5 STEPS TO BETTER JAZZ SOLOS

Mark McCoy

As a jazz educator, director, clinician and adjudicator I have heard literally thousands of jazz solos. It is truly wonderful to see so many excellent jazz programs in our schools and to witness the excitement created for performers and audience alike. Yet I believe that most jazz educators would agree that many times, it is the inconsistent quality of the improvised solos that most mars an otherwise stellar performance. One would think that with the rapid technological advances and the variety of excellent materials available, great jazz solos would abound. I personally have read seemingly hundreds of articles about jazz improvisation and there is a wealth of tools available to develop improvisational skills. Perhaps we need to examine the information we offer our students concerning improvisation and make certain that they are ready to accept and utilize it. In many educational settings, unsuccessful soloists seem to fall in two camps.

CAMP WING – IT

In many jazz – education situations, the soloists simply "wing it" or "play by ear". This is not all bad. In fact, many of these solos have truly great moments. These solos often have spontaneity and immediacy that make them shine. Yet these solos are just as likely to "crash and burn" and cause hesitance in the performer’s next solos. It is the lack of discipline and too much emphasis on the element of chance that cause these solos to go awry. If the student has no awareness of the changes and the appropriate scales (and the melody!), then "getting lost" is all too real a possibility. Without some skills (and experience) in coping with this situation, the solo often goes from bad to worse and creates serious problems in the psyche of the young performer.

CAMP ERUDITE

To avoid the problems associated with lack of information and training, students are often directed toward written materials available on the subject. Once students have decided to solo there is a plethora of places to go to learn more about improvisation. This can create new problems for the young musician, for middle and high school students rarely have the theoretical background necessary to comprehend and fully utilize these methods. The result can be analysis paralysis, students thinking so hard about proper note choices or scale construction that the solos barely move at all. Without careful cultivation of the young soloist, these students can become so wrapped up in scales and modes and chords and pitch collections that they lose sight of the obvious. I have personally witnessed a budding soloist lose the soul of his improvisations because he became worried about "the changes". I have heard the cerebral approach to improvisation create seemingly perfect, yet lifeless, solos. Many times the beginning improviser is inundated with too much too soon and the result is catastrophic. Many of these methods are wonderfully constructed and pedagogically sound - it is simply a matter of timing and preparation.

It seems to me that there is a missing step between the "wing – it" approach and the many fine methods. I have presented this method in clinics and rehearsals throughout the country and I am quite pleased by the result. My approach is to ask students to write down these 5 thoughts and reflect on them as they practice their solos. I list my 5 points here.  

I. Know the melody (and the words)

I have always stressed the importance of knowing the "tune" inside and out before soloing. In some classes I will make the student play the melody by memory, arpeggiate the changes and play through the associated scales (with proper leading!) before they are allowed to actually solo on the tune. Always knowing where I am in the tune is a great help to me if some of my "risk – taking" leads me astray. The melody is full of rich material to exploit in the solo, even without serious theoretical analysis. The opening interval, an interesting alteration or a juicy chord tone might be used as a building block in the solo. Playing the "head" over and over until it becomes a part of you is a great way to garner material for the solo. Knowing the words can also help. I remember asking a soloist on "Round Midnight" what this tune was about. "I don’t know" was the reply and the solo was proof! The words can set the tone for the improviser and be of great assistance in structuring the solo. The set drum instructor here at the college probably said it best. One day he stopped the drummer and said, "What are the words here?" Again, "I don’t know" was the reply. "Then you are really not playing Autumn Leaves are you? You’re just playing ding – dink – a – ding – dink – a – ding – dink – a – ding!"

II. A solo must have a beginning, middle, and an end.

As a listener, I often feel that I came in on the middle of the solo. I will often critique a solo and say: "its as if I walked up to the practice room door, opened it, listened for a few minutes, then closed it; No beginning, all middle, no end. All the right notes and scales and chords in the world do not a good solo make. The solo must have structure, it must have form. Form does not have to be thought of in off – putting terms such as "rounded binary". The solo must simply have a structure and a shape. That shape may go up, then down, or straight up or even starts up and works down but it must have a good shape. Soloists should be aware of where they place the climax of the solo and structure around that point.

III. You have the right to remain silent.

Nowhere is it written that every solo moment must be filled with an unending stream of notes. Miles used space as an integral part of his solos and look where it got him! Sometimes the soloist should give the audience a moment to reflect on what has just been said.

IV. Repeat yourself

"If you can’t repeat yourself, you don’t know what you just played. If you don’t know what you played, why should the audience?" I have made this statement many times in my career and it almost always works. Repetition is an imperative part of a solo’s structure. Repeating yourself shows that you are listening!

V. "Sing, Sing a Song"

I remember listening to a great jazz artist give an improv clinic when I was in high school. An audience member asked: "What is the most important thing that you think when you solo? Do you think chord changes or scales?" After pausing for a moment the artist replied, "I think: "Sing, Sing a Song".

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