Thursday, May 10, 2012

The One Man Band

One of the best practice tools I've found for improvising is playing through a tune all by your lonesome, but still keeping the time, harmony, and structure all consistent and feeling good.  This is something I've spent a good deal of time doing and I feel has definitely payed off. As good as it is for you it should still be balanced with playing with a rhythm section and locking in with other musicians.

Here are some experiments to do while practicing this:
  • Keep the time by beating your foot on 1 and 3. This has been very helpful in my development.
  • Carry one idea throughout an entire chorus (painful at times, but worth the focus).
  • Try the tune in a different key.
  • Work with contrasting tempos. Try a slow tune fast, or fast tune slow.
  • Put in your harmonic substitutions, and see if you can carry more advanced harmonies all by yourself.
  • Record your performance and see what your strong and weak points are.

Here is my latest effort. Certainly not perfect, but a good document of where I am with this kind of practice: Ben Plays Green Dolphin Street.mp3

2 comments:

  1. Loved the track! Speaking of this step:
    Put in your harmonic substitutions, and see if you can carry more advanced harmonies all by yourself.
    I believe you are always pushing your playing to do that, but you do a great job of laying down the foundation chords first and then extend the harmony more and more each chorus. I look at it like another way of building and developing energy in a solo, and extending the harmony more and more throughout the solo is an excellent device. Really enjoyed it!

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    Replies
    1. Thanks, Matt. As much as I like to exploit harmony, it's like I have to make a weekly realization how vital it is for me to really take advantage of it in my playing or I get too complacent.

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