Lesson: solo phrasing

[henryrobinett]

We guitar players often have a common problem when soloing. Many of us play way too much. I think sometimes it's a product of:

1) practicing by ourselves and

2) not depending on breathing to play like a singer or horn player. And then if you're a speed demon you just want to fill up all the space. It gets tiresome to listen to.

 

A common thing most of us like about some solos we've heard is the element of story. Some great players just tell a story when they play. More than anything I think this comes from phrasing. What is phrasing? In short it's playing as though you're having a conversation. There are techniques for phrasing. Repetition, variation, call and response, etc.. But sometimes this is difficult when you're alone, just playing by yourself. And if you don't PRACTICE doing this you'll end up playing way too much on the gig.

 

Force yourself to use space. Something I learned from Chick Corea: have the drummer (for example) play around the "corners" of the tune." It took me a long time to figure out what the hell the "corners of the tune" was. This is basically the space you leave for him in your phrasing. So you're allowing for a call and response. There can be no call and response unless you leave room for him to respond.

 

Now this makes practicing alone more fun. Imagine the drummer filling in the "corners of the tune". Play a phrase and imagine the response. Try it. It's fun. Play. Leave a space. Imagine his fill. Play a phrase based on your first or in response to what you imagined he played. Leave a space.

 

Now normally the drummers fill is shorter than your phrase. It's like an acknowledgement in a conversation. It's like an "OK", or "Alright!" or "Let's go!". Could be a little hi-hat thing rather than a series of 16th note rolls down all of his rack toms.

 

Music, like all art I believe, is a type of communication. So if you play as though you actually ARE communicating it can reach an audience more easily. So the important thing is to PRACTICE as though you ARE communicating.

 

I love doing this especially for playing jazz. Been working on "Donna Lee" this way.

[Lee Flier]

Good call, Henry. Phrasing is always something I've paid a lot of attention to, as well as giving space to other players. I actually try to play guitar lines that are more like vocal lines, in that they have pauses for "breath," and that they have to say something definitive to the song otherwise it's not worth playing them.

 

Playing off the drummer is another great tip... I'm ALWAYS playing off the drummer... I think I listen more to him while playing than me, and that kinda determines what I play. It's an unconscious process by this point but I'm pretty sure that's what's going on somewhere between my brain and fingers.

[henryrobinett]

Yeah Lee! The drummers the thing. Gotta play with the drummer I think more than anybody.

[pauldil]

You're right as usual, Henry. I still struggle with this. One exercise I was taught that's helped me develop better phrasing was to limit the number of notes I let myself play while practicing a solo. For example, pick just 4 notes, and make those the only notes you can play for the entire solo, adjusting them for key changes if necessary. You can further limit yourself by playing the 4 notes in the same order throughout the solo. You can use any note & rest values, whole, half, quarter, 8th, 16th, 32nd, dotted, etc. This now makes you think more about ryhthmic variation, accents, dynamics, etc, without having to worry about licks or patterns or note selection in general. You'll be amazed at how many totaly different melodies can be squeezed out of those 4 notes. The objective is to learn to play a solo that can keep someone's interest using fewer notes but adding more character. Then try it with 4 different notes, or 5, 6, 12 notes, etc.

 

Paul

[BlueZet]

Originally posted by henryrobinett:

[QB]

 

Force yourself to use space. Something I learned from Chick Corea: have the drummer (for example) play around the "corners" of the tune." It took me a long time to figure out what the hell the "corners of the tune" was. This is basically the space you leave for him in your phrasing. So you're allowing for a call and response. There can be no call and response unless you leave room for him to respond.

 

QB]

which leaves me with MY problem: I am all for leaving space - even when playing rhythm I play far less than most guitar players (mostly 3 or even 2 note "chords") - but the bass player and drummer tend to fill every little space I leave, so when soloing I am more or less forced to keep producing notes, or nobody will find the guitar between the wall of drum and bass... we've been working on this for weeks now, and things are getting better, especially at rehearsal, but then we get on stage, the adrenalin starts flowing and ... off they go!!

 

my point: it has to be a GROUP thing, not just one band member(whether guitar, or sax or whatever)!

[Teahead]

Excellent stuff, Henry! I love that description, "The corners of the tune," it's a nice way to think about call and response phrasing. Thanks.

 

Tea.

[Guitarzan]

great stuff Henry. this really interests me. i am real big on rythymic stuff. jazz drummers are awesome. when i solo i tend to have statements in my phrasing but sometimes i second guess myself and get carried away. i am all for the band. any more tips about phrasing would be great. i love hearing a band play together. thanks for reminding us to think. we sometimes get carried away with notes/scales and forget to work on how to apply those tools.

[Shoes]

Originally posted by Lee Flier:

play guitar lines that are more like vocal lines, in that they have pauses for "breath," and that they have to say something definitive to the song otherwise it's not worth playing them.

This came to mind while reading Henry's post and it reminded me of the importance of playing with a voice that suites that of the vocalist and the release of the passages they sing. You're efforts should complement or contrast these lines by avoiding redundant sound sculptures that don't suite the mood that's been set.

 

I find chasing vocalist a good practice for balancing my weight and time.

 

Very good stuff guys!

[Just Sum Gai]

All great points. I was also thinking how important it is for the phrasing to make sense within the harmonic structure as well. In many songs, the chord changes will inply a certain phrasing. Playing inside and outside that phrasing can lead to some really interesting soloing.

 

For example, most chord changes lead to the I chord, so "targeting" the I at the end of the phrase can sound very complete, but under-shooting and over-shooting the I with the end of the phrase can also lead to very effective and interesting variations.

[henryrobinett]

Originally posted by Just Sum Gai:

For example, most chord changes lead to the I chord, so "targeting" the I at the end of the phrase can sound very complete, but under-shooting and over-shooting the I with the end of the phrase can also lead to very effective and interesting variations.

Absolutely. However ending a phrase on the I tone can sometimes be really corny unless you're actually ENDING your phrase. In other words that's the period or 'full stop." If you're soloing through a tune that has a rich harmonic content -- in other words a lot of chords one of the best and most melodic things to do is to chase the third of the chords, which becomes like commas, colon and semi colons; even end of paragragh sometimes. But hitting the root note of the tonic (I chord) is the end of the solo or chapter or something.

 

BTW - good idea pauldil about taking a 3 or 4 note phrase and working it. I like to try and take a little simple melody and work it through the chord changes and ryhthmic variations of a tune, especially if the tune changes key a few times! What I haven't done enough of is 'quoting". This is a jazz technique of quoting other melodies in your solo. This can be challenging ona lot of fronts. Remembering the melody for one thing! But fitting the melody in and slightly altering it's notes to fit the chords is a challennge!

 

What you have to have together before you can do this very effectively is your arpeggios. The real purpose of knowing your arpeggios is not so you can rip through them like Gambale, but it's so you can visualize the notes on the fretboard clearly and know what those notes are.

[Just Sum Gai]

Sorry I wasn't clear ... of course you're right, ending on the root note can be corny. I really meant targeting that chord to end the phrase on some chord tone, not necessarily the root.

[Funk Jazz]

you nailed it on the head about practicing alone, Henry. practicing musical ideas instead of building chops is a tough habit to get into.

[Lee Flier]

Originally posted by FunkJazz:

practicing musical ideas instead of building chops is a tough habit to get into.

When I started playing (1975), ALL the older kids at my school who'd been playing for a few years were about building chops. They were mostly into Hendrix, Beck, and a couple of years later EVH. And several of them were really good at that style but I couldn't say I was all that impressed - they all sounded pretty much the same, and it got old to listen to after 5-10 minutes. As a music FAN I was into the Beatles, plus a lot of country and blues artists who were more song oriented. When Rumours came out I thought Lindsay Buckingham was da bomb. Richard Thompson was divinity. Keith Richards, Pete Townshend and John Fogerty were the ultimate rock guys to me because they were songwriters as well as guitar players, and knew how to play to a musical idea, yet they still had the rock'n'roll energy. Later I added Jimmy Page to that list.

 

So, playing to musical ideas was a habit I never had to "get into" because I never went the road of "building chops" in the first place. It just looked like a dead end road to me if I was going to be the kind of guitar player that, as a fan of music, I would enjoying listening to. Phrasing, timing, dynamics, tone, playing what's appropriate for the song and playing with raw passion were the things that I worked on for hours and hours, and still do.

[henryrobinett]

Originally posted by Lee Flier:

So, playing to musical ideas was a habit I never had to "get into" because I never went the road of "building chops" in the first place. It just looked like a dead end road to me if I was going to be the kind of guitar player that, as a fan of music, I would enjoying listening to. Phrasing, timing, dynamics, tone, playing what's appropriate for the song and playing with raw passion were the things that I worked on for hours and hours, and still do.

Good for you! It's taken me a life time of building chops to come back around to the basics, essential simplicity of it all - MUSIC!!!

[Lee Flier]

Right on Henry. BTW, I didn't post the above to toot my own horn, but as a suggestion for people just starting out. Focusing on these things is a great foundation for the future, and is a way to stand out from your peers fairly quickly. A lot of people start out going for the chops and treat the guitar like an athletic contest. In the end, you rarely find your own musical voice that way. Better to find the voice first and then learn whatever chops you need to really speak.

[Tedly Nightshade]

Great thread Henry!

 

Me, I was a wind player and singer first, so that always has influenced my phrasing. I did find it illuminating to spend some time singing along with the guitar, even in a vague mutter...

 

And Lee, um, didn't Jimi write some tunes too? But I know what you mean about Townshend and Fogerty's phrasing compared to his... *most* times.

 

Here's another guy, not a songwriter, not a guitarist- but Jaco played fantastic, gorgeous musical stuff when he phrased sparsely, and tons of throwaway gobbledygook when he would play all kindsa fast stuff...

 

Now how about Wayne Shorter, compared to Coltrane? Wayne's lines are *so* lucid and compositional, not a wasted note... whereas Trane, is more like Hendrix in that regard... *most* times. I live for the other ones!

[henryrobinett]

Years ago I was at the Record Plant in Sausalito. There was some music tacked to the wall of a Wayne Shorter solo transcription. It was one whole note with a slur drop off.

 

Apparently it came from a session where Shorter had been on. It might have been Shorter's session. There was also a drum chart. It just had the words "bam, bam, crash". Funny guys.

[John O. Lennon]

Not to seem to knock what's a great reminder but sometimes unresticted, "flurious" playing can be a great effect.

With what I hope is humility, I suggest a deeper principle: don't let your playing become systematic or your approach routine.

[Lee Flier]

Originally posted by Ted Nightshade:

And Lee, um, didn't Jimi write some tunes too?

LOL... yeah, actually I didn't elaborate enough about that. The "problem" with Jimi (and EVH too - and not their fault but the fault of their listeners) is that because he COULD and often did focus on chops and showmanship, that's what his followers chose to emulate about his playing 95% of the time. Whereas that is not what he wanted to be remembered for, nor is it anywhere near the coolest thing about his playing. His ability to compose multilayered guitar parts, his rhythm playing and riffs and phrasing, those are the things that are appealing to me personally about him - and also the things almost no one chooses to learn from him.

 

Remember, this is a guy who said he wanted to strangle Clapton because he couldn't play rhythm. It isn't THAT hard to see where Hendrix's real priorities were.

[Leviathong]

Ohhh i needed that, thanks Henry!

[Compact Diss]

bump!!

[the.circular.motion.rub.it]

Originally posted by Lee Flier:

Originally posted by Ted Nightshade:

And Lee, um, didn't Jimi write some tunes too?

LOL... yeah, actually I didn't elaborate enough about that. The "problem" with Jimi (and EVH too - and not their fault but the fault of their listeners) is that because he COULD and often did focus on chops and showmanship, that's what his followers chose to emulate about his playing 95% of the time. Whereas that is not what he wanted to be remembered for, nor is it anywhere near the coolest thing about his playing. His ability to compose multilayered guitar parts, his rhythm playing and riffs and phrasing, those are the things that are appealing to me personally about him - and also the things almost no one chooses to learn from him.

 

Remember, this is a guy who said he wanted to strangle Clapton because he couldn't play rhythm. It isn't THAT hard to see where Hendrix's real priorities were.

i love jimi

 

i love him for his lead skills

 

but i think in some ways hes an even better rhythm player, i mean hes crazy with the little licks and double stops, very awesome

 

jimi

[Kendrix]

Great thread.

Same goes for singing- the subtlety of phrasing makes all the differnce between a just OK and a great take.

 

When soloing I sometimes like to focus on some words... for instance:

Soaring

Singing

Relaxed

Melodic

Breathing

...

 

Playing to showcase extreme chops usually does not involve any of the above.

 

That asolutely great music can be made without resorting to extreme chops is one thing that gives me hope/keeps me going at this.

 

BTW- some genre's of jazz fusion seem most apt not to follow this advice - and to have musicality get lost in the technical wizardry.

I love some of Chick Coreas work. But some of it ( esp. the later years) also suffers from this IMHO.

[Compact Diss]

Bump!

 

Let's get this board back on track!

[pauldil]

For a second there I thought Henry was back

 

Thanks for bumping this, Compact Diss. This is a great thread, and Kendrix's response got me to thinking about this topic as I prepare for a seminar I'll be taking next month. I know that phrasing an area that will be covered, so I've been "practicing" (I know, practicing for taking a seminar is like cleaning the house before the maid gets there). But this particular teacher has, in the past, had us solo over multiple choruses of a tune, each chorus using a different dynamic. He uses terms like "whisper, talk, shout" or "crawl, walk, run" and calls the order that you are to use these devices. This is similar to what Kendrix wrote about (soaring, singing, breathing...). I found it a really effective way to add color and variaety to a solo. The really great thing is that there are no new scales or licks to learn, just apply this to what you normally play and it can make you sound like a different player.

 

Paul

[DIAMOND DUST]

Originally posted by Compact Diss:

Bump!

 

Let's get this board back on track!

Amen.....

 

http://files.dmusic.com/music/b/-/b-cordova/010.jpg

[Werewolf by Night]

Thanks, 'Diss!

 

Thanks, Henry...

[Tedster]

Originally posted by pauldil:

For a second there I thought Henry was back

Just to let you all know, I just very recently had a very nice bit of correspondence with Henry. He's doing swell.

 

Ahhh...phrasing. One of the reasons I like the blues so much is because a good blues player can take very simple lines, and tear you apart with his (or her) phrasing. It's hard for me to quantify, but I recognize it immediately when I hear it. And, to say it again, Eric Clapton's solo on a Ray Charles tune "What Would I Do Without You" from the Jools Holland R&B Big Band just tears me up.

[Reverse the Curse]

I don't know about you guys, and you have probably heard me say this, but I have always admired George Harrison for his phrasing. His solos on Something and Let it Be are great examples. When I think of great guitar playing, thats the stuff I'm thinkin about.

 

I know full well that I need to start listening to blues, regardless of whether or not I like it (I probably will) because those guys built the foundation of the music I listen to. If these classic rock guys are inspiring me, I better find out what inspired them

[Guitarzan]

i thought he was back! crap. we miss you Henry.