Description
In this lesson I go through a 2 chorus solo that I wrote over the changes to “Four” by Miles Davis. This is a jazz standard that all serious jazz players and students know. I talk in detail about the tools I used to create the solo. I also take you through the process of how I create motifs and build on them throughout a solo. This lesson is a great overview of many of the topics I cover in other lessons but here you can see first hand how I put them into practice. Composing solos and writing them down on paper is a great way to test your improvisational abilities at a slower pace. You can take your time and see what kind of ideas and lines you can come up with over the songs chord changes. This process is also a great way to reveal your weaknesses. If you get stuck on a certain chord , can’t come up with something that sounds good or can’t write lines that flow and are interesting over the changes then you have revealed something that you need to work on. If you can’t do those things when you have all the time in the world then chances are you won’t be able to in the moment while playing either. There’s a lot to be learned from this solo. The lesson comes with an Eb and Bb version of the solo both for alto and tenor saxophones. Enjoy! (Audio Lesson 27 minutes)
Jim Baynor –
Got your solo for FOUR. It was excellent. Really musical and uses your ideas with the Approach notes.