Step 3. Show time
Armed with your scale, a sense of adventure and trusty friend or backing track, it’s time to conquer soloing!
A: Play your scale in order, ascending, and then descending. Listen to how it sounds against the A minor chord.
B: Play your scale in the same order, but hold some notes longer than others. Play a few fast, then some slow, and see what sounds you get.
C: Repeat step B, and this time, repeat some of the notes.
D: Start to mix up the order of the notes. Skip a few, repeat some, and jump around.Be creative! Approach the scale as a skateboarder would look at a flight of stairs – don’t just walk up and down ‘em!
E: Add seasonings. Bends, slides, pull-offs and hammer-ons are to be tried. Picture the solo as a salad, and these articulations are the bacon bits. See Example 2. for further ideas.
Breakdown
OK, so what just happened? Hopefully, you will have taken the scale, listened to it in its basic form, and then started to spin some melodies from its framework. At the end of the day, the goal is to play music, not scales. I’ll often see students playing scales very well, but not knowing what to do with them. Simple steps such as these can be very helpful. Remember, it’s not magic. You can do it, and before you know it, you’ll be soloing like an old pro.
If any of these concepts don’t click, or if you’re having trouble getting the hang of it, drop me an email! I’ll be glad to help you out.
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