I always freeze. I've been practicing soloing over changes using the iReal Pro app, but I'm having trouble getting creative with melodic lines to use and getting the changes to sound seamless. Are there any recordings of improvised bass solos in jazz that I could listen to that might help me find more ways of creating melodic lines while soloing on bass?
Thanks!

As disdainful as learning and playing "licks" is, you've got to start somewhere.

Improvising in the jazz idiom is a language, and if you don't know any words in that language, you'll be hard pressed to communicate coherently. I would recommend transcribing some simple solos to get some of those "words" under your fingers.

In addition to the recommendations above, (transcribing what you sing, learning melodies to songs, and listening to a lot of jazz improvisers) you need to have a basic vocabulary to draw upon while you find your unique voice. (i.e. the stuff you play in between moments of divine inspiration)

 

[Tom Lane]

So, reluctantly I'll add my two cents. First, a disclaimer, I'm not a professional bassist and don't pretend to be a great jazz bass improvisor, meaning, I'm a hair's breadth more advanced than you are - but then, that may be more helpful than Ray Brown's suggestions... you'll have to decide.
Here's what's worked for me and where I plan to go, your mileage may vary.
First, I learn the harmony of the tune inside and out, meaning that I can play it on the bass in all 3 octaves as I hear it. NO SMALL FEAT.
Then, I learn to SING the melody while I play a functional, but maybe 2-4 bass line, and then, the HARD part, I SING the bass line while I play the melody - on bass or piano.
Ah, another step, I play the chords and bass on the piano while I sing the melody. And, I really explore the changes on the piano, trying different voicings until I identify what I "Like" to hear.
Next, I play the chords and bass on the piano while I sing a solo, actually several solos over multiple choruses.
And, I should add, the very first thing I do is locate as many as possible "definitive" recordings of the tune and listen to them non-stop, and then transcribe them enough to determine how they're different.
I play along with the recordings and note how they're different. I think this is important because different players have different recordings in their mind and it's valuable for me to identify which they're hearing. Oh, the pianist went "there", cool!
These steps have gotten me pretty far, IME, but, nearly everyone more advanced than me, encourages me to transcribe and play, verbatim, famous solos, and that's my project for the year, along with improving my ability to transcribe what I hear into notation.
In a nutshell: sing, and transcribe. Singing helps you find your voice; transcribing helps you learn the language.
My two cents.

 

[ctrlzjones]

Has not been said yet, but could be instructive: the use of speech pattern (aka question - answer, exclamation, comma, periods ... and pauses ... pauses ... pauses) to provide some direction & sense.

It is also not harmful to do very very simple things; it may be to biggest roadblock to want to accomplish everything at once, what usually causes the 'deer staring into headlight' phenomena.

 

[mtto]

Soloing with only the chord tones is an important skill. If you can't do this yet, then you don't have the harmony in your head and hands. This is a first step. If certain sections of a tune give you problems, isolate those sections.

Also, slow improvising. Just like practicing orchestral excerpts or classical solo rep, practicing slow is essential. It gives you the time to play what you are actually hearing, instead of happens to be under your hands. Take a song you normally play fast, and slow it way down - don't play 16th and 32nd note licks - play an 8th note based solo that is the slowed down version of what you'd ideally play at full tempo.

Practice this way with one or two songs, and memorize them - no charts or reading while you are practicing. If the songs you're playing are too complex for you to memorize, find simpler songs. Blues, rhythm changes. If those forms are too complex, I find "Stand By Me" works well. Master improvising on your one song. Many songs use the same handful of chord progressions, and once you can improvise with freedom on one song, learning to improvise on other songs will be not such a big deal.

 

[Turn Em Loose]

Soloing with only the chord tones is an important skill. If you can't do this yet, then you don't have the harmony in your head and hands. This is a first step. If certain sections of a tune give you problems, isolate those sections.

Also, slow improvising. Just like practicing orchestral excerpts or classical solo rep, practicing slow is essential. It gives you the time to play what you are actually hearing, instead of happens to be under your hands. Take a song you normally play fast, and slow it way down - don't play 16th and 32nd note licks - play an 8th note based solo that is the slowed down version of what you'd ideally play at full tempo.

Practice this way with one or two songs, and memorize them - no charts or reading while you are practicing. If the songs you're playing are too complex for you to memorize, find simpler songs. Blues, rhythm changes. If those forms are too complex, I find "Stand By Me" works well. Master improvising on your one song. Many songs use the same handful of chord progressions, and once you can improvise with freedom on one song, learning to improvise on other songs will be not such a big deal.

Good advice! And another great thread! I'm in the same boat as the OP.

I tend to work on the same song for a session and then review the next day. If I feel I've improved (Notice I didn't say "mastered". IMO, at this/my/our stage, "mastering" is unrealistic. I'm looking for what I believe is a distinct improvement that will hopefully be another drop in the bucket of musical knowledge. Key word is "hopefully".) then I move on to another tune.

What I tend to do, while using iReal Pro, is play the head, walk the changes, solo and then play the head out of any tune I'm trying to get down. So 4 times through a standard form tune. Record myself on an iPhone or iPad.* Listen to recording. Cringe. Repeat. All from memory. I also refer to "classic" recordings of a song for tempo and feel and ideas. Honestly, at my level, I'm trying to play in time, play in tune and not hit any clams. Every now and again I play something kinda cool while soloing. But really, just feeling like I've internalized the changes is great progress for me.


Start slow and easy. And also just go for it, both in the practice room and on a gig (use your discretion on a gig). Sounding bad and being bothered by it is great motivation! Believe me. I know.



*Kind of a side note, but I've found the lack of bottom end an iPhone or iPad captures when recording really lets you hear whether you're playing in tune. Pure torture.