The first solo I ever recorded [How do you write solos?]

[grillman]

// TL;DR What is your solo writing process ? //

I play in this early Jamaican ska band and I'm loving it. Some songs are just 3 minutes of the same two notes and I just have to focus on keeping the beat while some other songs rely on a lot of improvisation on chord tones. Lots of fun.

We are putting a demo together that I am recording and mixing. The demo will contain 3 original tunes and the BL insisted that I take a 16 bar bass solo on the outro.
At first I didn't really want to but then I realized that despite being on a few records I was never asked to record a solo and I will probably never be asked again. So I decided to do it and anyway it is only a demo.

Not really here to show off my mediocre skills but I would like to discuss the writing process.
I wanted this solo to be written for the recording and not completely improvised.
This is how I did it. Please let me know how you would have done it or if you think there is something I got wrong. This was definitely a new effort for me.

1. I improvised on the 16 bar loop for a while trying to find sequences of notes or licks that were pleasing to my ears. I selected a few and put them together. Some sounded like questions, others like answers so I assembled a skeleton of a conversation.

2. I then practiced to play the full length solo making micro adjustments. While getting comfortable playing it I started to put more emotions in it. As I played it on the fretless I also tried to get the intonation as right as possible during that step.

3. Once I was comfortable with it, I realised that my technique was too plain and rough. So I decided to flex in a few techniques here and there adding some pinched harmonics, working on my muting/plucking and adding a couple of slides and hammer/pull off. While doing that step I was aware that it was a bit shallow but my motivation was that if there are bassists out there hearing that solo I would want them to feel entertained.

4. Once I was satisfied with it I let the BL hear it. He liked it except for the entrance to the solo that sounded a bit pop rock to his ears but he also said it's my solo so I can do it any way I like. I reworked that part and I'm glad I it because I found something that I like more.

I am curious to see how you guys would have approached it.
Do you write solos or do you improvise them ?

 

[phillipkregg]

I don’t think I’ve ever written a solo out. It’s always an improvisation.

To me it’s part of the fun of playing. Like a conversation and having something unique you want to say in that moment.

But I could definitely see why you might want something more planned or constructed for a certain situation. Hey whatever works and sounds good right!?

 

[josephbass86]

I basically just improvise over the track a couple of times. Listen back, find the bits I like and then put them all together. Possibly re-record the whole solo in it’s constructed form so it flows better.

I used to think if I went in the studio, inspiration would hit and I would magically play a perfect solo, but then I realized I’m not at that level. Composition is key. You want a solo that breathes, builds, and has a memorable melody.

Some of the most memorable solos in music were worked out before hand.

 

[grillman]

I basically just improvise over the track a couple of times. Listen back, find the bits I like and then put them all together. Possibly re-record the whole solo in it’s constructed form so it flows better.

I used to think if I went in the studio, inspiration would hit and I would magically play a perfect solo, but then I realized I’m not at that level. Composition is key. You want a solo that breathes, builds, and has a memorable melody.

Some of the most memorable solos in music were worked out before hand.

That's right. I think the idea of writing the solo came to me after watching an interview of Brian May where he mentioned writing down the solos before recording them. I thought that was interesting.
As you said, skills are a big part of it and I don't thinking I would have the ability to come up with a great solo on the spot. Somebody who is more experienced at soloing wouldn't have any problem with that I guess.

I don’t think I’ve ever written a solo out. It’s always an improvisation.

To me it’s part of the fun of playing. Like a conversation and having something unique you want to say in that moment.

But I could definitely see why you might want something more planned or constructed for a certain situation. Hey whatever works and sounds good right!?

That is my approach when playing live and I think this is what I will do when we perform it on stage (if we are ever allowed to do so...)
I like the improvisation but I think I kind of saw the writing process as writing a poem. You can come back to it and read it again and remember what emotion you wanted to convey at that time.

 

[MVE]

Your step 1 is a great description of the process. As, no matter how much musical knowledge you know or apply to a situation, ultimately its finding something pleasing to your ears that should always be the goal.

I have a few different approaches that I apply and interchange at whim.

If its a solo over a single chord vamp or a I- IV- V I’ll usually fall back to improvising a pentatonic thing.

If it is a solo over a more complicated chord sequence, I might write a solo based on the chords themselves; I think this is a good approach if you want to maintain the bassline while adding some spice. If someone else is outlining the chords allowing me to play the melody, I might use different modes of the key center to improvise, usually quoting the head a little here and there, and always thinking about bringing it back home on the resolution, or maybe even kicking it up a notch to resolve it the next time around.
Sometimes, I’ll just set IReal to play the changes 10, 20 or 30 times through going back and forth between a chordal approach on the bassline and a scale approach based on the melody and then maybe mix the two together and pepper in some approaching notes and chromatic notes when I really want to clash up some tension before resolving.
Lol, I guess that’s how I do it anyway.
My only guiding rules are, “always know the chord changes” and “always know the head”.

 

[grillman]

Your step 1 is a great description of the process. As, no matter how much musical knowledge you know or apply to a situation, ultimately its finding something pleasing to your ears that should always be the goal.

I have a few different approaches that I apply and interchange at whim.

If its a solo over a single chord vamp or a I- IV- V I’ll usually fall back to improvising a pentatonic thing.

If it is a solo over a more complicated chord sequence, I might write a solo based on the chords themselves; I think this is a good approach if you want to maintain the bassline while adding some spice. If someone else is outlining the chords allowing me to play the melody, I might use different modes of the key center to improvise, usually quoting the head a little here and there, and always thinking about bringing it back home on the resolution, or maybe even kicking it up a notch to resolve it the next time around.
Sometimes, I’ll just set IReal to play the changes 10, 20 or 30 times through going back and forth between a chordal approach on the bassline and a scale approach based on the melody and then maybe mix the two together and pepper in some approaching notes and chromatic notes when I really want to clash up some tension before resolving.
Lol, I guess that’s how I do it anyway.
My only guiding rules are, “always know the chord changes” and “always know the head”.

Some really great advice there, I enjoyed the reading. Cheers man.

In this particular case it was a very simple 2 chord progression. While it was fairly easy to decide which notes to play it also made it harder to make a solo that wouldn't sound repetitive or bland.

 

[dougjwray]

My own very general and abstract guidelines are these:
I'll start out by continuing what went before ... paraphrasing, quoting ... then I'll twist that a few ways ... then I'll wind up by climbing to a high note and end there. I don't go past the end, so as not to step on someone else, such as another instrumentalist starting a solo, or the vocalist coming back in.
Classic examples of this kind of thing are Clapton's solo in the Beatles' "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" and Stevie Wonder's harmonica solo in "For Once in My Life."
For longer solos, call-and-response is a great device. You can create melodic "rhymes." (Duane Allman was a master at that.) You can also hammer away at one note with different rhythmic variations. Alternating between different registers from one phrase to another can be good.
Just trying to offer some ideas...