5 Ways to Start a Solo (and sound your best every time)
Welcome back!
As we start off the new year this week, let’s talk about five ways to start off your solos that will set your playing up for success.
Having some sort of an entrance strategy can help ensure your improvisation sounds good. You’ll feel more confident about your soloing and avoid that amateurish, deer-in-the-headlights vibe that plagues many inexperienced improvisers.
So, without further ado, here are my five favorite ways to start a solo:
1. The Contrarian
If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a thousand times…contrast is king. Nothing brings an audience to the edge of their seats like a change of pace. On the other side of the coin, we’ve all heard that monotone speaker drone on about something boring while we doze off in our chairs. Why? Because monotone = no contrast.
So, if you’re in a big band and your time to shine comes right after a loud, brassy shout chorus, start your solo off soft. Really soft.
Or maybe you’re at a jam session and everyone before you has been shredding sixteenth notes. Good for them! Now go ahead and start your solo off with a ballad-like melody made up of quarter, half, and whole notes. Set yourself apart. Be different. Contrast is king.
2. The Piggyback
If the Contrarian changes the subject, the Piggyback explores it further. This is a classic and very effective way of starting off your solo…by loosely quoting the end of the solo or melody that came before. It’s like a musical passing of the torch, and it sounds great.
3. The Dark Knight
If Batman played jazz, he’d probably start his solo off like this: by not playing at all. Silence is extremely effective. Not only will you grab your audience’s attention, but you’ll also get a chance to collect your thoughts, listen closely to how the rhythm section is playing, and make a confident entrance when the time is right.
How long should you rest? It depends. But I think somewhere between two and six measures in is a great place to start.
4. The Licker
Busting through the musical doors with a killer lick can also work well, especially in a solo break. Sometimes having that first line planned out in advance is just what you need to get the improvisational ball rolling. Just make sure you’re prepared to go into improv mode once you’re through with the prepared material.
5. The Weatherman
Why is the weather such a popular conversation topic when meeting someone new? Because it’s simple, inoffensive, and relatable. In other words, talking about the weather is a great way to build rapport. Now, once the conversation gets going, you may want to dive into more complex and delicate topics like politics and religion.
Where am I going with this?
Well, when it comes to starting your solos, I recommend focusing on building musical rapport. Keep your ideas simple. Use basic rhythms. Leave plenty of space. Play “the weather.”
The goal is to find your footing before jumping into your polyrhythmic, triadic-chromatic, exoskeletonian mode material.
Another benefit of this approach is that by starting small, you have ample room to grow and can create a “story arc” in your solo that brings your listener on a journey. But that’s a topic for another email…
Before we go, my improvisation course, Improvising with the Blues Scale (without sounding like an amateur), is open for enrollment this week.
The blues scale and its variants are essential for getting that soulful sound in your solos. Unfortunately, most people end up sounding pretty amateurish while improvising with the blues scale.
To learn more about the course and find out how to avoid the blues scale pitfalls, click the link below:
https://go.jeffschneidermusic.com/improvising-with-the-blues-scale
Happy New Year!
Jeff