Advice/inspiration on funk/gospel AP soloing?

[stoken6]

We're working through Aretha's "Respect" and I have been awarded a solo!

 

I'm struggling to find ideas for soloing in a funk/soul/gospel style over a basic I7/IV7 groove, and would welcome any ideas for material to listen to.

 

Cheers, Mike.

[MathOfInsects]

You'll get lots of input here, I imagine. But good old blues scale (minor--flat 3/5/7) will be solidly in "voice." Shout chords built off the flat 3 of one or both tonics will sound good too, as will scales built from those chords. In terms of rhythm, I would notice the delayed downs of the vocal part (starting on the 2-and or even the 3) and acknowledge it in your phrasing, at least to get started. (In fact, you could barely go wrong on this one just playing a slightly fingery version of the melody. She's already so soulful, it's hard to up the bar on her.)

 

But...partially what you'll play depends on how long a solo they're giving you. Open? Or a set number of bars?

[stoken6]

Thanks MoI, appreciate the contribution.

 

The I-IV change is in the chorus, which isn't so melodic ("...when you get home" and all that). I often look to the original melody for inspiration, but there isn't much here.

 

I've got probably about 48 bars of solo all in - we come right down after the final chorus, and it's mine all the way to midnight. So I'm trying to work in material that keeps the interest up.

 

At this week's rehearsal, I was hitting the Mixolydian pretty hard, with some b3 and b5 thrown in. I'll try the minor blues scale as you suggest.

 

Finally, what's a "shout chord"? Gospel is something I admire from afar, if you see what I mean.

 

Cheers, Mike

[Threadslayer]

I'd be interested in hearing what you come up with for that solo. Just sitting here at my desk I can't hear an AP solo in that tune. Sax would work definitely. Maybe organ. But for some reason when I try to imagine what I'd do with it on piano... not so much. Good luck with it!

[Doug White]

Perhaps Artie Butler's piano work on Feelin Alright can provide some inspiration. It is all I-IV.

 

http://artiebutler.com/feelin-alright/

[Threadslayer]

That would be awesome actually. Great idea!

[MathOfInsects]

Thanks MoI, appreciate the contribution.

 

The I-IV change is in the chorus, which isn't so melodic ("...when you get home" and all that). I often look to the original melody for inspiration, but there isn't much here.

 

I've got probably about 48 bars of solo all in - we come right down after the final chorus, and it's mine all the way to midnight. So I'm trying to work in material that keeps the interest up.

 

At this week's rehearsal, I was hitting the Mixolydian pretty hard, with some b3 and b5 thrown in. I'll try the minor blues scale as you suggest.

 

Finally, what's a "shout chord"? Gospel is something I admire from afar, if you see what I mean.

 

Cheers, Mike

 

The "shout" is the uptempo, usually call-and-response section of a gospel song. Most commonly it's over I7-IV7, though not always. Think of the SONG "Shout" for a close idea of the feeling (and this is an example of one that is not I-IV, though it's a sub away).

 

The chorus of Respect is a shout section. Think of the down beat as the call, and the "just a little bit" as the response.

 

There are certain voicings, shapes and subs that are commonly used in shout choruses. One easy one that you could use--both as chords and as a note-bank for scales--is triads on Eb, Dm, C(7) over the I, and Cm-Dm-Cm (really, same chords but with Cm) over the IV. For an idea of what this sounds like in context, listen to the groove section of "Will It Go Round In Circles," or the melody that goes along with the line "ABC, 1-2-3, That's how easy love can be." (Many others, so let me know if you want more examples.)

 

That voicing is entry-level, but will signal "gospel" if the phrasing is right. Some easy variations--even gospelisher--include making that Eb chord minor instead of major (which is what Preston does inline during the verses of "Circles," I think), or approaching from below coming out of the F chord (Bb7, B7-->tonic C7).

 

Either way, if you think about the notes in those triads--Eb-G-Bb-D-F-A-C-E[-G] you end up with c-d-Eb-e-f-g-a-Bb, which is a nice 8-note scale to make runs out of, if you'd like.

 

That should give you a lot to work with as a start for a sound world, harmonic approach, and rhythmic foundation.

[timwat]

Great advice above about harmonic underpinnings. From an overall perspective, I would suggest approaching a solo in "Respect" from a motif-development angle. It's such an inside tune - and so well known - that taking time to introduce a simple quarter- or eighth-note melodic motif, let it breathe, develop and ornamentalize - slowly introduce complexity or "outside" color tones at the very climax and bring it back to the vocal - seems to me a great way to show off your taste, maturity and some chops without sounding "typical".

[Dave Weiser]

Listen to Ray Charles and Billy Preston. Lots and and lots of them. Hell you could turn some of their comping licks into blues solos.

 

Play along with recordings over and over and over. Then when you think you've got it, play along with 10x more recordings.

 

Quick tip: when playing the I7 chord as a triad, get rid of the I on the lowest note and drop it down to the flat 7. So a G7 triad would become F-B-D in the right hand. Roll into the B (the third) from the Bflat (the minor third).

 

Now take this little triad with the flat 7 and bounce back and forth between it and the C triad: G-C-E.

 

This nugget here is half the battle.

 

 

 

[harmonizer]

You might approach this solo mainly from a rhythmic perspective, perhaps as if during the solo the piano accompanist is freed from his chains and can go wild.

 

I don't know if this makes sense, but I find myself wanting to hear a souped-up version of the piano comp that was played on Gladys Knight's version of "I Heard It Through the Grapevine", for a solo on "Respect", with the piano player going diva for this solo.

[Threadslayer]

You might approach this solo mainly from a rhythmic perspective, perhaps as if during the solo the piano accompanist is freed from his chains and can go wild.

 

I don't know if this makes sense, but I find myself wanting to hear a souped-up version of the piano comp that was played on Gladys Knight's version of "I Heard It Through the Grapevine", for a solo on "Respect", with the piano player going diva for this solo.

I think that's the key. Same general idea as Doug White's suggestion of a Feelin' Alright-ish feel. I went home last night and fired up the DP and thrashed away for awhile like this and it worked. It would be especially powerful if the rest of the band dropped out at the start and let the piano carry the rhythmic groove - then fell back in as the solo built in intensity. Fun stuff!

[stoken6]

Thanks all for your contributions. Once again Timwat has nailed it with the motif-development observation. I start the solo very sparse, almost a smooth-jazz approach to the solo (over funk bass/drums, however).

 

The band does drop out at the start, and joins me for the ride gradually. I find though that I run out of ideas about 60% of the way through.

 

I guess I'm aiming for a combo of:

- Motif-development

- Going nuts Wastrel-style

without it getting boring.

 

Cheers, Mike.

 

[Theo Verelst]

If I'd be into it again, this interesting subject would have me do some stuff, when I was making sounds that IMO start to "work" I had made a hires mix effect track with among others some Franklin HDTracks songs, and for the first time in decades re-experienced the music working and the fun of properly playing along returning. Maybe like a good record on a nicely working HiFi and a real organ (or good piano), maybe there are still good tapes around. Mostly when applying fitting mix effects the long time existing great studio recordings start to sound more like the great musical products we all know.

 

For "a" successful performance, I'm sure a skillful trained musician can create enough magic, with or without gospel idiom, but I think the glory of the Aretha song is not primarily the Gospel element.

 

"Playing" with instrument (and amplification) at hand will probably dictate the various degrees of musical freedom available to play with the main blues feel tritone centered major/minor contrasts, for which the mentioned 3 tone chord wibble probably is ok.

 

Of course for the deeper interested (and I presume capable) musician there are a host of interesting chords lines, bass progressions and 2-5-1 jazz pattern lookalikes to delve into! Concerning that "well on the hill" feel with simultaneous (major key) blues and gospel feel: without knowing certain production effects with the keyboard instrument of choice, and also for the rest of the band: what I've currently heard being done it's still a long way to get there...

 

T.