Creating Ideas for Jazz Solos

How can you create jazz ideas for jazz solos?
You can listen to a jazz artist whom you like and copy, practice and use his/her ideas. That's how most of us got started playing jazz solos. But you can also create jazz ideas for jazz solos by "scat-singing," singing nonsense syllables.

Singing nonsense syllables to create jazz ideas? Like "Doo-be, doo-be, doo-bah!"?
Sure! Scat-singing involves three sequences:

1. A word sequence;
2. A pitch sequence;
3. A rhythm sequence.

This rhythm sequence/pattern may very well be only one of many that would fit "Doo-be, doo-be, doo-bah!" Since all of what we doing here is an experiment, we can use it for now, until we find another rhythm sequence/pattern more interesting.

Since a melody is a combination of pitch sequence and a rhythm sequence, now that we've got the rhythm sequence, temporary though it may be, the next step is to try various pitch sequences to see what works and what doesn't.

How about:   C4  D4  E4  F4  G4  G4?:
  

How about other pitch sequences?:  

As you can see, there might be many pitch sequences that would work with this rhythm sequence.

If you listen to the recordings or live performances of jazz artists, you may hear the artist growling or otherwise singing nonsense syllables as he/she is performing. Many jazz singers such as Ella Fitzgerald and "Scatman" Caruthers feature scat-singing as a singer's jazz solo. By scat-singing, jazz singers could imitate jazz instrumentalists and thus perform vocal improvisations for their jazz solos.

What's going on with scat-singing?

Remember that a melody is a combination of a pitch sequence and a rhythm sequence. If you scat-sing/sing nonsense syllables to generate rhythm patterns without worrying about singing pitches, then you will find yourself generating rhythm patterns. And if you try to play the rhythm patterns that you are generating, then you will force your fingers to find pitches to mate with the rhythms. Some ideas will work, others will not. As you continue to scat-sing to generate ideas for jazz solos you will automatically eliminate the bad and keep the good, and thus you will create a personal catalog of ideas that work, and, eventually, your own style of playing jazz solos.

You must remember to sing only rhythms, not pitches, since you are playing a keyboard with a wider range of pitches than a normal human voice and could easily encounter pitches you cannot sing.

Scat-singing engages both sides of your brain: if you are right-handed, your right brain for music and your left brain for speech and logical thought; if you are left-handed, your left brain for music and your right brain for speech and logical thought. Scat-singing tends to disengage the Critic within you who evaluates everything you do, often with negative judgements that could prevent you from achieving your goals. Scat-singing engages the Cheerleader within you who encourages you to experiment to achieve your goals. In jazz, your Cheerleader will encourage you to generate rhythm sequences and mate them with pitch sequences.

You may have to explain to friends, relatives and neighbors what you are doing when you scat-sing to generate jazz ideas, but the chances are that they will either understand you or at least tolerate you. You have at least a rhyme for your reason. (Or is it a rhythm for your reason?)

Eventually you will find yourself becoming able to play jazz ideas without scat-singing.

Scat-singing to generate jazz ideas works. Give it a try! It worked for me. It can work for you.



Copyright © 2000 Robert H. Kroepel. All Rights Reserved.