I have a concert in 3 days, and I have 2 solos in a jazz band. I feel like I will mess up and screw up the whole thing even though I know how to play them pretty well. On one of my solos I can never seem to count the 2 and 1/2 beats before I come in on a solo in "Leap Frog." Help please! Here's the cool thing about solos - You don't HAVE to come in on the 2-1/2 beats - you can wait, or you can jump in ahead. It's jazz, wait an extra 1/2 beat or 2, or 4, whatever moves you.
Unless your solo is written out and you have to play what's written.
Even if you screw the whole thing up (and which one of us hasn't done that a time or three!), the bass, drums and keyboards will keep the rest of the band together, so they are gonna plow on ahead, no matter what comes out of you.
One thing that always helped me was to record the whole song and practice to it. And play it back a lot faster than you will actually be performing it. That way when you nail it at a top tempo, slowed down will be a piece of cake. - Remember to practice it at the regular tempo too.
Relax and have fun! #1 It does matter when you come in on a solo, improvisational or written! \What moves you is important, but improvisation is nothing without knowledge. Report It
#2You should never learn something fast, before you can do it perfectly slow. You start slow and once you've mastered it at a specific tempo you speed it up! Report It
I'm going to let the cat out of the bag so be prepared to deal with these realities. As soon as you deal, your concert will be a cinch!
So here's the scenario I go over with my private and band students.
Are you going to make a mistake the night of the concert?
Yes
OK, then we're all going to make mistakes at the concert. Many many mistakes.
If people wanted to hear perfect, they'd listen to a computer. Computers easily play music, but why are people not going to a computer's concert?
Because they want to hear you play! They don't want to hear you be perfect!
Enjoy the mistakes, don't show them.
"Why do you care if you make a mistake...?"
"Because people will think I can't play..."
But, people already know you can play or you wouldn't have solos.
You don't have to prove anything to anyone except yourself.
"Why do you care if people don't think you're good?"
Here's the real answer, and this might hurt a little, you may not even realize it...
You're worried about your ego, your self esteem, your self perception.
Worry about the music! I know easier said then done.
Now, it may be that you're not worried about people thinking you can or cannot play... if that's the case, great! You may be worried about messing up because you'll be letting down your teammates and teacher. That's an upstanding and understandable worry.
Here's the answer. The fact that you're worried about it already means you care.... Your ensemble already knows you care, so does your director... or he wouldn't have given you solos!
If you blow it worse then anyones ever blown it, your teammates and teacher won't doubt your commitment at all... I guarantee it!
...Once i came in 3 measures early on my trombone solo, at a fundraiser in the middle of an 11/16 bar ... half the group went with me the other with the conductor... we met somewhere 8 bars later. I was embarrassed... the only ones who noticed was some (seriously not all) of the ensemble and the director... we laughed about it and practiced so it wouldn't happen again!
We just put on our winter concert and I missed 2 cues to the band... our Drummer who plays in the Kimmel Center Jazz Youth Orchestra (top student jazz band in Philly) got off a half a beat during his solo... we were fine! He rocked the house.
OK with all of that out of the way, it DOES matter when you come in. Practice with a metronome at the tempo you're playing the tune. Ask your director before rehearsal to go over the entrance slow at first and then speed up (if your director won't give you 5 minutes to work with it... who cares if you screw it up
If you know your solos pretty well, practice them so you know them real well... tonight! tomorrow day! Take tomorrow night off.
Regardless if you know them pretty well now, then you'll play them pretty well at the concert. Skill doesn't completely disappear in the face of nervousness.
Finally, Get into the music when you play. If you're worried about the music you won't be worried about messing up! That's my favorite trick, because we should be worrying about the music anyway... not our egos! jazz is cool because you cant mess up on solos
its impossible because they are your own unique solos
just go with the flow and if you think you messed up pretend it was supposed to happen
a tip I use is to memorize the chords/scales and close my eyes when i practice improv at home and during performances so it feels as if im at home practicing solos with my eyes closed just like any normal day of practicing You'll be right.....its so very wrong to have you this stressed over playing some jazz.....real shame. That's not what jazz is about at all..
Jazz is unique, inspiring and spontaneous......for that reason I'll never understand the whole wanting to play in a "jazz band".....
Everyone's different....my favorite jazz, is the jazz that is yet to be written if you know what i mean..... |
