Worked out solos or just improvising?

[thetallcoolone]

I'm the improvising type but I'm so limited that it always come down to the same old same old, no matter what song it is.

Also, sometimes the other members of the band will look at me with their jaws on the floor. Apprerantly, when that happens, I just blow them away with my playing. (relatively speaking, of course. I'm no Steve Vai even in my best moments)
Then there are other times where they just don't want to be in the same room.

So, it looks like I'm able to play well and hit notes properly.
Why can't I be consistent?

That got me thinking, would I be better off having worked out solos then just trying to improvise?

What is your take on this?

[pc]

In my opinion, no.

That's not to say that it isn't a great exercise while practicing to actually work out a solo that really works over the changes in question. Work out a few.

But live, there's just something about improvised solos that that enhances everyone's enjoyment, provided of course you have a vocabulary of material to draw on.

How to expand the vocabulary? Listen, learn solos from other artists, listen some more, practice, practice, practice.

That's what I think anyway. Others will differ. :)

[DoobieK]

I get bored just playing the same songs over and over. If I had to play every lead the same and worked out in advance I would have to chuck it all and find something else to do.

Wait staff have to be there when we play and friends come out to see us. I like to give them something a little different each time. It keeps things interesting for the audience.

Some times when I think I am playing poorly I get more compliments than when I think I am nailing it.

Isn't it worth the risk of NOT playing stellar once in a while, just to see the times when your bandmates jaws drop? I like hearing a bandmate do something completely unexpected that ends up killin'.

[Motojunkie]

A good compromise would be to work out the beginning to a solo, and then leave a section for improv. That way you have a solid start to build off of, and some room for inspiration to take over. When you're on, it'll be magic, and when you're not, you have most of it there for you to play off of.

[tonemonkey]

I would improvise, I do improvise. There are certain set elements when I play with a rehearsed band, but the notes are my own, set within the structure we have rehearsed. The band needs to have an idea of the dynamics that the solo will take, and also of it's length, in order to effectively back you, and to give you a launching point to a better set of notes. Perhaps one day I'll get to be part of a band like BB Kings, a unit that can read each other and look for the clues in the solos that a peak or a quiet bit is coming, but that symbiosis would be hard to achieve without those 300 dates a year.

[Tele-Bob]

I like to do a mix of copying solos and improv. There are certain solos that, to me anyway, need to be played the way they were on the original recording. They are just so melodic, and so appropriate for the song that I couldn't possibly improve on them. Some solos are so instantly recognizable to the audience that personally, I feel it would be a "let down" if I were to throw my meager interpretation out there in place of what was on the original recording.

Then there are those songs that are all about "the performance". Those are the tunes where I really like to slash and burn through some serious jam style soloing and the crowd always responds well.

I learn a lot about note selection from copping solos exactly as they were played on the original recordings and then I take some of that and use it to go in new directions with my improvising. It's all good.

I feel that a good balance between exact solos, and improvised solos makes for a good night of entertainment. Only you know what that perfect balance is for you. Mix it up!

[Offshore Angler]

Whatever they want. As long as I get paid it matters not whether I winged it or read it off the chart.

[cooltone]

Many solos have 'signature' licks, passages or melodies. I try to incorporate as much of that into them as I can, while injecting some of my own style into them.
If I'm playing original music, most of what I do is worked out. However, the same principle applies. I try to have some kind of recognizable signature.

[moonpie]

If I were playing Baker Street by Gerry Rafferty, I would play the solo note for note. Same with Fooled Around and Fell in Love by Elvin Bishop.

Some tunes I learn the intro and exit of a solo and do my own thing in the middle.

Playing every solo the same every time is too much like an assembly line job
for me.

[thetallcoolone]

Interesting conversation guys.

I agree that some songs need to have the original solo played as is, a signature is a signature. We play Hard To Handle (The Black Crows way) and we feel the solo is a signature one for most people so we play it like it is. But on Suzie Q, I wank all the way thru just incorporating some of the most recognizable sound of it.

My question wasn't really about playing it like it is or doing your own.
It was about when you do you're own, do you work out the parts or just go for it.

Anyways, I guess I'd overdue to expand my vocabulary and it means back at the drawing board of learning new stuff. I need to find a good teacher for some of the more academic stuff, I don't have the necessary discipline to learn that on my own.

Thanks guys for your inputs, it confirmed what I was thinking.

[NeoFauve]

Even if you do work them out, they're bound to vary some.

[fezz parka]

Some tunes I learn the intro and exit of a solo and do my own thing in the middle.

A good compromise would be to work out the beginning to a solo, and then leave a section for improv. That way you have a solid start to build off of, and some room for inspiration to take over. When you're on, it'll be magic, and when you're not, you have most of it there for you to play off of.

This is great advice.:yay

[Offshore Angler]

Unfortunatley, in many cases I've found that the "I want to do my own interpretation of the solo" answer really means the player is undisciplined and lacks the talent to do it right. And the result is a pentwanked "look-at-me fest" which pretty much sucks up the song. Not always, but enough times to make you wary. YMMV.

[fezz parka]

Depends if you're in a note-for-note cover band or not. I always play a bit of the original line, do my thing in the middle, then bring it all back home. Then again, I don't play in a note-for-note cover band. Been there, done that.

[Offshore Angler]

I hears ya fezz. I usually do my interpretation of a solo to. I give it the feel and hook of the original, but do it in a way that makes me happy that I think the audiece will like. But not always. Hell, I've even snuck note-for-note solos into different songs for fun. Like the guitar solo from "Must of Did Somebody Wrong". It's a classic that works with lots of blues songs and it's fun to watch the dancers recognize it but not realise it's from a completely different song! And it always cracks the band up. Or the theme from the Brady Bunch worked into a solo. You can always tell when I get bored!

[NeoFauve]

...it's fun to watch the dancers recognize it but not realise it's from a completely different song! And it always cracks the band up. Or the theme from the Brady Bunch worked into a solo. You can always tell when I get bored!

Quotes can be a blast!!!:yay
The Partridge Family theme and the "I'd Like To Buy The World a Coke" fit into some funny spots.

[fezz parka]

"Green Acres" always works well!:hee

[thetallcoolone]

Guys, you're giving me reall cool ideas.
Back on the drawing board, much to learn now.

Thanks for the inputs . :)

[pmts]

At the age of 15 or 16 I was totally into Jimmy Page and played a lot of Led Zeppelin stuff like Since I've been loving you or Stairway to heaven.
We played Stairway on almost every gig we could get and I learned and played the solo note by note; but when it came to the part with that repeated pattern in the 13th position... man you just got to take it away here :).

Same with most of the Hendrix stuff... sure, there's always a certain theme, a hookline or whatever. but most of the licks are just meant to be played freely.