Originally Posted by
Tom Wright
Novelists learn from other writers, poets study poetry (Dylan knew lot of the canon), political speakers study successful speeches.
It is not so much about being able to play another's solo, but about learning in your fingers (not just your head) the actual notes of cool riffs and interesting chords. Also, don't study only mandolin solos. I have learned the familiar figures and licks from lots of popular songs, as played by pianos, guitars, trumpets, violins, etc. All these figures are valuable building blocks of music.
A successful solo might be a minor variation on the song melody, which I believe was Monroe's advice--start with the melody. But sometimes a busy, flashy note-rich solo is the ticket. You need options, which means you need a large stock of go-to figures and melody-modifying tricks. You won't learn this from one, or several solos by exemplars, because you won't yet know what's good about those solos. After long enough learning riffs and melodies, compositional tricks, and the experience to know when to do what, you'll understand why Grisman can play a couple of notes and make a statement with that alone.
Not to be dismissed is working out some solos on your own for tunes you expect to play or want to. I've done lots of this, and it does not inhibit your chances of improvising, it helps it. Having a few arrows in your quiver, that you can reliably whip out, will serve as a foundation for adding new building blocks,and cool tricks.
Bookmarks