[Trombone-l] solo inspiration

[Tom Ervin]

Guys:

I don't know this arrangement or the song.
And that did happen to me, often, back when I was playing and  
teaching jazz improv.
Playing by feel, completely by inspiration, by feel, is not always  
going to be sufficient.
So this is good! Blues licks won't work! Yay!

Sometimes, you just have to do some of the homework and NOT play just  
by feel, in order to increase your vocabulary. It's time now, and you  
will learn much from this.  Figure out the pitches in those chords.  
Obviously it is parallel motion, but probably you do not want your  
solo lines to sound like bass lines.

Nor, probably, do you want your lines to sound repetitive. So, select  
some target pitches, that'll help. WRITE some stuff, yes! And  
practice it, and learn it and try it in rehearsal. Be sure to play  
some interesting rhythms (always). Play plenty of scalewise material,  
but NOT only scales.  Be smart about your use of range, and speed.   
Allow some silences, you do not have to "cover every chord."    
Breathe. WRITE some more material on these changes. Is it all eight  
notes? Is it all scalewise? Or perhaps, does it jump around far too  
much and make no sense at all? Sing it a whole lot.

Electronics can help you, maybe. SmartMusic, and Band In A Box, can  
generate this background for you. Then you can monkey with tempos,  
start slow. These programs will practice with you all night long.

Jazz improvising is pretty darn easy when (1) the chords are simple  
and/or you know them, (2) the chords are common and make sense in  
their sequence, (3) the tempos are tame, (4) the harmonic rhythm (the  
pace of chord changes) is tame.

Jazz improv is a good deal harder if any of these are true: (1) the  
chords are complex and you don't know them, (2) the chords are weird  
chords and don't make apparent sense in their sequence, (3) tempo is  
part of the problem, (4) the pace of harmonic change is too rapid for  
you.

Be happy it is the same harmonic vamp over and over 12 times. It can  
get worse, believe me.

Tom Ervin


Subject: [Trombone-l] Solo Inspriation


Our concert band is going to be performing Copacabana as arranged by  
someone
named Peterson. The challenge with this arrangement, besides being hand
written and hard to read, is a 24-bar trombone solo at the end. I have
played the cords on the piano, listened to the Barry Manalow (sp?)
recording, and I just can't get anything to play out of this.

Chord structure is key of Bb, 4/4 time, two beats each of Fm9 F#m9  
Gm9 F#m9
repeated 12 times.

Usually, I just play by feel, but I'm not getting anything from this.  
Any
suggestions? Better yet, does a recording of this arrangement or another
band arrangement exist?

Thanks,
Brian


Tom Ervin
ervint at u.arizona.edu
Prof of Trombone, Univ Arizona (Emeritus)
...now a recovering trombone player.... ; >}
(520)241-4411 (cell)
website:     tom-ervin.com