Tim Price Bloggin' For D'Addario Woodwinds- Most important part of constructing a improvised solo.

Some of the most important aspects about improvising and playing jazz and also just plain improvise sol be the big band, playing in a jazz quartet, free playing, or behind a female vocalist or playing eight measure solo are rock 'n' roll gig.

This is one of the most simplistic things to learn but something that you have to really concentrate on to get internalized so you can apply it. Each of your solos in the matter what the idiom… Should have a beginning… A middle and an end.

That's one of the age-old aspects of why something sounds good and has a focus personally. How somebody constructs that is as important as what notes they play and any other aspect that they apply.
Very simply-if your solo does not have a shape that includes a beginning middle and end-you're missing a very important part of your message.

If you take yourself and record 12 bars or eight bars and listen to it and listen to that shape you'll hear it right away. You can also use a solo transcription and graph it, if you do a solo by somebody like Cannonball Adderley or Louis Armstrong you'll see what I'm getting at immediately just take your pencil and graph out to solo.

You can hear this type of sound in anything from Louis Armstrong solos, Steve Douglas solos on early rock records, Steve Lacy solos and of course Monk solos. Of course Lester Young and Bird!


The point of his blog today is very simple use your ears, listen to what's going on around you give yourself some where to start when you start improvising. Remember-the beginning-a middle-and an end.
Hope this helps.
~ Tim Price