STOP PLAYING WRITTEN SOLOS 

mfw the chart says "solo" but the notes are missing

I'm feeling called out for 6 years of jazz band and probably explains why I'm not super proficient at improv... because I haven't been practicing improv

The big band at my university insisted on playing the written solos too... No-one wanted to even learn how to improvise, let alone try to play something not on the page. It was so frustrating.

Well, I personally believe there is an exception to every rule. I definitely play mostly my “own” solos. But there are many songs that call for the solo from the album like “respect”, “Maneater”, most Sade songs, “I will always love you”. I couldn’t imagine playing “flying home” or “cottontail” without playing all if not most of the historic great solos. Probably depends on who the audience is. I think it is wonderful advice for kids to learn how to create your own solos but I personally would not stated as a rule. But hey, to each his own. 👍🏽.

There is a time and place to play the written solo. In the Mood, Tex Beneke solo

I generally agree with Dave on this topic; however, there are some situations in which the written solo is desirable. For example, the tenor/alto call and answer solo on Glenn Miller’s “In the Mood” is as iconic as the melody lines (to the point that audiences expect to hear it as written). There are others where I think it is instructive to learn the original solos as a developing player (Parker’s “Night in Tunisia” and “Ornithology” or Sonny Rollins’ “St Thomas” [which is so melodic and iconic that it is almost a disservice to improvise]). I think in cover band scenarios where you might play rock or pop solos like “Just the Way You Are, “ (Phil Woods), “Urgent,” (Junior Walker), “Turn the Page” (Alto Reed), “Year of the Cat” (Phil Kenzie), “Maneater” (Charles DeChant), etc. that the audience appreciates a certain degree of faithfulness to the recognizable licks in the original solo. That said, for most jazz standards, legit, bebop, hard bop, etc. “make it your own,” is sound advice.

Yep, that is the only use for written solos. My first private teacher wrote out two solos for me in middleschool (far superior to the sheet music written solo) and I used them in conjunction to begin learning improvisation.

I understand what you're saying, but what if its a solo you wrote out? Is this still wrong for this style of music?

rip written solos

People getting all uptight over this video. I'm willing to think Dave is reasonable and is ok with people learning how to play the original solos of the greats. That helps you build a vocabulary of licks and ideas. From there you should start working on your own. What he's not ok with is people who only play solos verbatim and never go on to willingly work on their improv. Kinda interesting because I've been listening to videos of famous classical pianists criticizing another famous pianist named Glenn Gould. One particular pianist talked about how Glenn butchered the Bach because he didn't play the dynamics or the timing the way it's written, Glenn's playing was too wild or chaotic. I don't anything about Glenn Gould or classical pianists but as someone who loves Jazz but started out playing classical guitar, I found Glenn's interpretations refreshing and interesting. He'd have made a great jazz player I think. All this to say that in my opinion playing and only learning a written jazz solo is the same as these classical pianists. People have forgotten that Mozart and Bach were great improvisers but somehow classical has morphed into this snobby "Only play as written". I think Bach and Mozart would welcome any variations and improvisation on their themes.

Brutal

I’m in high school and I agree with you. Written solos suck

Playing a written solo is like playing any piece of music. But when you are playing it, don’t even think that you are playing a solo. A solo is made by you, not by somebody else.

Facts

Noice short

Please sir.. I want you to be my Mentor... How can I get across to you sir

Looking for a good analogy. Ok. Here goes. It’s sorta like being in English class and the teacher says the class is going to recite a speech together in front of the entire school. But occasionally they will point at someone and say, “make up a speech on the spot.” That’s a tremendous amount of pressure. It took me years to be able to process the adrenaline. I eventually became a professional musician. Played and taught my entire career. In my high school and in my kids’ schools, it was a struggle just to get kids to show up to jazz band. Give ‘em a Break, Dave. While it would certainly be beneficial for every kid in band to learn to solo, it takes an incredible amount of time to learn to solo. If a kid isn’t into jazz, they’re not going to put the time into listening to hours and hours of jazz, much less the same song hundreds of times. While I respect the hell out of your playing, gotta say you missed the mark on this one. ❤❤❤

My jazz band teacher doesn’t like when people use the written solos and spends time teaching us to improvise

I would rather listen to a well written and played solo than a a poorly improvised one.

They let you guys solo? Even as drum major me and the second chair alto. No solos….

Better yet, write your own solos.

That electrical outlet… omg… no… it’s an easy fix…

From now on I’m only posting bad Solos. Haha 😂

Counterpoint: Cootie Williams (COOTIE WILLIAMS!!!) playing Ray Nance's "Take the A Train" solo note-for-note in Ellington's band.