How to Declutter Your Solos
One of my favorite books on productivity is Atomic Habits by James Clear. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to make their practicing more habitual and less dependent on sheer willpower.
I’m on the James's email list, and last week he sent out a newsletter with the subject line: On eliminating clutter…, and it got me thinking about how many of us need to declutter our solos.
So, what is “clutter” in the context of music?
Let’s use my favorite soloing analogy to explain:
Speech and language...
Ever heard the term “filler words?”
Words and phrases like:
ya know
like
ummm
right?
mmmk
Do you find yourself or others adding these useless tags to the ends of would-be credible sentences?
Well, musicians do the same thing.
Instead of finishing phrases with confidence and distinction, many improvisers “trail off” by tooting unnecessary notes after what could have been succinct ends to their lines.
The effect is musical clutter – “note hoarding,” if you will…
So many improvisers can’t bear to clear out the corners of their cobweb-filled solos.
Alright, let’s return to the language analogy. When you don’t leave space, you end up with a bunch of run-on sentences that lack the necessary musical punctuation to delineate concrete musical ideas.
You end up sounding unsure of yourself, immature, and downright sloppy.
Lucky for you, the solution to this very common issue is super simple.
But be warned: adherence to my clutter cure is not always easy.
So, don’t read the following prescription and write it off as something too basic or too unhip.
Ready?
The fix for your unkempt solos is...
More space.
Of course, the technical term is “rest.”
In the (in)famous words of Miles Davis, “Try taking the f$cking horn out of your mouth.”
Give your solos room to breathe. Seriously, take a few breaths between lines. The quality of your playing will increase instantly.
Now, here’s a pro-tip before we wrap up…
When leaving space, especially in a performance situation, know that the “dead air” can feel like an eternity.
But perception does not always equal reality.
What feels like 30 seconds of silence might actually be two or three seconds on a clock.
The takeaway?
Rest longer than you think you should. Get comfortable not playing. It’s a counterintuitive way to improve your solos, but it works – time and time again.
Lastly, when you go back to playing after inserting your pro-level rests, you’ll want to improvise pro-level lines that make sense for your musical style and ability.
That’s where my Sick Licks collection comes in – 600 licks organized by genre (classic jazz, blues, and modern) and skill level (beginner and intermediate/advanced).
Each book contains 100 ii V I licks in major and minor keys and will rocket your solos to new heights, especially when you follow the included lick learning guide, which teaches you how to learn, internalize, and work the lines into your solos.
Click here to learn more and hear a bunch of demos from the Sick Licks collection.
Happy Shedding!
Jeff