Trombone Jazz solo help?

Question

I have a year left until I go to high school, where I want to get into jazz ensemble. The problem is that i'm not that great with solos and i'm a bit confused with the scales that they tell you to use, like D7 or Fmin7 or Gb9, etc. Can you explain to me what the numbers mean and what kind of scales they are and what notes are in it?

Answer 1

This is a topic the breadth of which would be difficult to lay out in this format. I'll make some reference suggestions: "The Jazz Theory Book" by Mark Levine and the chord syllabus that can be found in the foreword of the New Real Book volumes (even the "Standards" or "All Jazz" volumes have this feature, which is an exhaustive syllabus of chords from simplest to complex; most examples are spelled from C in root position.

As for the question of "which scale over this chord", I encourage you to learn the seven modes and the triads/seventh extensions that correspond to them. In response to your cited examples: D7- play a G major scale off D (chord tones D, F#, A, C); Fmin7- chord tones are F, Ab, C, and Eb (could be related to Eb, Db, or Ab major- depends on the surrounding chord changes; that's why learning your modes can be helpful); Gb9- 9th chords are an extension of 7th chords (which naturally occur off the fifth scale tone of any key, so here you'd play the Cb major scale beginning on Gb; the chord tones are Gb, Bb, Db, Fb, and Ab). If all this sounds obtuse, get the Levine book and work carefully through it. Most of all, don't just think of this as just another sight-reading exercise; listen to what you play and listen to others, too. I'll recommend a few trombone players for listening: Jack Teagarden, Quentin "Butter" Jackson, J.J. Johnson, Kai Winding, Britt Woodman, Urbie Green, and Jim Pugh are fine players across roughly eighty years of jazz history. If you can study transcriptions of solos, that is also useful for developing "licks" and, more importantly, your ears.

Answer 2

Here's what you'll need to play hip and improve your improvisation. I'll break it down to three major components. Listening, Transcribing and Theory.

Listening: It doesn't matter how much theory you know, if you don't listen and learn through listening. Music is a language with jazz being a specific dialect. You need to learn to speak it, before you learn the theory. You've got to be singing it, you've got to know the tunes....

Listen to these amazing Jazz Trombone players. A lot.

J.J. Johnson, Slide Hampton, Robin Eubanks (current) Frank Rosilino, Curtis Fuller, Bobby Brookmeyer (he changed my mind about Valve trombonisits) Rob Steinbeck, Jack Teagarden, Bill Watrous, Steve Turrell, John Fedchock.

Start with JJ. He's the absolute greatest jazz trombone player ever. He's the Trane/Bird/Armstrong/Monk of trombone playing.

Also, listen to these Funk Trombonists for help with time and feel:

Fred Wesely, Nils Landgren

Transcribing: Having a solid theoretical background will help, but this is more about connecting your ear, your brain, your lips and your slide arm. T

-Take a solo you like. Learn how to play it. Start Easy - Louis Armstrong Stuff, Jack Teagarden... get more complicated. Once you learn to play a solo, try and write it down. Compare the melody of the solo with the chord changes and then theortically analyze what this great soloist did over the chords and practice the ideas in all keys. Do this with a lot of tunes. Do this with not only trombone players.

You can also buy books of transcriptions... they can be very helpful, especially in the beginning.

Theory: Ok. Here's some more theory stuff to get you on your way. I'll write everything in C, so you'll need to transpose.

Major Pentatonic - C,D,F,G,A,C

Minor Pentatonic (Blues) C,Eb,F,G,Bb,C

Blues w/#4: C Eb F F#G Bb C

Dominant or Mixolydian: C,D,E,F,G,A,Bb,C (Major Scale with a lowered seventh or from "so"-"so" in a major scale

Be-Bop C,D,E,F,G,A,Bb,B,C (when you swing your eights on this scale you'll hit a chord change on every beat.

Dorian (majority of jazz musicians use this to solo in minor)

C,D,Eb,F,G,A,Bb,C (it's a minor scale with a raised sixth or re-re in a major scale)

Diminished (the top of every dominant seven chord is a diminished chord)

whole-half = C,D,Eb,F,Gb,Ab,Bbb(A),C

half-whole = C,Db,Eb,Fb(E),Gb,Abb(G),A,Bb,C

Wholetone (good for augmented chords)

C,D,E,F#,G#,A#,C

That's a start on scales. You should also learn arpeggios for each of these scales going through extensions

For example:

C Major

arpeggio with 9th

C,E,G,B,D,B,G,E,C

arpeggio with 9th,#11th

C,E,G,B,D,F#,D,B,G,E,C

also you should learn arpeggios utilizing chord progressions

For Example

Dmin7,G7,C7

D,F,A,C,D,G,B,(now down)G,E,C,B,

come up with your own arpeggiated ideas over chords!

EXTRAS:

Look for notes in chords that can be played throughout the entire tune... then build chord structures off of them.... use it as a pedal... For example if you can play a concert D through the whole tune, take a trip on the D blues scale before coming back to the other chords. Then you can play out with some sense.

Write and Steal licks. When you hear something you like learn it and steal it. If during your practice you play something you love, play it over and over again. Write it down. Learn it in every key... that way you have it in your arsenal at any time.

Scat: If you can play it, you should be able to scat it. Scat everywhere.... it'll help you connect your brain to your lips.

Life is gliss, but don't over use it.

Fretting. Fretting is a difficult technique where you use all natural slurs to move between notes... you don't need your tongue! You'll need strong chops, because fretting normally happens in higher partials where you can play most of your notes in a few positions:

For example a Bb Blues l**k starting on F (2 ledger lines)

all natural slurs (l'm placing the slide positions below the notes) play this slow then speed it up to lightning proportions!

up.............down......up........ down.......

F,G,Bb,Db,Ab,E gliss to F,D,B,Ab

1,2, 3, 2, 3, 2-----------1,1,1,

Jamey Aberesold and Band in a Box

Either work great for practicing all of this technique, transcribing, and listening. The good thing about band in a box is you can download the entire Real Book online for free... so you'll immediately have a wealth of knowledge. Unfortunately it doesn't sound great (mainly midi). Jamey Aberesold is great, because it's live musicians making music not computers, but it'll take a lot more money and time to amass a total practice library!

Good Luck and Happy Practicing!