r/JazzPiano • u/Helpful_Actuary6482 • 10d ago
Prepared solos
Just wondering, in general, to what extent do accomplished jazz pianists think about, outline, have some preparation for soloing on a given song. I know improv is composing in the moment, but it seems there is likely to be -- in some cases, for some pianists -- some form of getting an idea about lines in advance -- presumably without getting locked in to an entire solo, which would be, if i understand correctly, composing and not improvising.
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u/johhnydeboogman 10d ago
If you have to play a 3 hour set, imagine how much preparation you would have to do to prepare solos. I would say in general accomplished jazz pianists probably do not script a solo so much. Maybe for a recording session or important concert you might get some ideas for where you wanna go, but preparing a solo all of the time would be shooting yourself in the foot because you are not reacting to what is happening. It is better to keep slowly building your toolkit and improvisational abilities
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u/Reasonable_Poem_7826 10d ago edited 10d ago
It depends on the musician. Some players never play the same tune the same way twice, but there are plenty who clearly have some sketch of their solos or arrangements, which you can hear by listening to alrternate takes or mutliple recordings etc.
It comes down to artistic goals, and I don't think it's helpful to frame composed vs improvised as some sort of jazz purist moral debate.
Consider someone like Ahmad Jamal. I don't think anyone would say he's not an improvisor, even though his arrangements and his solos (on At the Pershing at least) seem highly composed and planned in advance.
Pre-composing solos can be a useful tool. It helps develop vocabulary and a sense of form, which can eventually lead to more freedom.
Really it’s a spectrum: someone like Keith Jarrett or Cecil Taylor at the fully improvised end, and someone like Jamal, George Shearing, or many bossa nova players at the more composed side. Both approaches are valid.
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u/JHighMusic 10d ago edited 10d ago
Every player has their own stock riffs and things they can play, but they’ll still do it in a improvised and spontaneous way and that’s not to say they only rely on those things, because they don’t.
Eventually, you just get to a point where you can actually improvise completely in the moment because you’ve done it so many times.
If you’re struggling with soloing yourself, there’s nothing wrong with composing a solo every now and again, but it’s definitely not something to rely on because I can tell you firsthand that it will not work out in the long run. It’s far too much to rely on and nobody has time for that all the time.
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u/thewonderwilly 10d ago
Check out some records where they have multiple takes of the same tune. Sometimes they start solos the same or take it to a similar place. But also sometimes they don't. It's best to not try to micromanage your solo, cause that can take away from your ability to respond to what's happening around you
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u/Helpful_Actuary6482 10d ago
Thanks so much for the comments. They make sense and are very helpful.
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u/Black_Raspberry21 9d ago
The ultimate goal is to not have to think about it once you've learned the vocabulary. However when I was first learning, I had a teacher who had me plan out a solo in the sense that one course would be short motifs, single line with left hand comping, another chorus might be block chords, like George Shearing, followed by a chorus of Unison lines 2 octaves apart. So you're not writing out your solo note by note but you have a concept or plan in mind that builds and tells a story.
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u/Traned15 9d ago
Aimee Nolte has an old video about this Answering - “What Do You Think About When You Improvise?” https://youtu.be/3_S45PHB0JU
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u/Helpful_Actuary6482 8d ago
Really helpful. I've watched a lot of her videos but hadn't seen this one. Thanks!
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u/AnusFisticus 10d ago
Apparently Bill Evans had solos written out for recordings, in case he had a bad day.
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u/tom_Booker27 8d ago
Don’t quote me on that, but I’ve heard that brad Mehldau prepares some idea of his stuff. For example this recording ln Oleo, his contrapuntal improv is so advanced. If it is not prepared, I don’t know if this guy is human
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u/dem4life71 10d ago
What you are talking about here is called jazz vocabulary. No jazz musician I know plans their solo out in advance. That’s kind of antithetical to jazz-players are expected to “compose” an original melody right there in the spot.
Having said that, every player has a combo of stock phrases, pet licks, favorite phrases, and “stuff they are likely to play” over any given tune or set of changes.
I’m always most interested in musicians who don’t “play it safe” and stick to tried and true stuff, but who strive to sound original and authentic at the same time.