Melodic drills ...?

[ML94]

Hi

I was looking for some guidance so I thought might as well start here!
Recently I have been working on being a bit more melodic with my soloing, taking each chord into consideration and not just playing over the key centre. I've also been practicing different intervals as I read they help you when you solo ?

My question is what types of excercises can you do to be able to produce more consonant, singing like lines when soloing?
Or even any drills that really engage your brain to think about the harmonies that are played?

Soloing and using each chord is for me very very difficult. Being used to just playing c minor over blue bossa, now I'm trying to incorporate the different modes and so on just for varied sounding lines. If there is a technique that has worked for you on soloing with different chords please let me know! Any help is greatly appreciated!

[Dad3353]

Good morning, ML94...

Is this of any help..?

[url="http://www.jazzguitar.be/arpeggio.html"]http://www.jazzguitar.be/arpeggio.html[/url]

...Yes, I know; it's for guitar, but the princilpes are the same (or, at least, very similar...). Yur can forget modes for a while, imho, if you're not yet at the stage of using arpeggios and the chord notes. Interesting as they are, modes are a subject unto themselves. One still has to know which notes the chords are made from, first. Others will ofer more, certainly...

[ML94]

That's very useful, it puts the arpeggio work in a structure rather me learning peices of information ! The modes I've always dipped in and out of. I know the 'formula' for them but remembering which goes with what chord is a mystery in itself!

[Dad3353]

[quote name='ML94' timestamp='1369814933' post='2092917']...but remembering which goes with what chord is a mystery in itself!
[/quote]

No mystery; it's a red herring (again, imho...). It's not an exact science, and there's no 'formula' to apply. Different styles of music will 'allow' different harmonic structures and tools (although there's no rulebook, of course...). It would be out of place to play 'modally' over trad jazz, for instance. In pop/rock, the way our ears react is different (culturally...) to the way we listen to classical, or folk.
Arpeggios and intervals will get you a long way; listening (and ripping...) any 'genre' of music that you want to play will get you applying the stuff to 'real world'. The theory, although important, comes after the practical side. Don't practice 'theory', practice music, and use theory to understand/explain what you're playing/listening to.
Hope this helps.

[Horizontalste]

[quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1369825060' post='2093059']


No mystery; it's a red herring (again, imho...). It's not an exact science, and there's no 'formula' to apply. Different styles of music will 'allow' different harmonic structures and tools (although there's no rulebook, of course...). It would be out of place to play 'modally' over trad jazz, for instance. In pop/rock, the way our ears react is different (culturally...) to the way we listen to classical, or folk.
Arpeggios and intervals will get you a long way; listening (and ripping...) any 'genre' of music that you want to play will get you applying the stuff to 'real world'. The theory, although important, comes after the practical side. Don't practice 'theory', practice music, and use theory to understand/explain what you're playing/listening to.
Hope this helps.

[/quote]



Great answer.

[Doddy]

[quote name='ML94' timestamp='1369809105' post='2092863']
My question is what types of excercises can you do to be able to produce more consonant, singing like lines when soloing?
Or even any drills that really engage your brain to think about the harmonies that are played?
[/quote]

The best way of learning to play melodically is to transcribe. Actual melodies/heads are a great place to start but
for solos,horn players or piano players are particularly good to study because they usually play more melodically than
most bass players. Transcribe their lines and then take fragments and apply them to different chords and changes so that
you aren't stuck to just playing 'licks'.

For harmony,it's really all about the chord tones-from basic Major and Minor to more complex chords with various extensions,
all the basic harmonic information of the chord is there. You mention Blue Bossa,so look at the changes and learn what notes
are in the. For example,taking the first two chords,we have Cm7 (C,Eb,G,Bb) and Fm7 ( F,Ab,C,Eb) and do this for the rest
of the changes. Eventually you won't have to think about all this,but initially it will all really help.Of course,you could use a
fingering pattern but you are limiting yourself to how and where you can play the notes. If you study the notes you can play them
anywhere on the instrument.

[ML94]

I can play the chord tones one after the other fine but its when I come to soloing I get a little mixed up. It's the outlining each chord whilst soloing I get stuck on. I know it's not necessary to outline each chord but when you do what are the best 'notes' to work around or land on to prove that your not just soloing around the key centre

Hope that makes sense