How to solo?

[dvdtlsn]

As a place to start, learn the melody. (sing it is good too)

This helps me to think compositionally and get a feel for the song. This is more applicable to some styles than others.

 

[Killing Floor]

Wait until everyone in the audience obviously needs to go to the bathroom.

This 100%. Make a hand signal with the bartender so she/he knows the floor is about to empty. Then do nee-noo-nee-ner on the 20th fret and slap for a few minutes while everyone’s getting refills. Before you know it they’ll be ready to enjoy the rest of the set.

 

[MrLenny1]

Know the tune really well.
Know the melody really well also.
I have studied with 2 masters & both said learn melodies
as they are solos & then get creative.

 

[bdplaid]

Listen to guitar players, not bass solos. there are a few bass solos worth mentioning (shubadadumamamama comes to mind), but I always listened to Jeff Beck for soloing inspiration.

 

[logdrum]

Listen to some Dream Theater as a start. Their bass player went to Berklee so you can't really get away from jazz , you'll run out of ideas fast without putting in some time to learn some theory. I myself am tired of playing jazz standards, so maybe it's that what you hate.

Here's an older guy, sorta famous playing after the shredder guitar player. He played with jazz guys, but this is really a rock song he composed a while back. No old timey swing stuff, but wait he quoted John Coltrane maybe for 20 seconds (Love Supreme -- which hippies dug while on acid, so maybe he gets a pass )

 

[sotua]

I suck at soloing. Maybe is because none of the music I enjoy has bass solos. But I need to learn to solo for my band. What advice can you give me?

Three things I've found help:

1.- Steal licks from wind instruments (sax, trumpet)
2.- Know the chords that you'll be playing over, then: Safe choice would be to use chord tones. Better choice is to use tones that would make the chords you're playing over more interesting chords (e.g. play the 7th over a plain major chord)
3.- There are no wrong notes if you play them with conviction and groove (the old Victor Wooten special)

 

[logdrum]

Wait until everyone in the audience obviously needs to go to the bathroom.

The best answer. I think I'll keep on getting hired if I follow this.

 

[Topkat13]

If you can’t now because you don’t know how it’s because IMHO your level of skill will not allow it. This is ok. Keep spank’n the plank.

 

[Altitude]

I get it. But… if you want to learn how to improvise in the context of western music, it’s pretty much the only structured way to learn how. As mentioned, there are all kinds of jazz, it doesn’t have to swing or have saxophones in it. Jazz studies will give you a foundation in playing over chord changes.

Great post. Swing, bop, and cool aren’t jazz in the same way that the cars are not the highway. Jazz is the study of the construction of western music and how to find your way around in it.

Every serious musician should study jazz. That’s a big fat statement but I mean it.

 

[biobass]

Off-topic, but maybe helpful addition:

The album that won me for jazz-at-all was "Blues on Bach" by the Modern Jazz Quartet. So that's a relatively modern jazz approach to Baroque music...".

I love that album! To the OP,i know that you “Hate Jazz” but as an exercise in learning how to solo, I suggest learning Percy Heath’s bass solo on Blues in Am from that album. That solo, in F if I recall correctly, is a model for melodic soloing over blues changes. If you learn the notes and understand why he chose them as they relate to the harmony, and tension and release, you will begin to understand how to approach soloing. Then take those concepts and apply them to your chosen genre of music. The concepts remain the same, even if the idiom and style are different.

I’ll bet that you can sing something off the top of your head. I, also, suggest singing a solo over the changes you are playing, recording it, then learning to play what you sang. With practice, you will be able to play what you sing contemporaneously.

Good luck and have fun!

 

[Pacman]

Moved to General Instruction

 

[Koshchei]

I suck at soloing. Maybe is because none of the music I enjoy has bass solos. But I need to learn to solo for my band. What advice can you give me?

Learn the chord tones and melody of the piece you're soloing over. Start by playing the argeggios over the chords to get a feel for it, then start letting your instinct run with it.

TL;DR - If your understanding of the harmony is solid, trust your instinct. Sometimes it'll turn out great, other times not so much. But that's soloing.

PS. I strongly advise against stitching licks together or pre-composing a part; soloing is instant in-the-moment composition. Give yourself the freedom to interpret the song originally, based on how you feel in the moment.

 

[HP Hovercraft]

I should also say I am playing alternative rock and HATE Jazz (no hate on Jazz lovers, it’s just a form of music that I can never find enjoyment in).

You just haven't heard jazz you like yet

 

[lermgalieu]

Learn the melody to the song and use it as a springboard. Soloing off the roots can be fine but often it doesn’t sound very musical.

 

[brianrost]

I appreciate all the discussion of modes, but for someone asking about how to solo, bringing up modes is a bit premature.

If it’s basic rock, country, funk using major and minor penatonic scales and the blues scale is plenty to get started soloing. The Ramones never used the lydian mode or whole tone scales last time I checked

As I posted over on the recent learning scales thread, there is no need to learn all the modes right away, mixolydian and dorian modes are the most commonly used for soloing so after the pentatonics that’s the next step.

Once someone has gotten comfortable with the pentatonics, the blues scale and mixolydian and dorian modes then go ahead and jump into the deep end.

Too bad I’m not an inflooenzer, I'd just make a video like this one.

 

[Bunk McNulty]

In that context, I’d think a planned composed solo is a good start. Just like guitarist playing the same famous solo off an album. But you’d write a bass feature.

You know the chords for the song, verse and/or chorus, so write a melodic idea over those chords, then rewrite variations on that. You might take basic ideas from another’s bass solo (the basic rise and fall of the line, motifs like short melodic segments that repeat to give the song structure cohesion, use of rhythm and space/rests).

Write it out, rewrite it to make a strong emotive solo. Use the full dynamics and range of the instrument. Memorize. Shed it like crazy. And then play it as a bass “feature” like a solo interlude.

I'm seldom given a solo. When I have one, I always put it together ahead of time. And work it into my bones, because the first time I play it out I know I'm going to mess it up--because I'm thinking about it--and I hope to keep the mess to a minimum, so to speak.

 

[DavidG]

Lots of good advice in this thread. Don't worry about all the "jazz" and "improve" talk.
I imagine that your solo comes at a specific part of a song. There is no shame in working out your solo in advance. Make it a part. Your solo is a featured part of the the arrangement, it doesn't necessarily have to be improvised. As mentioned, know the melody and the changes and play over them. Restate the vocal line, quote something else, or play a simplified (or more complicated) part that you are already playing. You can even play the bass line you use throughout the song and maybe change a few notes here and there; or flip on a flanger or some other effect to make it stand out. You can always change it up as you become more comfortable stepping into the spotlight (just don't wear cargo shorts!).
Earlier someone suggested "telling a story" with your solo. That is great advice. Music is basically a conversation anyway, so "say" something!
Some rock (un-jazz) examples:
John Entwistle is basically soloing through every Who song. Listen to his solo breaks on "My Generation" or the beginning of "The Real Me" as examples. Short, sweet, potent.
Justin Chancellor takes a squiggly solo on Tool's "The Pot" at about 3:45 in. He's playing a pretty simple part with a bunch of effects. It is a solo, but it is also a set, prearranged part.
Not a bass solo, but on "Killing in the Name" (RATM) Tom Morello plays an immortal guitar solo by playing a few notes and letting his Whammy pedal do the rest. Very impactful.
Lastly, make every effort to sound cooler that your guitarists!

 

[REV]

You know that joke about "what happens after the drums stop?" Everyone dreads the bass solo because there is usually no melody and no groove and between these two you probably will hold the audiences attention if you maintain or create some kind of groove in your solo. Make it fun, keep it simple, add some kind of interplay with the drummer and people will look forward to your solo section.

 

[Rib 13]

Soloing doesn’t have to be fast or intricate to be good...but it does have to say something. Even if you don't understand music theory or chord construction, use your ear: Vocal melodies are a great place to start, even simple ones. You can apply this to borrowing melodic ideas from other instruments. Saxophone lines make for excellent bass solo phrases

 

[JeezyMcNuggles]

I suck at soloing. Maybe is because none of the music I enjoy has bass solos. But I need to learn to solo for my band. What advice can you give me?

Pay attention to the vocal melodies in the song. Play off it.

When you're soloing, it's best to think of your instrument as a voice.