Several tips to achieve great solos!
How to improvise in music? (2/2)
Transcribing existing solos
A must to progress quickly in your improvisations: learn and reproduce existing solos. You will integrate phrases from other musicians and then assimilate them and integrate them instinctively into your playing. There is no harm in taking inspiration from your idols, because your personality will inevitably take over and you will avoid falling into copying. This process will help you to better understand its structure, how to build a solo by making the notes interact with the rhythm and harmony
Storytelling
It is important to understand that an improvisation is not just a succession of notes. A good solo tells a story, narrated by its performer who puts all his emotion and feeling into it. Here is a practical exercise you can do: Think of a specific emotion, happy or unhappy, and try to transcribe it with a handful of notes. Imagine that you are telling what you experienced as clearly as possible and that your listener must understand you. You will then notice that the way you interpret these same notes will vary according to the emotions you are trying to express.
Listening
Don't hesitate to check in! Self-criticism is very constructive, as long as you accept it. You will be able to identify the strengths and weaknesses of your solos from an external point of view, which is more difficult when you are in the heat of the moment. Be forgiving and kind to yourself, it is certainly the key to not getting discouraged!
Apolline offers singing lessons in Lausanne as well as guitar lessons, drum lessons and piano lessons to help you perfect your musical skills.
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