by Minim Pro
I have a few private piano students at the moment at various intermediate levels of playing who are working on building effective solos. Interestingly enough, as you teach more students, you see the same difficultes being encountered time and again. It would seem that the same issues pose difficulties for many people.
Based on these students and others like them, over the next few weeks, I'll be looking at some of the most common problems that I see in my own students and offering some hints and tips that may be of interest if you're also learning to blow. Here's something I see many students struggle with as they develop:
Learning to Cope
When I was first learning to read lead sheets and play standards, a friend of mine told me that 'learning to cope' was the most important thing to be able to do. By this he meant that you should be able to play through the chart from the top to the bottom without getting lost and making the appropriate changes.
Being able to 'cope' i.e. to hold your place in the form and stay in tune sounds like a very basic requirement. In a way it is, but the day that you can do this consistently is the day that you have taken a big step forward as a player. There are many intermediate players out there who are starting to get some reasonable chops together but reguarly find themselves getting lost in standard song forms.
It's no use being able to play hip phrases, fast runs and cool licks if their execution takes that much concentration that you lose your place. Instead, holding the form and knowing where you are in the tune should be your primary concern.This is the most important skill to master if you don't have it. Regardless of where your playing is right now, I promise you that if you regularly get lost in tunes, this is the most important thing for you to work on right now.
Whilst you are learning to do this, the notes that you're actually playing don't really make much difference. Make the changes if you can, but always make keeping your place the primary concern.
Many players get lost when they are more concerned about the line they are playing than where they are in the form. Switch your priorities and determine that you're not going to get lost - even if that means you can only play chord tones or the first three notes of each scale.
The easiest way to concentrate on the form is simply to play less and allow yourself to listen to what's going on around you. It's much better to play 2 notes and be ready to make the next change than attempt a long line which leaves you lost.
Holding the form and keeping your place in a tune might be a basic requirement, but that doesn't mean it's automatically easy to do and it can take a lot of work just to get to this stage. Make this your primary concern in the woodshed and don't worry about anything else until you are there.
The beauty of being able to keep your place on tunes is that it allows you to play with other people. Other musicians don't mind if someone still learning gets up at a jam night and plays a solo that's not so hot as long as they they start and stop in the right place. However, they will get irritated with somebody who comes in too early and truncates other solos or rambles on too long and leaves somebody else to pick it up halfway through a chorus - and they won't be keen on letting that person play with them in the future.I can't overstate the importance of this. Learn to hold your place in the form. Until you can do this, anything and everything else you can do is of no use to your fellow musicians - or to a listener for that matter.
So what can you do in the practice room learn to keep your place? One way is to listen to recordings of standards with the chart in front of you. Follow the changes through the solos and make sure that you know where you are in the form. Get used to hearing the natural 4/8/16 bars sections that are the building blocks for the majority of standards. Listen to the way the drummer will often signify the end or start of a section with a fill and/or cymbal crashes.
This is easy enough whilst the head is playing but gets a little trickier when the blowing starts. Don't be daunted - just focus on listen to the chords the bass and piano/guitar are playing underneath the soloist and sing the melody of the song in your head.
Keep your ears open for any obvious key changes that will let you know where you are if you get a bit lost. For example, many standards are in AABA form and feature big key changes at the bridge. Being able to pick these out can get you back on track if you're not sure where you are.
A few examples of tunes off the top of my head with very obvious-sounding key changes at the bridge are:- Moonlight in Vermont
- I'm Old Fashioned
- The Way You Look Tonight
- A Nightingale Sang In Berkely Square
- Misty
- Girl From Ipanema
There are hundreds of these and they're good places to start. See how long you can keep your place in the form once the head ends and the solos start. If you get lost, don't panic but listen out for the things I've mention above and see if you can find your place again. If not, don't worry, simply spin the recording back to the beginning of the solo choruses and start again.
Think about it like this, if you can't keep your place when you're not playing anything then you have zero chance of doing it when you're trying to play as well. That nagging little voice in your head may be telling you that if you're not actually playing your instrument then you're not really practising. It's wrong. Spending time on this exercise is probably more useful than playing anything if you're regularly getting lost on tunes.
Give it a go and see how it works for you. Knowing where you are in a tune at any one time is half the battle and next time we'll look at some ways to deal with the other side of coping - making the changes. Until then, good luck - and don't get lost!
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