Well, hell, there's my solo, my moves, and ...I think I still have my old leather jacket. I will tell you how the gig in the hotel lobby goes
hahahh
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"Take a solo...." Now f'ing what?
- Thread starter Richard_N
- Start date
Well, hell, there's my solo, my moves, and ...I think I still have my old leather jacket. I will tell you how the gig in the hotel lobby goes
hahahh
I’d rather solo on guitar all day long instead of bass. When you play a bass solo, nobody’s playing the bass line and half the time everyone but the drummer just drops out entirely. So you have to cover the groove and the harmony and invent something interesting besides. On guitar you can just play an out of tune E for 12 bars and everyone thinks it’s marvellous.
1. Learn the head
2. If you used sheet music for step 1, learn it again 'by ear' from an artist you like. You'll pick up some cool variations and probably correct a few notes that were wrong on the sheet.
3. Learn phrases from a soloist you enjoy and analyze where they go.
4. Arpeggios! Some people hate this one but clever use of arpeggios can easily get you through tunes you aren't familiar with.
Personally I like it when the other players continue to play when I solo and will actively ask them to do so. I abhor bass solos where everyone just comes to a crashing halt.
2. If you used sheet music for step 1, learn it again 'by ear' from an artist you like. You'll pick up some cool variations and probably correct a few notes that were wrong on the sheet.
3. Learn phrases from a soloist you enjoy and analyze where they go.
4. Arpeggios! Some people hate this one but clever use of arpeggios can easily get you through tunes you aren't familiar with.
Personally I like it when the other players continue to play when I solo and will actively ask them to do so. I abhor bass solos where everyone just comes to a crashing halt.
Even more when playing a fretless, because that will make it easier to really "sing", particularly in slower tunes...
This exactly. I think a lot of people lose sight of the melody when they're soloing and that's when you lose a lot of the audience (and me) unless you are some great virtuoso like John McLaughlin or Jaco who can make things sound cool just by playing it faster. If you know the melody then when you go to solo, you will have some basic framework to construct your solos around. This is especially helpful if you learn the melody in the "normal" soloing portion of the fretboard (ie. above/around the 12 fret).
Two other things:
1) you should know exactly what key the song is in. Then make sure you can play that scale all over the fretboard. I think most people get intimidated by the thought of a solo and forget that every solo is just made up of notes from the scale (and maybe some chromatic notes for flavor). If you can get the scale that corresponds to the song under your hands and can play it all over the fretboard, then just try going for some scale notes and see where they take you. Often, after a bar or so you will find some phrases or note sets you like and you can build off those. Especially during rehearsals and practice, don't be afraid to just go for it and see where the scale etc. takes you. Try moving up and down the fretboard, try some double stops, and since you're on fretless, some tasteful slides will make anything sound better.
2) this happens to me often too. I play in a jazz combo, often on 4 string fretless, and the sax player/BL or the guitar player will often randomly tell me to take a solo after they finish theirs (sometimes during rehearsal, sometimes on the gig)... rarely do I have a scripted solo save for one or two tunes. I make sure I know the scale/key for each song as I said above, and try not to worry too much about playing a "wrong" note. If you hit a scale note it won't sound awful, and once I play around with a few notes, I find a couple things I like and go from there. Jazz is about improv, so don't be afraid to improvise! Really... being ready to take a risk or two will really improve your impromptu soloing abilities; I find that is something a lot of people don't teach you. At the worst, you hit a clunker–keep in mind you are always a half step away from a note in the scale so just skooch that finger up or down a fret and call it "jazz."
Hope this helps! Good luck!
D
Deleted member 165050
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If I said that, the Seven of Nine voice in my head would say "Your perception may not correspond with reality".
As my son’s band director in the Marines told him. “Take it up an octave and play it loud and proud”!! If you play 8ths on one high note with a syncopated rhythm, you’d have them going nuts.
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D
Deleted member 165050
Guest
Seriously, I hate playing bass solos. I also play the little 6-string instrument and can improvise from slow pentatonic blues to keyless chromatic high-speed widdling no problem, but a bass solo is way more of a challenge. My fallback is to find a good pattern that the drummer will click with and expand on that. Nothing wrong with throwing in some fast runs and the odd slap as long as you're still tight with the drummer and end up back in the song key.
Lots of good info in this thread. You can lean on your scales and arpeggios, but don't be afraid to go slowly, either. Use your ears and build a melody if you have to. One thing that I like to try to do (although I fail routinely) is start with a phrase or theme and repeat that, solo, then return to that theme. Repetition always seems like the wrong, boring thing to do in a solo, but we're pattern matchers and so listeners will pick up on stuff like that.
One other thing I haven't seen - if you are worried that the song will lose the groove for any reason, then it's okay not to solo. I've been in positions like this where people have wanted me to take a solo in a Latin song or something, and they don't realize that without bass, the entire thing will fall apart (unless the other musicians are good enough to maintain the pocket without bass - this group wasn't, and didn't have the instrumentation anyway). Sometimes people are dancing or it's just not the right song for it. You can talk about this beforehand, or you can just opt-out. (There are other options, like taking a solo that is more rhythmic in nature. This can work depending on the song. I'm not great at these, though - I'm more melodic, so I'm less likely to do a rhythmic slap solo that can keep a groove going.)
Soloing is fun! Do it more and you'll get better at it.
One other thing I haven't seen - if you are worried that the song will lose the groove for any reason, then it's okay not to solo. I've been in positions like this where people have wanted me to take a solo in a Latin song or something, and they don't realize that without bass, the entire thing will fall apart (unless the other musicians are good enough to maintain the pocket without bass - this group wasn't, and didn't have the instrumentation anyway). Sometimes people are dancing or it's just not the right song for it. You can talk about this beforehand, or you can just opt-out. (There are other options, like taking a solo that is more rhythmic in nature. This can work depending on the song. I'm not great at these, though - I'm more melodic, so I'm less likely to do a rhythmic slap solo that can keep a groove going.)
Soloing is fun! Do it more and you'll get better at it.
Nightmare scenario - new song (possibly a request), drummer counts in way too fast (around an extra 30bpm) you're just holding on to the changes for dear life, horn players and keys do their solos, then the BL looks at you and everyone but the drummer drops out....
Deep knowledge of repeated harmonic structures (ii V I , cycle of fifths etc) that underly a lot of jazz will help. Developing an ear for the interplay between the head and changes is vital. Sadly, this all takes time and lots of practice.
Having a sense of humour will also help... a lot.
Deep knowledge of repeated harmonic structures (ii V I , cycle of fifths etc) that underly a lot of jazz will help. Developing an ear for the interplay between the head and changes is vital. Sadly, this all takes time and lots of practice.
Having a sense of humour will also help... a lot.
As already suggested, learn the head. Add the “blue note” between the fourth and fifth degrees of the minor pentatonic to get the blues scale. Exploit the fact that you can use both the minor and major thirds of each chord. Work some double stop slides in there using the third and minor seventh of each chord. See which simple phrases you can repeat over all three chords in the tune.
Even if you don’t actually use any of the devices listed above in your solo, they’ll make for some good preparation.
Even if you don’t actually use any of the devices listed above in your solo, they’ll make for some good preparation.
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I can't play a melody to save my life, but for the last 2 years I've been playing my upright with a group of guys who play guitar, mando, harp nd dobro and every tune each person is expected to play a solo.
So I work off chord arpeggios, portions of scales, etc. I usually cheat and just walk up a major pentatonic scale for each major chord and jam around with a minor pentatonic for blues songs. Last Wednesday I just played around with an E minor scale for a bossa nova song in that key.
So I work off chord arpeggios, portions of scales, etc. I usually cheat and just walk up a major pentatonic scale for each major chord and jam around with a minor pentatonic for blues songs. Last Wednesday I just played around with an E minor scale for a bossa nova song in that key.
buldog5151bass
Kibble, milkbones, and P Basses. And redheads.
A couple of thoughts:
1. Start with the melody (or key lines)
2. If the tune has a distinctive bass line, work on variations.
3. Using lots of space can be as effective as lots of notes.
1. Start with the melody (or key lines)
2. If the tune has a distinctive bass line, work on variations.
3. Using lots of space can be as effective as lots of notes.
Congratulations, it sounds like you had a lot of fun!
My suggestion: try to play what you sing. You may start with the Kenny Burrell Song. Record a couple of choruses of you singing first and try to play this on your instrument.
Most of us are so used to playing the stuff that we're comfortable with that getting out of this habit can be difficult.
Also don't be afraid to take your time. Don't forget to breathe and think of the phrases that you play as if they were sentences and paragraphs. Use rests between motives.
It's hard to comment without hearing you play but 2 basic tools that you can always use are the call : response (typical in blues, you start with a phrase and answer yourself with a phrase that is similar to the first one but different) and sequencing (you take a short pattern and repeat it over and over).
Try to put some limits on yourself like "I'm only going to use half and quarter notes for a chorus" or I'm only going to use one note and work on rhythmic concepts.
As of what to play - if you listen to what both soloists plays it's mostly pentatonic and blues scale. Like somebody already mentioned - in order to take your soloing to another level you'll need to start to learn the language. Learn some phrases and try to use them. Don't be afraid to change them.
Solo as much as possible when you play with other musicians. Use this opportunity to practice this aspect.
My suggestion: try to play what you sing. You may start with the Kenny Burrell Song. Record a couple of choruses of you singing first and try to play this on your instrument.
Most of us are so used to playing the stuff that we're comfortable with that getting out of this habit can be difficult.
Also don't be afraid to take your time. Don't forget to breathe and think of the phrases that you play as if they were sentences and paragraphs. Use rests between motives.
It's hard to comment without hearing you play but 2 basic tools that you can always use are the call : response (typical in blues, you start with a phrase and answer yourself with a phrase that is similar to the first one but different) and sequencing (you take a short pattern and repeat it over and over).
Try to put some limits on yourself like "I'm only going to use half and quarter notes for a chorus" or I'm only going to use one note and work on rhythmic concepts.
As of what to play - if you listen to what both soloists plays it's mostly pentatonic and blues scale. Like somebody already mentioned - in order to take your soloing to another level you'll need to start to learn the language. Learn some phrases and try to use them. Don't be afraid to change them.
Solo as much as possible when you play with other musicians. Use this opportunity to practice this aspect.
I try to know the key and aligning diatonic key for whatever I’m playing. If I don’t know it I try to figure it out while playing.
I practice soloing.
I typically will mimic the melody or head phrasing, not the exact notes notes.
If I make a mistake and botch a note then I will repeat the mistake and then I’ll resolve it.
Try to think of saying sentences through the instrument instead of notes.
I practice soloing.
I typically will mimic the melody or head phrasing, not the exact notes notes.
If I make a mistake and botch a note then I will repeat the mistake and then I’ll resolve it.
Try to think of saying sentences through the instrument instead of notes.
This always makes it sound like you know what you're doing
