How to solo is jazz

[mozzarate54]

How does one solo in jazz? I'm a blues guy so I use lots of bends double stops ect... I'm going to try out for my college jazz band next semester. I know all my scales/modes and chords but I just don't know how to properly solo in jazz.

 

[klasaine]

Super general because this topic takes two lifetimes to figure out.

*Start by listening to a lot of jazz ... and I mean a lot.
You'll find that most jazz guitarists don't bend much (I'm not talking about the rock/jazz fusion guys and gals).

If you're auditioning for a college jazz ensemble you'll need to be able to read standard notation semi (fairly?) well i.e., 1/8 note lines with rests thrown in there and chord symbols i.e. Gm7, Abmaj7, Bº7, F7+5b9, etc.

Soloing is not gonna be your main roll. Comping changes will be.

Practice voicings (and playing over) ii - V - I chord progs in Eb, Bb, F, Ab and C.

Know what an alt. chord is. *This is optional but good to know.

If you're not already, start using a heavy pick (or extra heavy).

Take a dozen lessons from a jazz guitar teacher (not a blues or rock guy that knows 10 jazz licks). Tell them you want to audition for the college jazz band. *This is actually the best answer to your question.

Did I mention listen? Wes Montgomery, George Benson, Jim Hall, Grant Green, Joe Pass, Pat Martino - start with these.

Learn: Take the A Train, There Will Never Be Another You, Footprints Shadow of your Smile and Ornithology.

Also learn: Rhythm changes and 'circle' changes (for major blues).

And again ... listen to jazz.

 

[guitar dan]

I would start by learning how to outline chord changes. IE- be able to play arpeggios and scales for each chord change. I have that stuff written out and I'll be glad to send it to you if want. Send me a PM.

Try this exercise: for each chord change, play the arpeggio starting on the root. Next time, start on the 3rd, then 5th, the 7th. Then play the scale for each chord change. Next, do one scale ascending, and descend on the next. You can mix it uo a million ways.

There is a Jamey Aebersold book called " getting it together" that deals with this. Band in a box is also an excellent tool for creating practice tracks.

 

[slowpinky]

All good advice - while guitarists in big bands can be expected to do it all from 4 to the bar swing ala Freddie Green , to funk and rock stuff - depending on the band, if Jazz is unfamiliar - then immerse in those great players Ken mentioned earlier - and especially the chord/comping styles.

Also get a few of Grant Green's and Wes' simpler solos down (Wes solo from Work Song is a good example)..in part or the whole thing - just learn to play them with same feeling , accents and dynamic. Yeah - these guys dont bend much or use wide vibrato- but the blues is still strong in there.

iReal book if you have an iPhone or ipad- very useful.

 

[rave]

In addition to the above while it may seem obvious, go to youtube and see if there are performances of the band you are trying out for and see what the role of the guitarist is. Also they usually post audition music on the web, see if it is up or if last years is up. This will give you a guide. As mentioned you will be comping, sometimes asked to play the melody and improvise over a set of changes. It could be a blues, a standard like Autumn Leaves or Rhythm Changes. Good luck

 

[jazztele]

You've actually got two questions here...

How to solo on a jazz tune?

How to get in the college jazz band?


Chords are gonna be your quick answer for both...scales, modes--that stuff's important, but jazz playing is different than any rock or blues you've taken on....when the chord changes, you change. This means the most direct route to the available notes for a solo are in the chords themselves.

That's the "template," if you will...real jazz soloing is much more complex--you're trying to hear a real melodic line that weaves through the chord changes...but practicing hitting chord tones over each change will help your ear develop...this isn't a short process.

For making the band, so to speak--they might call on you to improvise on a tune...more likely, they'll want to see you comp through several tunes...you'll need rock solid rhythm and knowledge of chords up and down the neck, as well as in different comping styles...

I'd be helpful to know if you know anything about this stuff...it's not impossible to start from square one, but there's a lot you'll need to know if you're going to compete against a cat who's already been playing jazz...

 

[Mr_Mer]

Play over the notes, not the chords. At least that is what I have been told by some so-called jazz musician.

Modes all the way, too.

 

[jazztele]

^^^

I would not take this advice as a jazz beginner. And I have no idea what "play over the notes" means...and you should definitely play over the chords.

And modes in jazz is an advanced topic...beginners should stay away, IMHO.

 

[raito]

First off, what kind of jazz?

For some styles of jazz, the play over the notes advice is correct. In those styles, the improv is on the melody, hence 'the notes', rather than the chords (but woe to those who ignore the changes at their peril).

And I disagree that beginners should stay away from modes. You're gonna need'em, you might as well use'em.

 

[McGlamRock]

In my auditions for College Jazz Band they really wanted a good reader. They put a chart in front me and had me sight read it with a click track for accompinment.
After that the professor asked me to pick a tune for us to play together (he was on piano). After I played the head and took a one solo chorus we were done.
I suspect they'll do something similar at your audition. I would be very surprised if they don't make you sight read first. That's usually a weed-out strategy.

 

[mozzarate54]

Well like I said in the post I know all of my modes and chords I just don't know how to solo. By the way it's a guitar jazz ensemble so that's why I wanted to get the soloing down just incase I have no problems with the chords.

 

[jazztele]

First off, what kind of jazz?

For some styles of jazz, the play over the notes advice is correct. In those styles, the improv is on the melody, hence 'the notes', rather than the chords (but woe to those who ignore the changes at their peril).

And I disagree that beginners should stay away from modes. You're gonna need'em, you might as well use'em.

They're definitely useful. But seriously, you might use 'em, you might not.

If you play "pre-1959" jazz, you may never touch them.

Even afterwards, I still maintain that using modes well in a jazz context is an advanced technique. It's not material out OP should concern himself with if he can't comp through Autumn Leaves.

"Play over the notes" is a saying I've never heard. "Play off the melody" sure....And well, that's a nice thing to say and all...great for practice...but if everybody played off the melody things would get boring pretty fast. You gotta know how to navigate changes, and how to create a melodic line that addresses them...you can away with running changes (scales or arpeggios up and down over the chords) for a bit, but eventually that will get tired too...

 

[jazztele]

Well like I said in the post I know all of my modes and chords I just don't know how to solo. By the way it's a guitar jazz ensemble so that's why I wanted to get the soloing down just incase I have no problems with the chords.

Ah, well that's a bit different.

Your wording confuses me--do you mean to say "the chords are no problem" or "in case the chords are no problem" (as in you don't know yet?)

 

[mozzarate54]

Ah, well that's a bit different.

Your wording confuses me--do you mean to say "the chords are no problem" or "in case the chords are no problem" (as in you don't know yet?)

I know the chords as in the chords are no problem. The soloing is what's holding me back. I know the scales/modes but don't know how to approach it. Like you in blues we do bends, double stops ect... What do you do in jazz. I'm talking about typical jazz no fusion stuff

 

[mozzarate54]

Ah, well that's a bit different.

Your wording confuses me--do you mean to say "the chords are no problem" or "in case the chords are no problem" (as in you don't know yet?)

I've got the chords and modes down that's not the problem. I just don't know how to properly solo in jazz.

 

[jazztele]

okay, cool.

How many places on the neck can you play each chord? Are you able to extend the chords or are you sticking straight to the chart? What are some of the tunes?

Each chord is an arpeggio possibility...I really think arpeggios are the most direct route for a jazz beginner...so hear me out on this, and I'll talk about modes/scales too.

So either method is a roadmap...the thing that makes jazz sound, well...jazzy, is changing what you play to fit the chord of the moment. So over a Cmaj7, for example, C, E, G, and B would be target notes, with the third and seventh really defining the quality of the chord...these notes are really just there to give you possibilities--good starting and landing places.

If you're interested in this route, I have several videos on my website about a chord tone approach...again, I find this the most direct route for jazz beginners. If you include chromatic passing tones and colorations in the chords beyond the seventh, you can get really tasty advanced lines that directly connect the chords. So basically, if you know how to see Dm7-G7-Cmaj7 on a chart and can think Dm9-G7b13-Cmaj9 or Dm7-Db7#9-Cmaj#11 on top of that, you can get some great sounds...

Now, using scales and modes well is a more advanced way of looking at things, IMHO. Basically what you are looking at is something called Chord-Scale-Theory. or CST. You basically need to know how each chord is functioning in a group and assign a mode or scale to the chord...a lot of players who use this aren't necessarily thinking about just the major scale and it's modes, but the melodic minor as well. If a mode/scale approach is more your bag, you'll want to brush up on the melodic minor.

So taking that same chord progression of Dm7-G7-Cmaj7, the most basic way to think of it is Dorian, Mixolydian, Ionian...but you'll see pretty quickly that that sounds pretty "vanilla." You might instead think about Dorian, an Ab Melodic minor on the G7 (altered scale sound) and Ionian or Lydian on the Cmaj7...and that's just ONE way of thinking about it. As you can see, that gets complex FAST...

Anyway, I hope this helps...

 

[mozzarate54]

Ok ok I know where your getting. Still kind of confused but I'll check your channel out.

 

[slowpinky]

Each chord is an arpeggio possibility...I really think arpeggios are the most direct route for a jazz beginner..

In fact I'd go out on a limb and say you could break down 90% of every lick played over a ii V I to arpeggios - this isnt just technical advice -its drawing from the music itself.

For some styles of jazz, the play over the notes advice is correct.

Well if this means play off the melody- I think that's a term more misunderstood than not. Those of us here who know some standards and play/practice them regularly cant help but play off the melody -it runs like a sub stucture under/around/on top of /through.. what ever we improvise...
To play off the tune means having it running like an engine while you play.

Seriously though, if this is about a guitar ensemble , you are going to be doing more reading than anything else - assuming there are 6-10 players in the band there will be a little soloing but for logistical reasons it'll be confined to those who can do it best for limited amounts of time - like any large ensemble. There will be straight notation and chord charts - so make sure reading is happening if you want to get into that -and then start working on the other stuff.

 

[klasaine]

Like you in blues we do bends, double stops ect... What do you do in jazz. I'm talking about typical jazz no fusion stuff

As mentioned before ... in general, stay away from bends and double stops.
As you get better and more comfortable with jazz then you'll find places where they work.

When you say 'jazz guitar ensemble' are you talkin about something like this?

 

[olwdillchips]

As someone said, listen to a lot of jazz.

Transcribe some solos that you like.

Know your scales, apart from the regular, you must also at least learn, the half/whole tone diminished scale, and the super locrian scale, that will get you far as a start.

Practice reading chord analysis.

Practice the blues (jazz blues, NOT the regular 3 chord blues), rythm changes vehicles, and jazz standards in general...

Then again, listen to jazz, ALOT.

After that you can begin to skip the most common progressions and explore more interesting stuff