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Improvising

P

Pettson

Jun 3, 2009
74
1
#1
When i try to improvise or play a solo, it all ends in me playing a scale from the bottom to the top.w ith a little jumps and stuff. And i dont think that that sounds that good. So i need some tips on how to get out of this habit of playing just the scales.

Sorry for my bad English, i hope i made myself understood. xD
 
#4
As you play a scale, just play what sounds good and make a bass line with the specific scale/mode. When I practice my scales I go through each key and make a bass line with the major scale, minor scale and different modes. If you have a drum machine or garage band it gives you something to play along with.
 
#5
learn the melodies to songs you like and play them in various keys. You'll get used to playing musically interesting things when you improvise.

Another tip is to play the chord tones for your solo and only use non-chord tones (in the key of the song or of the chord) sparingly.
 
#6
Play scales in 3rds, 4th, 5th, etc... 3rds for C7 for ex would be C, E, D, F, E, G, F, A, G, Bflat, A, C, Bflat, D, C. (hope I got that right:)

Or better yet, learn to play the appegios of chords. Play the root, 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th, 11th, of a G7 for example. Then do this from all different starting points, all over the fretboard. sometimes use all the strings, sometime do it on only one string. Vary when and how you shift and use different fingerings. Do this for all the types chords (major, minor, 7ths, diminished, augmented etc...). So start with Cmajor, then do Cminor, etc..., the do D major, D minor. I think you get the picture?

Any finally, the best thing to do is to transcribe other solo's. You'll be amazed what you learn. and don't transcribe only bass solos. Find a Miles Davis solo that you can learn by ear (or read the music) and apply it to the bass. This will help yo play more melodically -which is the point of soloing (improvising a melody) :hyper:
 
#7
Thanks a lot for the fast responses! Will try everything you guys suggested :P

Oh, and one more problem. I have recieved a bass recording thingie for christmas, and i tried it out today. And boy do i sound bad. It sounds so sloppy and just really bad, is this common to happen when you first record yourself or do i just suck? xD

Btw, where can i find a Miles Davis solo? :P
 
#8
Pettson said:
Thanks a lot for the fast responses! Will try everything you guys suggested :P

Oh, and one more problem. I have recieved a bass recording thingie for christmas, and i tried it out today. And boy do i sound bad. It sounds so sloppy and just really bad, is this common to happen when you first record yourself or do i just suck? xD

Btw, where can i find a Miles Davis solo? :P
Click to expand...

Both! But this is good! We all suck :smug: but the key is honestly trying to get better. recording yourself is a great way to practice! Remember to practice slow, focus on making a good sound 1st, then work on the scales, modes and soloing. learn styles too, learn to play a bossa nova groove, a walking line, polka, country, really anything. just keep playing. You sound like you may be pretty new to the bass (sorry if you are not) but go out and take lessons! have someone show you the proper way to "physically" play your bass (fingering/posture etc..) nothing is worse than having to fix old bad habits

also- check out Miles Davis Kind of Blue. It's the best album to get exposed to jazz imo. Plus it's a classic and just awesome. Listen for Paul Chambers bass lines. :p
 
#10
TimK said:
also- check out Miles Davis Kind of Blue. It's the best album to get exposed to jazz imo. Plus it's a classic and just awesome. Listen for Paul Chambers bass lines. :p
Click to expand...

It's a great album, indeed......however I wouldn't necessarily recommend Kind of Blue as a first exposure to jazz for someone coming from a high-energy rock or pop music background.

My advice would be to check out a lot of famous soloists/jazz improvisers on Youtube first, and then buy and start transcribing whatever music you get most excited about. Kind of Blue has a lot of slow, dark, introspective songs on it. Although jazzers like me tend to dig it, I'm perplexed as to why it is so often recommended as a first jazz album. Perhaps because of the simple song forms and easy modal chord progressions?
 
#11
Drum Machine!!!

Use Garage band, or the canned stuff on a keyboard, the internet, a friend...you just need beats!

Bass is a support instrument, put on some drums and see if you can groove with them. After a few times it will be easier to groove without them. On Vic Wooten's DVD he has 1 student play then tells him to imagine a drummer in his head and play again...dude played better.

Had the same problem all my stuff was dry, no phrasing, no rhythm...started playing with drums and it all started making sense.
 
#13
kr0n said:
Instead of individual notes, think in phrases. "Now I climb up in 4ths, slide up to the octave, take a long 5th, staccato chromatic climb from flat 7th to root" or something similar. Listen to the intervals.
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This is good advice. Also, learn some interesting chords. I like to use tritone substitutions (the 3 and 7 of a major scale) in blues to let me resolve the progression.
 
#14
J-Building said:
This is good advice. Also, learn some interesting chords. I like to use tritone substitutions (the 3 and 7 of a major scale) in blues to let me resolve the progression.
Click to expand...

I'm not clear on how this functions as tritone substitution - a tritone substitution is the substitution of a dominent chord a tritone away from the V7 chord - i.e. Db7 in lieu of G7 (and thus containing the same third and seventh notes, only reversed). How does this correlate to "the 3 and 7 of a major scale"?
 
#17
The 3-prong approach:

1--Horizontal--Scale approach, uses mostly diatonic pitches
2--Vertical--Chordal approach, using alot of arpeggios and chord tones
3--Melodic--Use the notes and/or the rhythm of the melody

No matter what you do, be melodic. Get inside the harmony (especially if you plan to go outside), really learn the chords and scales. Learn melodies to tunes in all twelve keys. Use chord extensions to sound hip, and always groove. Take a simple idea, work it--play motifs and make them more complex--think theme and variation. That's the best advice I've got.
 
#18
eggfan said:
I'm not clear on how this functions as tritone substitution - a tritone substitution is the substitution of a dominent chord a tritone away from the V7 chord - i.e. Db7 in lieu of G7 (and thus containing the same third and seventh notes, only reversed). How does this correlate to "the 3 and 7 of a major scale"?
Click to expand...

It doesn't. You're right. The tritone sub of G7 is Db7. G7 has B for a 3rd and F for the flat 7th. Therefore, the Db7 chord has the same 3rd and 7th, but in reverse. The F is the third, and the B (or Cb) is the seventh. Therefore the half-step motion in the harmony is the same, but the bass movement is different--down a half step rather than down a fifth. It's called a tritone sub because the bass note for a dominant chord is substituted by another bass note a tritone away--the remaining chord tones are essentially the same, namely the 3rd and 7th which defines the dominant quality of the chord.
 
#19
J-Building said:
This is good advice. Also, learn some interesting chords. I like to use tritone substitutions (the 3 and 7 of a major scale) in blues to let me resolve the progression.
Click to expand...

There's a rule against dispensing bad advice in this forum, you know.

Pettson said:
I am pretty new to this, yes :P Ty so much for the tips! They have been very helpful :P
Click to expand...

New to bass playing, or new to soloing? Do you have a teacher?
 

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