I count the number of notes I'm playing vs how much I'm getting paid ... and I am workin' cheap!
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What do you think about when taking a solo?
- Thread starter HELLonWHEELS
- Start date
well, he starts out singing harmony with himself playing a theme on the melody
then they vamp on the I, and be plays a bunch of variations on the rhythm
then he plays a bunch of substitutions over the regular changes
then he slaps an ascending outro and they end
I think the outro is probably a cue that they play every night, although I would imagine it varies like the weather.
improvisation is a huge, huge topic. I guess the one thing I would say about it is that, there is some thinking, but its not all thinking. much of what you say when you improvise is just based on having done it for years and years, but in almost every improvisation there is something new that you've never done before, even if its just the way you arrange the individual phrases or licks for that particular solo.
I think the main thing for beginning improvisers to remember is that there is no quick path to getting good at it. Getting good at it requires listening to and internalizing tons and tons of improvisation (not just the bass), and then taking hundreds and hundreds of runs at it. For a long time, you'll botch all your solos and feel dumb, but once you get over feeling dumb, you'll learn to recover when you botch something and keep going. After a while you start to discover what you can and can't play, and you solo more deliberately, fewer mistakes happen and when they do you just play past them. It's like being a freestyle snowboarder or ice skater though, you just have to do it over and over and over again.
then they vamp on the I, and be plays a bunch of variations on the rhythm
then he plays a bunch of substitutions over the regular changes
then he slaps an ascending outro and they end
I think the outro is probably a cue that they play every night, although I would imagine it varies like the weather.
improvisation is a huge, huge topic. I guess the one thing I would say about it is that, there is some thinking, but its not all thinking. much of what you say when you improvise is just based on having done it for years and years, but in almost every improvisation there is something new that you've never done before, even if its just the way you arrange the individual phrases or licks for that particular solo.
I think the main thing for beginning improvisers to remember is that there is no quick path to getting good at it. Getting good at it requires listening to and internalizing tons and tons of improvisation (not just the bass), and then taking hundreds and hundreds of runs at it. For a long time, you'll botch all your solos and feel dumb, but once you get over feeling dumb, you'll learn to recover when you botch something and keep going. After a while you start to discover what you can and can't play, and you solo more deliberately, fewer mistakes happen and when they do you just play past them. It's like being a freestyle snowboarder or ice skater though, you just have to do it over and over and over again.
Most of my soloing is done while reading chord changes. I do a lot of jazz combo work, and when I am soloing I move in and out of different thought processes. In one process I think about the music from a theoretical standpoint...in other words I consider the key, chords, rhythms, etc.
The other thought process is basically playing by ear. When I am doing this I anticipate what chord and melody sounds are supposed to come next and and play a melody that compliments or contrasts in a musical way.
With both processes a lot of work is done in advance. Sometime you are presented with new songs that are really easy to solo over because the harmonic progression is familiar. Other times the harmonic progression must be studied so you know which notes work, and which don't
With more complicated jazz music I would be more tied to the theoretical thought process. Jazz tends to modulate pretty much continuously and I have some difficulty keeping track as to exactly where I am in the modulation sequence, so my ability to memorize jazz standards is pretty limited.
With more groove oriented music I tend to play more by ear because the tonal centers are not constantly shifting in a way that makes it difficult to keep my place. It's no problem for me to memorize 6 hours of commercial music. I am pretty much retired now, but back in the day, it was easy to pull out old classics like Mustang Sally or Roll Over Beethoven even if I had not played them for years.
To summarize, the ability to solo comes from knowledge of music theory, ear training, and practice.
^
This is what I try to think of; the melody. It helps me to keep my place within the progression, as well as give me something to reference periodically throughout the “solo”. I’m not saying just play the head, but grab phrases of the melody and use them in a solo.
I think, "How far am I going to get into this before discovering I've accidentally shifted keys?"
Disclaimer: I'm not fond of soloing, but there are places where I've just gotta do it.
It depends. I have one solo that I wrote out, and involved moving from the root to the second (a whole step up). When I played it for the band the first time, the guitarist laughed and said "You've written a bridge. It didn't have one before," and came up with some chords to play behind it. That was kinda cool.
The rest of the time, I'm not really thinking at all. I know I've got to follow the changes, and stay in key, but beyond that...it just comes out. Also, I quote a lot. We put a two-chord vamp into Joss Stone's version of "Some Kind Of Wonderful," and I'll do something like play the riff from "Express Yourself" over the changes. And sometimes I stick the riff from "Them Changes" into "Play That Funky Music." Just to amuse myself.
Pretend Pro Tip: If you're in an open jam situation on a two-chord song, switch into Locrian mode. Freaks out the Sunday drivers.
It depends. I have one solo that I wrote out, and involved moving from the root to the second (a whole step up). When I played it for the band the first time, the guitarist laughed and said "You've written a bridge. It didn't have one before," and came up with some chords to play behind it. That was kinda cool.
The rest of the time, I'm not really thinking at all. I know I've got to follow the changes, and stay in key, but beyond that...it just comes out. Also, I quote a lot. We put a two-chord vamp into Joss Stone's version of "Some Kind Of Wonderful," and I'll do something like play the riff from "Express Yourself" over the changes. And sometimes I stick the riff from "Them Changes" into "Play That Funky Music." Just to amuse myself.
Pretend Pro Tip: If you're in an open jam situation on a two-chord song, switch into Locrian mode. Freaks out the Sunday drivers.
Cave Puppy
"Humph Bo, he's wond!" - John Lennon
I hadn't really thought about it but I tend to rehearse my solos as melodic pieces, like lego blocks, and then aim to assemble them a little differently each time. That leaves room for an idea or phrase to appear.... I try (but usually fail) to remember it if it succeeds, and try (but usually fail) to forget it if it flops
In working up a tune I always try to learn to play the melody over the changes. For me that is always a good starting point for developing a basic solo. Then you can try inserting something different over a chord change, and other building blocks like that and you're on your way... Good luck!
In working up a tune I always try to learn to play the melody over the changes. For me that is always a good starting point for developing a basic solo. Then you can try inserting something different over a chord change, and other building blocks like that and you're on your way... Good luck!
Like anyone else, I've gotten scared witless whenever I was asked to do a bass solo. I'm more of a groove player than a soloist.
But since the bass is the booty, I think about groove in the solo. It has to bounce, make you want to bob your head, dance, or headbang/thrash out if playing in a punk or metal band. The few times I got bass solos in my old punk band, I didn't play too many notes and mostly stayed in the key but I plucked notes quickly because punk songs are fast.
But since the bass is the booty, I think about groove in the solo. It has to bounce, make you want to bob your head, dance, or headbang/thrash out if playing in a punk or metal band. The few times I got bass solos in my old punk band, I didn't play too many notes and mostly stayed in the key but I plucked notes quickly because punk songs are fast.
How long can I fake it by throwing out riffs until I can come up with a real musical statement?
But seriously, I start a solo with something I have picked from the tune, like a piece of the song's hook, or a signature riff, then build from that. While I usually don't solo to please the audience, I like to play things that inspire them to clap or something besides start talking to each other
But seriously, I start a solo with something I have picked from the tune, like a piece of the song's hook, or a signature riff, then build from that. While I usually don't solo to please the audience, I like to play things that inspire them to clap or something besides start talking to each other
