![]() ![]() Slowly but surely every solo begins to sound the same. One trap that many players fall into as they progress as improvisers is relying on the licks they’ve learned for familiar progressions.Ī lick for major chords, a lick for minor chords, a blues lick, a diminished lick… It didn’t matter whether he was playing the trumpet, singing, or figuring out chords on the piano – the music inside him was the same. (And why you should start singing as well!) Listen to his vocal solo on It Could Happen to You. When it comes to improvising there is no better example of a musician that embodied this musical approach than Chet Baker.Ĭhet relied on his ear for everything that he played and this is obvious when you hear him sing. That’s it! All of the theory and technique that you learn is just a tool that enables this inner-sound to come out of your instrument. Would you immediately think about the details of music theory or would you close your eyes and gather inspiration for your solo from some other place?Īt its core, improvising is simply playing the melodies that are already inside of you. If I asked you to sing a solo over a chord progression without the aid of your instrument what would you sing? ![]() What story are you going to tell the audience? 2) Chet Baker, It Could Happen to You What are you going to say to the listener over this sequence of chord progressions? The next time you take a solo look at the big picture. The first chorus of his solo has 3 distinct phrases: Study how Miles builds his solo over each chorus using musical phrases. The blues is a great vehicle to start working on phrasing and a perfect example is Miles Davis’ solo on Blues by Five. Present an idea, take a deep breath and continue that idea with another musical statement. You’re not just playing one or two chords, you’re playing over the entire form of the song.Īpproach improvising as if you were speaking or telling a story. Instead take a step back and think about the big picture. And this will put your creativity in a box… ![]() So you start focusing on individual chords, scales and individual notes. You want to play the right notes and you want to sound good in front of your fellow musicians. When you begin improvising it’s easy to become obsessed with each and every chord… If you haven’t transcribed a solo before or found the entire process frustratingly difficult, not to worry – it’s time to start fresh! Here are 10 Brilliant Jazz solos and what you’ll learn from them… 1) Miles Davis, Blues by Five And if you want to improve as a musician, the same must be true for you.Īs a musician today, this apprenticeship is done by imitating the style and sound of your favorite musicians – transcribing solos. In each and every case, imitation was the key that unlocked the door to creativity. Miles Davis moving to New York to seek out the new music of Charlie Parker, a young Frank Sinatra absorbing the performances of Billie Holiday and Ethel Waters, Lee Morgan learning the musical language of Clifford Brown… And the history of this music is full of countless examples. The truth is that every great musician started out as a musical apprentice. But look back even further and you’ll find it… And some may even deny it that it ever happened at all. You won’t hear it on their recordings or even in their live performances. I hope you enjoy playing these pieces as much as I enjoyed transcribing them.Ĭontact Matt if you need a part transposing differently, and he can easily make them for you.There is a secret that all great musicians have in common. Bill shows us what a true master he was at sounding completely effortless while playing these rapid lines which fly into the trombone stratosphere. Quiet Lady is in a bossa nova style, and regularly switches between Bill and the rest of the band, so I’ve transcribed some of the band’s lead lines for you to play along with between Bill’s phrases.Īnother ballad, and another chance for Bill to display his silky smooth tone and impressive high playing.įrom the album Coronary Trombossa! (1981) When the covid-19 pandemic hit the world in 2020, I found myself with much more spare time than usual, so decided to transcribe some more Bill Watrous solos to make a book of them, as a tribute to Bill, who sadly passed away in July 2018. It’s a gorgeous ballad in which Bill shows off his silky smooth playing at the beginning, virtuosic fast passages in the middle, and his distinctive high register at the end.įrom the album Bill Watrous & the Manhattan Wildlife Refuge (1975) This was my first Bill Watrous transcription which I did in 2015 as part of my jazz trombone module while studying at the Royal College of Music in London. Four Bill Watrous Trombone Solo Transcriptionsįrom the album “I’ll Play For You” (1980)
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