You'll Hear It: Full Album Deep Dives with Jazz Musicians - Architecture of a Solo - #27

Episode Date: October 2, 2018

Today, Peter and Adam go over some common ways to structure your solos. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Hey, Adam, do you like buildings? I do like buildings. Do you like architecture? I have my own set of blueprints at home for every building I've ever lived in. Why are we talking so soft? I don't know. Okay. I'm Adamannis.

And I'm Peter Martin. And you're listening to the You'll Hear It podcast. Daily Jazz advice coming at you. Why are we whispering and why are we talking about buildings? Well, because we're going to talk about architecture of a solo, which happens to be one of my favorite subjects. Because I'm saying it all the time. And I think it's important. And I'm so glad this is from a listener question, right?

Yeah, this is from a listener name. Anthony, he says, hi there. In the episodes that you guys have talked about transcribing, you've mentioned the architecture of a solo. Are there any ways of practicing soloing with the clear and logical architecture to it? Or is there something most people intuitively come up with over time? Thank you guys for all the awesome content.

So there are actually things you can practice to help with a clear and logical architecture. We have a good friend Sean Jones was in here, and he had a great lesson on building a solo, the architecture. So he actually didn't sort of metaphor, metaphorize it. That's not a word. I know what you're saying.

No, I like it. He didn't use it as a metaphor, like architecture. He actually used a story. Yeah. And I think those similar concepts, but yeah, there's things you can do to practice that. Absolutely. And I mean, he really goes into specific ways of practicing it and developing it. And I think the last part of the question, you know, does it just happen over time?

And it's like one of these things, not necessarily. No, there are some players that can't do it to plan along. So I wouldn't say that now, you know, if you're listening to, it's kind of like learning a language. If you're listening to Italian from really good speakers, it's like, are you going to ever learn it just by listening? Not really. I mean, you'll pick up a little bit and you'll get better. But if you apply some practice techniques and you're listening to a lot, then you will get both sides. You know, you get the practical kind of development and you'll also get that kind of automatic development just by imitation.

and stuff, but you've got to sort of, I think, dovetail it with some practical working, you know, real practical things, which we'll try to give you today in your practice routine. Yeah, let's break it down a little bit for you, Anthony. So wika-chika-chika-chika-chika, break it down. Let's take a tune. Just take a simple, maybe 32-bar tune that you know or a simple standard, like autumn leaves or all the things you are or something like that. And create a map for yourself.

Let's create a three-chorus map, right? Three-chorus is a pretty standard length for any... But you say three chorus? Three choruses. Man, because I'm getting hungry, and it's around lunchtime. I thought you said it's three chorus. I think of pizza's here, too. This is ridiculous.

Three courses. I was thinking about a three-course lunch. Okay, go ahead. Okay. So, you know, by the way, none of this is set in stone. Every solo is different. Every building is different. You don't have to do anything the same way.

There are some buildings set in stone. Let's be clear about that, though. But I know what you're saying. But this is just a very basic way to kind of structure a solo, and it seems to work pretty much all the time. So you're going to come out box. going to come out with little jabs Wham bam, thank you ma'am.

No, not with the wambam You're going to come out with just a little Oh, little jab. Little jab. Got it. Yeah, you know what I'm saying? Like a little, maybe left jab, right hook. Yeah.

You're not going to come out full on like, Thabududdy-div-da-dab-dab-dab-dag-da-da-da-da-da-da-da. You're going to come out like this. Right. Shorter phrases. Shorter phrases. Shorter phrases. The thematic riffing, maybe.

You're going to take one theme. Thumb-thum-thun-um is what I did. So then we can go, Fumpfum, fadavidavid up. Simple, concise. Fum, fum, fump, fump, fump, I'm flipping it around. I'm doing whatever I can think of in that rhythm. You're fumping it all around.

Yeah, I'm changing the intervals. I'm playing with all of that. And that's going to take you through a good half course, chorus, even, of the whole thing. Then at the end of that first chorus, an event will happen. You're going to change it up. You're going to go, Fon-di-Baddy-da-do-d-d-d-chances. Chances are the rhythm section is going to go with you. The drummer's going to start playing in four.

The little lengthening of the phrases. a little more, well, you wouldn't say, I mean, you're already kind of rhythmically precise and stuff, but you're lengthening the phrases, a little more thematic. A little more thematic. You're going to start, like you said, lengthening those phrases a little bit. Really, this is where you're kind of in the meet, you're in the development. Towards the end of the second chorus, as you're kind of, you're done shadow boxing, you're actually playing like real, you know, good length rhythmic phrases.

Towards that end of your second chorus, you're going to start building a little tension towards the end, right? to kind of push you over the hump to that third chorus. Because we don't want the other people you're playing with to think that maybe you're only taken two. Right. You don't want to like end it. You want to keep going. So you want to kind of start building up some kind of repetitive phrase maybe. Yeah.

Or maybe start, you know, changing the harmony if you're a piano player to something a little more diminishedy or diminish-de. And really kind of go over the top if you're a cyclist on a mountain. You're going over the top into that third chorus. into that third course. Yeah, I like it. And now you're burning. Yep. Now is when you can kind of like release the hounds a little bit.

Yep. And now this third course... Smithers, release the hounds. This third course can kind of become almost like a little microcosm of the whole solo, because you're going to release sounds, you're going to go for it. But then... Michael Cosmium. Isn't he an Italian jazz musician?

Yeah. Michael Cosmos. You're going to do these little mini building. This third course is like you're going for it, long streams, tension and release throughout. Probably just a lot of interaction. A lot of interaction. you know, if I'm playing the piano, if everything's kind of built up properly, I can just do something like,

bum, ba-da-da-da-da-da-da-da. And the drummer is going crazy, and the crowd's on their feet. Oh, we're going best-case scenario. We're going to best-case. Jazz Club packed. It's 1 a.m., everybody's wasted. And then, you know, there's a million ways to end a solo, but, you know, if we're going like sort of the basic structure,

end on the melody, some kind of like. Like the last kind of four or eight bars. four bars, quote, the melody. It doesn't have to be exactly like that, but like you know, you're telling everybody the tune. Put a little bow on it. Put a little bow on it. Sorry, I kind of hijacked this episode, but...

No, I like it. And what you just did was describe truly the architecture of a solo. That's it, you know? I mean, even in your description of in terms of, like, the building of it and the arc of it. And then I think what makes it, you know, the architecture of the music is that linking up of the form. So when you mentioned, like, at the end of the first chorus,

was sort of the first time when you go into the longer phrases, get a little more confident thematically, that, you know, that's really attuned to the listener and the other musicians, the form, the fact that the form is cycling at that time. So the listener might not know, oh, this is a 32 bar form, but they actually feel that because you've set up the pattern already when you play the melody or they know the tune or they know a 32 bar, you know, kind of like people listen to the blues all the time and don't know what it is, whether it's in rock and roll, blues. R&B, jazz, or whatever, but people know it. They don't know any, they couldn't name you one chord. They feel it, though. They feel it, exactly.

So this is a great thing in terms of architecture. Just like when you're building something, you don't have to know anything about architecture to look at a building and know how to get into it. You look for the door. You know what I mean? It's just like, oh, that's how you go in. And you don't have to know if you see stairs

that you have to walk up because you've been to other buildings and stuff. So you're taking the audience's expectations, and then you're giving a framework, which is really what that architecture is, for you to navigate them through it. But the challenge always with jazz music is that we're doing it, we're improvising it every time. So this is a framework, but what you've done now

is you've given some great elements to practice and to work on in a conscious way, I think, with this example. And look, we could give 10 other different possible ways over two courses. But now you've got ways to practice and to really think about it. So in terms of what you practice, that's what you do. You would take this as like Adam's number one way

to practice, and you might do five solos, over five different tunes or even over one tune where you're going to follow that exact pattern. Now you're not telling you're not telling them what notes to play. You're telling them how to play it. You know, how to structure it. So now you're going to fit your soul into that structure and you're going to start to learn how to do that. And then ultimately when you're getting, I think what you want to get to, and I think in the question sort of alludes to this is like in the future when it just happens, it will start to just happen.

You'll just feel it because you've done the repetition. Yeah. And then you'll even, I'm still discovering, although I know quite a few different. possible architectures of three-core solos or five-cores or whatever it is. I'm always amazed that there's really an infinite different ways to structure solo. I always think like every way's been played, or I feel like I've played every way. But when you're open to kind of the development, it's almost like you're designing the building as you go. And then listening to what's happening around you, to the moment, it almost feels like there's an

infinite different ways to do it well. There are. And we should reiterate, this is just a way to practice. Like Peter Martin's not up here saying like, all right, I have three-quarter. I'm going to build tension at the end of what it. You know, you've done this now so much in practice, you know, building and constructing a solo and have so much experience in it. Like you said, it just flows.

There's a million different ways. You just have a feel for it. You know, when you get good at this, you could actually start reading your other musicians. You can start reading the audience. Yeah. You know, and you can really hold off if you feel like you can get away with it. Intellectual jazz lover in row four. Let me attune to that.

Yeah, totally. You're like, that guy looks like a nerd. I'm going to play right to him. But, you know, I think another key thing that I like what you said is the structure of it. You know, use what's given to you, too. These forms are kind of ready made for this kind of thing. Use those cadences at the end of the form to set up tension. You know, you talked about maybe, you know, we're not talking about notes,

but like really use like a diminished sound. The blues scale is a great way to sort of make a statement and to put a period on the end of a chorus. It's like a building, a type of building material, a certain type of window that at the appropriate time, you can always pull out as part of your architecture. Totally. And yeah, it's a building block. It's just another, you know, it's a harmonic element, but you combine it with a rhythmic element.

I mean, we've got those are the kinds of things to really get conscious about to listen to yourself as you practice and use them, certainly as you learn them and are able to play them in different situations. And then I think a big part of being able to pull it off in a way, you know, live, like what you're talking about without having to think about this,

but to still have a great architecture or not, is that you have to kind of, concentrate so much. Like when we're playing, it's not that we know how to do this very well. And I mean, look, I've sat there and played with Christian McRide and watched him come up with some amazing solos and he is concentrating. But he's not thinking about I'm going to do three chords and I'm going to build it up. That part's coming naturally, but he also understands the form so well that he can fit that in without having to think consciously about that part of it. So until you get to the point where you really know these tunes, you are going to have to concentrate on that as well, which is fine. And repetition and concentration

and your practice will lead you to the promise land. That's right. You know, keep experimenting, experimenting with your own ways of developing tension and your own punctuation that you put on the forms. Always keep the form at the forefront of your architecture. That's going to save you a lot of, you know, headache and trying to figure things out. You're just, if you do it right, if you can mark the form correctly and build appropriately with your phrase length, it kind of just happens. That's right. You know, but try that three chorus technique. It's one I've used. before and one I know Sean Jones has talked about.

Good. Thank you, Anthony. And if anybody has a question for us or a lesson episode topic you like to suggest, you can go to you'll hearit.com. That's right. Get yourself a T-shirt. Get on our mailing list. We have a weekly newsletter where we tell you what's coming up. We offer links to maybe something.

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