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I had a bad day, and don't know what to do about it

#21
We all have off days. When it comes to solos, there are various reasons that things can go badly: not knowing the song (chords/form/melody) sufficiently well, not having the technical chops to execute what you want to execute, fatigue (physical or mental), etc.

A few weeks ago I had a 16 bar solo spot during a disco tune where the spotlight was on me and I was expected to dazzle with my slap chops. This was on a wedding gig, right at the end of the night - following a long day of sound checking and then several sets (cocktail/dinner music, traditional, dance). I was already at a disadvantage because the slap I do these days is generally very simple and at a medium tempo. Add to that my fatigue (mental and physical) and the result was like a kid with a bad stutter trying to recite poetry. It sucked in a way I'm not used to sucking - and it bugged me for several days afterwards. And this was good, because it motivated me to get my act together. Since I knew what the problem was (not being prepared with a vocabulary of licks that I could pull off at a fairly fast tempo, and not having the stamina necessary), I got to work. Three weeks later the same solo spot presented itself and this time I was prepared. Was it a great solo? No, but it was 95% of what I wanted it to be. I'll keep practising and maybe next time it will get to 97 or 98%.
 
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#22
Number one: relax.

It's a jam, not a gig. I'm sure some of the other players are still finding their way too. I know we all want to sound like perfection every time we put our fingers to the strings, but, I know from experience, it's not always.

Here's a suggestion though. If you haven't already, think about your phrasing. Try breaking your solos into little sections as you play them. (If you haven't already)

Listen to reggae Bass players, and they do it all the time, as do a lot of jazz Bass players. I call it the breath between the phrases those little spaces. It's almost kind of like of professional public speakers do. Those little well-placed silences help propel you to the next phrase. Just a thought.

Without actually seeing you play I'm just sort of hitting the basics here but, you'll find your way and like I said before, relax and have fun.

Oh yes, I almost forgot. If you're playing with a drummer, or any other instrument comping along with you, listen to them and playoff what they're playing. I've gotten so many good ideas just from hearing the drummer play as high hat or a guitarist strum
 
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#23
Seems you already know what to do?

Jaycat said:
Perhaps I shouldn't solo on a tune I'm not familiar with?
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You shouldn't solo over unfamiliar material. By this I mean if you don't know the harmony (chord progression). Lot's of songs have the same chord progression, so you could solo over a new tune if you know the chords. For example if you know 12 bar blues and are asked to solo over a 12 bar blues song you haven't played before, knock yourself out.

Jaycat said:
I do think it would be a good idea to keep the solos simple. (I tend to get carried away and perhaps overly adventurous).
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I don't think it's necessary or desirable to totally lock yourself down. However, you should learn to exhibit sufficient self control so that you don't get lost and have your solos totally fall apart. When practicing by yourself, you are free to engage with reckless abandon. When playing with others you should be more considerate and sensible...They are depending on you!

If you can't be counted upon, then people tend to loose trust in you. This could have many negative consequences.
 
#24
I wouldn't be too hard yourself, looks like you're already on course to resolve the issue. The band I play with loves to add the ABB's Memory of Elizabeth Reed to sets and although I've been working on it for over a year, I've only got about 3/4's of it down pat (and it's not new material, just a bit tricky). When I get down on myself for not having it completely tight, I try to cut myself some slack and just keep working at it. My rule for uncharted territory is to dumb it down, hang on the root if necessary :facepalm:.

Try to think about all the things that you do bring to the table... I don't hear you blaming the band, that's huge by itself... going forward try and get a setlist in advance, so no surprises.

Cheers
 
#25
I rarely soloed in the cover band days. Now I'm getting solo space, teamed up with a jazz guitarist. I never just improvise. If I know I'm going to solo, I work out a complete one first and practice, practice, practice. In the event that I do end up actually improvising, I have a plan to deviate from.;)
 
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#26
porkynuggets said:
I remember BL insisting I take a solo on an unfamiliar tune and the guitarist berated me saying my solos were terrible because of too many chord tones... I was still figuring out the changes. I'd rather not solo on unfamiliar tunes.
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This is the only truly correct answer. Stick to your guns.
 
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#27
Where was your head at during the solo's? Could you hear the others well? Were you conscious of the chords? I'm not great at it, but I can solo. But I have to REALLY be into it w intense focus or I'll flub it up. I'm not good enough to throw my head back and let er fly. No telling what might come out if I tried that.
 
#29
To me, a jam is a place to try out new things, like soloing on an unfamiliar tune.

My approach to soloing on tunes I don't know are

1. Chord tones. They may not be 'interesting' but they work. Try alternating note lengths, empghasis, etc.
2. Bresathing. I would often do gnat note mile a minute solos. My old jazz guitar teacher told me to slow down, that jazz is best understood as a horn player's game. Breathe. In fact we worked on me exhaling while playing part of a solo, then stopping briefly for a breath, then playing again. It made my playing much more lyrical and expressive.
3. Play the groove. I have a cartoon somewhere about that. Emphasize the 1 &3 (Americana stuff))
4. Play the melody, or something like it.
5. Relax and have fun. All bad notes will be forgotten with a few minutes
 
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#32
Jaycat said:
I'm not sure how to address this.
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Jaycat said:
Shrug it off as 'just a bad day'.
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Jaycat said:
Double down on practicing!
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good luck! 👍
 
#33
Everybody has off days. I have read interviews where witnesses claim that on some days, at Apple, the Beatles totally sucked when they practiced together.

Personally I would not try to solo unless I was comfortable with the material, knew the changes, no matter how "on" I might feel that day.
 
#34
I see several responses along the line of "you shouldn't take a solo unless you know the tune". I have to ask, what is your threshold for "knowing/being familiar with the tune"? Most of these "Americana" tunes are fairly simple in their structure. I mean, once you know what you have for I, IV, V, maybe a 2-6-5-1 turnaround, a possibility of a 3 minor - in other words, the first two times you run through the tune - how much more do you need?

Coming from the world of African American improvised music, the idea that you have to take one specific tune and completely work out what you're going to play seems rather foreign; we're more used to someone saying "It's Rhythm changes in Db, 1-2-3-4-go!"

I think we're seeing the insertion of the modern 2020s rock and roll ethos into a much older form of handmade music where imperfection is an inherent characteristic of the product. In modern 2020s rock and roll, it seems, everything has to be 100% predefined, whereas in older forms, a certain amount of chance elements is expected.
 
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#35
bass12 said:
We all have off days. When it comes to solos, there are various reasons that things can go badly: not knowing the song (chords/form/melody) sufficiently well, not having the technical chops to execute what you want to execute, fatigue (physical or mental), etc.

A few weeks ago I had a 16 bar solo spot during a disco tune where the spotlight was on me and I was expected to dazzle with my slap chops. This was on a wedding gig, right at the end of the night - following a long day of sound checking and then several sets (cocktail/dinner music, traditional, dance). I was already at a disadvantage because the slap I do these days is generally very simple and at a medium tempo. Add to that my fatigue (mental and physical) and the result was like a kid with a bad stutter trying to recite poetry. It sucked in a way I'm not used to sucking - and it bugged me for several days afterwards. And this was good, because it motivated me to get my act together. Since I knew what the problem was (not being prepared with a vocabulary of licks that I could pull off at a fairly fast tempo, and not having the stamina necessary), I got to work. Three weeks later the same solo spot presented itself and this time I was prepared. Was it a great solo? No, but it was 95% of what I wanted it to be. I'll keep practising and maybe next time it will get to 97 or 98%.
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Yup, best thing is to own it, and do what it takes not to do that again. However, with regards to the stamina, and other things that can get in the way of solid performance. Just a couple of things.

One, with rare exceptions, more than likely there are no talent scouts in the audience. Secondly , when you know you don't have your A game, don't try to pull off a AAA+ performance. Keep it simple, basic, and as clean as you can get it and it at a higher octave as proud as you can.

Do not get me wrong, like you I want provide the best possible performance I can. But I can assure you the audience is going to feed more off the energy you bring than the technical proficiency of your chops.

And finally, those kind of gigs happen to all of us so don't beat yourself up.
 
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#37
One thing we have to accept as improvisers that sometimes we have Bright Moments and sometimes we will suck it or crash and burn, that takes courage to accept and keep moving forward. I don't know about you in that as much as I relish those Bright Moments, those crash and burn experiences are necessary learning moments.

Some of my best moments are when my bandmates look over and signal me to take a ride on a tune I might not usually solo on.
 
#38
bassbrad said:
One thing we have to accept as improvisers that sometimes we have Bright Moments and sometimes we will suck it or crash and burn, that takes courage to accept and keep moving forward. I don't know about you in that as much as I relish those Bright Moments, those crash and burn experiences are necessary learning moments.

Some of my best moments are when my bandmates look over and signal me to take a ride on a tune I might not usually solo on.
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Hear, hear!

Sometimes in the same chorus!

I've been doing this for an awful long time now. Sometimes there's that transcendent moment when you look over at the other guy and you both just know what you're going to do next. And sometimes every phrase out of the instrument sounds forced and full of clams.

Of course, in the last few years it seems that many rock and roll players want to embalm their stuff in amber so every single note is pre-rehearsed until imperfection becomes impossible - but at the point where you make imperfection impossible, you also make music impossible, and you're just extruding mall music at that point.
 
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#39
So Anyway, I never solo, so I got nothing. I doubt if anyone noticed a 'bad day' except the OP.
Sometimes the guitar drops out for a few measures, but I just keep playing my primary bass line and eventually everyone joins back in.

If I had the motor skills and theory to solo, I'm sure I'd be very annoying and not work very much. Oh wait.... ;)
 

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