What You Should Be Practicing! - Melodic Jazz Solos

[@JensLarsen]

I think this is important! Do you have some solid approaches for playing more melodic solos? 🙂 Content: 0:00 Intro 0:24 The Level You Need To Take Songs To 0:48 Learning How to play melodies not just notes 1:15 Listen To Yourself - Be Creative 1:46 Example - A Bad Solo 2:08 The Process of Playing a Solo 2:30 A Story in The Solo 2:55 #1 Think in Phrases 3:32 #2 Call-Response 4:01 Example - Solo using Call-Response 4:24 Two Ways of Using Call-Response 4:34 1st - Two Voices or a Conversation 5:43 Practicing Call-Response 6:34 2nd - More Subtle call-response 6:45 The Wes Montgomery Example 7:55 Practicing The 2nd Call- Response idea 9:14 #3 Motivic Improvisation 9:42 Motives From Darth Vader to Autumn Leaves 10:26 Example - Motivic Solo 10:48 The Three Note Motif from the solo 11:50 Motifs vs Call-Response 12:24 Motif Practice 12:58 How To Practice Motivic Improvisation 13:52 Like The Video? Check out My Patreon Page!

[@JariSatta]

Whistling range: 3 octaves. This will help me improvise melodies when playing rhythm and chords. ( Just an approach I have ) Trying to instantly double any melody by whistling.

[@JensLarsen]

@@JariSatta If it works then why not :) I had a teacher who did that sometimes.

[@Trombonology]

Toots Thielemans was famous for that approach.

[@JensLarsen]

True! I didn't have lessons with him though. That's the neighbour country :D

[@Trombonology]

@@JensLarsen There may even be a few others besides Jari, Toots, and your teacher who have done this. :-D

[@willyevans]

If they had an annual KZbin Awards show this channel would win for Best Jazz Guitar Instruction.

[@JensLarsen]

Haha! Thank you! I am glad you think so 🙂

[@digitalian2022]

Jen is a genius instructor. One of the best on KZbin.

[@JensLarsen]

Thank you :)

[@cfibanez]

Jens has done it again! After so many years and hundreds of episodes and lessons, one would have expected that the man eventually runs out of relevant topics to discuss. Yet video after video he keeps raising the bar. Here he delivers yet another golden little nugget of pure wisdom. And in his now trade-mark style presents not only how something should sound, like everyone else does, but also how something should not sound. Look at 1:50 for example. (Boy, did I recognise myself in that passage!). This is in retrospect an obvious thing to do. But no-one else does it and, man, so helpful! Thanks Jens!

[@JensLarsen]

Thank you! :) It's always great to hear that you can use the video. The key to keep making videos is that there is so much I need to learn myself :)

[@themellowpea]

Extremely practical solutions to the age old problem of the inability to play melodically. You didn’t even really mention ear training! Great lesson 👏🏽

[@JensLarsen]

Thanks! I actually think that improvising like this is helping your ear-training :)

[@anthonydemitre9392]

This is Very essential for me to work on this now, Thanks, great lesson Jens

[@JensLarsen]

Go for it! I actually think it is stuff that we all need to work on or keep in mind :)

[@beckholland8367]

Thanks!!! You should make a deep insight video on call and response!

[@JensLarsen]

Thanks for the idea! I will keep that in mind :)

[@ashandesilvaguitarist]

very valuable tips. thank you jens.

[@JensLarsen]

Thank you very much, Ashan!

[@CyberDocUSA]

Very tasty. Thanks. Pat Metheny is definitely an old fave here as well. 😷👍

[@JensLarsen]

Certainly!

[@davidmadle5007]

thanks for all your educational material - it is much appreciated

[@JensLarsen]

Glad you find them useful David! 🙂

[@anwyllonmusic]

Thank you Jens. With this in mind, I can take my improv into a new direction. I need to learn to listen more, not just to myself, but to the band also. Improv ideas can come from them. I need to use the melody of the head too. So with the head's melody, the band, motifs, and call and response, this is alot of material to work with when coming up with phrases. Thanks again Jens.

[@JensLarsen]

Really glad you find it useful Anwyll!

[@Rhetrochips]

Nicely done Jens thanks again for such great content! To switch it up I sometimes like to listen to a particular musician for a couple solos before practicing improvising and attempt to improvise a solo "in the style of..." It definitely helps when I feel like my playing has become a bit stagnant

[@JensLarsen]

That is indeed a nice way to get a "shot of" inspiration :)

[@nisseboustedt3690]

Wow!! Your lesson is really great.

[@JensLarsen]

Thank you very much! Glad you like them!

[@pascaletienne7734]

yes Yens ! I think also is realy important to stop sometimes analyse many things about the ways you can play, for exemple triads pairs ist most import way to make a good construction solos also. excuse to my write but I am french !

[@JensLarsen]

Thanks, Pascal! I am not sure triad pairs are THAT important even if they are very practical :)

[@iamjulianmichael]

Brother what Ibanez model are you using?? Tone is absolutely phenomenal.

[@JensLarsen]

Thank you! 🙂 It's an AS2630 from 1977

[@stevegregory4360]

Love your lessons. Outstanding content. What software do you use to create your videos? The look and feel is perfect.

[@JensLarsen]

Thank you very much! I am really glad you like the videos! I use Adobe Premiere for the videos :)

[@jahoopyjaheepu497]

In my opinion this is the hardest part of jazz improv. Sometimes I can’t help myself, and just go nuts with bebop lines for the entire solo. Even if there’s some development like this, adding melodic playing really creates a special solo. Think of those 3 note lines that Coltrane might play that sound so emotional, the lines that give you goosebumps; that’s what melodic playing can do. While I’m not the biggest fan of modern players, I think Julian Lage has melodic playing down better than anyone.

[@JensLarsen]

I think this is indeed one of the hardest parts to get right in Jazz :)

[@edregisme6428]

I recommend listening to jazz guitarist Joshua Breakstone; he's great at developing ideas (IMHO).

[@marinkfloyd2900]

Hi Jens. I´ve just bought your book. Would you recommend me some other books to complete your book at the same time?

[@JensLarsen]

Thank you! That is hard to say, I don't know what you miss next to it. The best thing I have off the top of my head is this video kzbin.info/www/bejne/fXSofXWBbbmDpdU

[@bok2bok333]

I've heard people say many times how Jazz is nothing without the blues. Is the primary reason for this connection the Call / Response aspect?

[@JensLarsen]

No, actually those two things are not related at all. Call response is very clear in blues but present in pretty much all sorts of music 🙂

[@BrettplaysStick]

Darth Waiter!!! Great video!!

[@JensLarsen]

The one and only 😄 My editor really appreciates you!

[@ronamundson9151]

I hate to disagree with the instructor (and I have few reasons for disagreeing with Jens), but your comment regarding the final example you played in the video was, I think, mistaken. A problem with some jazz players has been the tendency to over-demonstrate one's skills. In many cases, that comes out in abandoning a good idea too soon after it comes out. I would say that happens in your comment that you would change the motif that you were using in the final example because (as I remember it) it would become boring by the end of the verse. I disagree -- it was a perfectly good motif, and it would deserve even more developing in a couple more verses. Think of all the early riff tunes that early bebop players used to generate entire tunes. It's worth dwelling on a motif when it's a good one.

[@JensLarsen]

When a motif becomes too predictable is, of course, subjective, so disagreeing doesn't really matter that much. It is also a factor how you develop it of course.

[@nateallen8235]

Isn't that intro you've got a friend in me from toy story?

[@JensLarsen]

I don't know. Is that also a blues?

[@edregisme6428]

Sing the solo and transcribe it

[@JensLarsen]

That's always a good exercise :)