Soloing

On this installment of @yamahamusicusa #silentbass and @laklandbasses Friday, I will continue the series on "The Woodshed". A caveat here. What I will cover is based on my experience as a student, performer and educator. Everything is open to discussion. This week, "Soloing ". Now first, I want to distinguish between a solo and a "bass break". Both are fun and useful skills, but are very different,  IMO. A bass break is an embellishment of an existing bassline. Ur still part of the rhythm section, but "stepping out" a bit. With soloing, u are no longer in the rhythm section. U are the MELODY. So, now we have to talk about the two roles in the ensemble: supportive and melodic (they tend to blur a bit in actual play, but I am separating them here for clarity). In the supportive role, we define the harmony, support the groove, frame the song forms. In the melodic role, we work with the harmony (sometimes reharmonize it on the fly), work around and sometimes against the groove and work with or blur the song form. U dig? This is a very difficult concept for bass players and other rhythm section to grasp. When ur soloing, the fact that ur a bass player, guitar player, kazoo player DOES NOT MATTER! Ur job at that point is to play a melody. YOUR MELODY over the harmony. Ok, how? Now, an in depth treatment of this subject  is beyond the scope of this discussion, but I will try to give an overview. First of all, INTIMATE KNOWLEDGE of notes, scales, chords, voice leading, etc. (see my past talks for topics). Next, take at a given tune and determine what notes u would use for a solo. Start with just one to two notes per bar. Looking at COLOR notes, not fundamental notes. Next, start thinking about how u would connect these notes to make a cohesive melody. Don't forget dynamics, breath and articulation. Besides the skill itself, soloing also makes you more sensitive to the rest of the music and makes u a better rhythm section player, IMO. I'm sorry Megan Traynor, it ain't all about the bass...it's all about the MUSIC. As always, I invite your insights. #yamahamusicusa #makewaves #pirastro #glasserny #laklandbasses #sitstrings #tsunamicables #philjonesbass #uptonbassstringinstrumentcompany #basslessons  #remotelessons #www.charleysabatino.com.