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Soloing

#21
Billy Sheehan is technically gifted but his solos lack what most bass solos lack- soul

Bass solos are only really impressive when the music is virtually stopped so that the solo can continue and also if the solo is punchy and not to long

For a really great 'soul' bass solo check Red Hot Chili Peppers- Naked In The Rain or Mark King- Track 9 (Live at the Jazz Cafe)
 
#22
bass_drum said:
What kind of techniques/distortion/what not, could I use when palying a solo during a song. This solo would be played isntead of a guitar solo, so the guitars would be playing aswell, and as most of us have encountered, when a bass is doing a solo everyone has to go quiet. Well I want them to still be playin nice and loud and I should stil be heard. Since we only get covered up because of the low frequencies, what would happen if i put on distortion, would I be heard much better then? If so, what kind of distortion pedals should I look into?
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I have some reservations about contributing here, but long ago I had fun trying things that now seem silly so I'll try to help out some..
The problem you are going to have is not the volume, it's the range. Your low bass notes(even if your way up the neck)don't cut through like a guitar. Try to find(I think I used to have one) an octave pedal that allows you to dial-in an octave HIGHER rather than lower. I'm not sure if these pedals can still be found with the higher octave as an option, it may be considered more of a harmonizer these days, but someone will let us know. I would leave the distortion for the guitars.
 
#29
you might check out and please forgive my spelling

juan alderdette?

he plays for mars volta...

but back when i was a kid... when the world was making "good" music...

music with hair!

HA! HA! HA!

;)

he was in a band racer X

he does a bass solo on live extreme volume II that will turn your head inside out
 
#31
Use the same tools guitarists use (different distortions, delay, modulation effects such as chorus,flange, trem & vibrato) & know your scales inside out. It doesn't hurt to have a few themes in mind that you can refer to & embellish. I think the hardest thing to do is free up your time - we're so used to laying down a groove it's hard to adopt a different mindset, but in order to be an interesting soloist you need to, and you also have to be playing with people that are as dedicated to "holding it down" and being supportive as you normally are. :cool:
 
#32
A piece of advice which has really helped me is singing. Listen to songs you want to solo over, and then sing a solo of what you would like to be able to play. This really helps your imrpovisation,as well as internilization of what you'd like to play. Eventually you will be able to play the solo just as well as you can sing what you want to play.
 
#33
Cliff Burton has been known to make guitar-sounding solos through his use of fuzz and wah. He uses a Big Muff fuzzbox, and a Morley power wah. You can hear some of this in Metallica's Anathesia (Pulling Teeth), or the intro to For Whom The Bell Tolls. If you really want to be impressed download the live "cliff 'em all" version of for whom the bell tolls. mainly cliff uses appregios, but he's really talented.
 
#35
Classical_Thump said:
A piece of advice which has really helped me is singing. Listen to songs you want to solo over, and then sing a solo of what you would like to be able to play. This really helps your imrpovisation,as well as internilization of what you'd like to play. Eventually you will be able to play the solo just as well as you can sing what you want to play.
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I wondered how long it was going to take for someone to say that. You can learn scales and have all the cutting tone you want, but until you can hear what you want to play, all it will be is scales and cutting tone. I know my share of music theory, and people say I'm a decent solo'er (in a jazz setting) but if I try to base a solo on theory, all I end up with is a walking line. Take step back and actually think about the solo, sing it, write it, whatever you have to do, just don't let your creativity be limited to what you can think up in the 3 seconds before that next chord change.
 
#36
bass_drum said:
So I'm wondering, are there any pointers you guys could give me?

Thanks,
~JB~
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1. Know the scale/mode you're going to use. I mean, really know it. Not one position. Long runs all over the neck. You don't want to sound like an idiot by playing random notes.

2. If it's just you, then you can do whatever you want. But if it's a solo within a song, then listen to the song. Close your eyes. Try to imagine a complementary melody on top of whatever you're hearing. I suppose that ear training comes in handy here. Especially if you're going to improvise.

3. Biggest factor in quality soloing is not theory or anything like that... it is IMAGINATION. If you'll focus on mathematical equations (theory), you'll sound like a stiff. A lame music teacher. Basic theory is fine, just don't focus on it too much. Hear a melody in your head and just play what sounds good. Over time you'll forget about the scales and the theories and just play within the structure of a song because it will sound good. Let your melody justify the theory... not the other way around.

4. Obviously, your technical skill must be top notch. That takes many years of hard work. Must eliminate any physical barriers your hands may have before you can solo. Unless you can move your fingers really fast, and know all the tricks, no matter how much theory or imagination you may have, it won't matter. Of course, I'm talking about Sheehan or a guitar shredder type of skill. If you want to just do regular medium difficulty Jazz soloing, you can get that type of speed/skill in 1-3 years... depending on how much you practice. No offense meant to any Jazz players, but there is a difference between a Sheehan solo and a Jaco solo... and I'm not talking about quality or personal preference. I'm talking strictly about the skill needed. 99% of bassists will never be able to physically do what Billy does - that's just a fact.

5. Remember... quality before quantity. Speed is great and so very exciting, but if the notes "suck" then the entire solo will "suck". Try to combine speed and technique with emotion, melody, content, and variation.
 
#38
Jared Morante said:
You shouldn't be "thinking" at all when you solo. That's a path to failure almost every time.
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Sorry, but I don't buy that at all. There is definetly a point when your a good enough musician and when your comfortable enough in a certain musical situation, or you have played a song enough times that you can zone out and play some amazing things. Those situations are rare at best. And I don't think that "just playing what you feel" is going to work out all that well for a beggining solo'er.

Here's a technique that I use when I'm coming up with solo's. Get a recording, or build a synth track, or record yourself playing the normal bass line to the section you want to solo over. Then take that and play it back repeatedly, I've been known to do it for an hour at a time. Just doodle, and test ideas, and see how the chords work together, soon the ideas will really start flowing. You can create and memorize a whole solo, or my favorite is just to figure out lots of little 1 and two bar riffs/rythms/melodies that work. Then, when I go to solo, I've got all these Ideas and riffs, and I can start to piece them together however I want.
 
#40
paintandsk8 said:
Sorry, but I don't buy that at all. There is definetly a point when your a good enough musician and when your comfortable enough in a certain musical situation, or you have played a song enough times that you can zone out and play some amazing things. Those situations are rare at best. And I don't think that "just playing what you feel" is going to work out all that well for a beggining solo'er.

Here's a technique that I use when I'm coming up with solo's. Get a recording, or build a synth track, or record yourself playing the normal bass line to the section you want to solo over. Then take that and play it back repeatedly, I've been known to do it for an hour at a time. Just doodle, and test ideas, and see how the chords work together, soon the ideas will really start flowing. You can create and memorize a whole solo, or my favorite is just to figure out lots of little 1 and two bar riffs/rythms/melodies that work. Then, when I go to solo, I've got all these Ideas and riffs, and I can start to piece them together however I want.
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I'm primarily a speed-oriented solo player and I think the best way to describe what I feel when I play is a "dream state". I close my eyes [ well, mostly... open them up for a long jump ;) ] and let the music flow through me. I don't think about anything else, but the music that's around me. Completely engulf myself with the sound. The audience doesn't exist. It's just me and the sound. I also create music at the very time I play it. Takes a lot of concentration.

If I started to think about what's "proper", I would lose all sorts of emotion, creativity, and spontaneity (I fully improvise) and just sound like a stiff who's afraid to make a - theoretical - mistake. I say that if it sounds good, and doesn't clash with the music in the background, it has to be good... theoretically, as well.

Of course, scales and some theory must be understood, so I am not fully disagreeing with you. I guess we just prioritize differently.

I'm also a Rock player. I think it may be a little different for Jazz players, who do focus more on the theory.
 

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