We all know the fantastic tune Autumn Leaves by Joseph Kosma.
There are many ways to play the tune. As jazz pianists, the goal is to apply all of our creativity to the already made tune and chord changes.
In this lesson, you'll learn a concept that you can apply that might help you understand how to build an exciting piano solo.
Follow the leaf as the autumn leaves. Enjoy.
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A big part of playing jazz is to develop the skill to improvise. When you're
improvising, you're composing in real-time. A good composition is usually
organized well. In other words, structure, direction, and clarity are critical
elements in a good composition and a good solo.
To help us become structured in our playing, focusing solely on improving our
understanding of a good jazz solo is crucial. That is where the concept of
composing a solo comes in.
In other words: To become a better jazz pianist, it helps to compose and
arrange music. In addition, it can be amusing too, and that is why we dedicate
ten lessons to this subject in the MASTERY stage of The Jazz Piano Step-by-
Step Course, in PART 7:
HOW TO COMPOSE A COMPLETE PIANO SOLO
STEP 1: CREATE AN OUTLINE AND SET BOUNDARIES.
I love to use a good framework, so let's use the chord changes of The Autumn
Leaves. Now, let's call it Impro Leaves. It is the example that I used in the
YouTube video too.
The first thing you should do is to decide how long the solo is going to be. In
my case, it was three rounds. Then I had the time to build my solo.
Now, the fun part begins.
You should set up some rules for your solo. These are the general rules that
will cover your entire solo.
I created the following rules before I started to write.
OVERALL TERMS/RULES:
- It should be playable by YOU
- It should start simple and slowly progress to more complexity
- It should have a defined climax
STEP 2: CREATE A DETAILED OUTLINE BASED ON
THE FOUR CORE ELEMENTS
The four core elements are Melody, Harmony, Dynamics, and Rhythm, if you don't know.
In my experience, we're better off if we create a plan with all of these in mind.
The image shows an example of an outline.
In round 2 (round 1 of the solo), I wanted to start with simple harmony, staying close to the melody, making it bluesy with lots of open spaces. Dynamically, it should be soft.
This part is not set in stone. You're free to change things later. Once you do this for all three rounds, you can clarify what that "perfect" solo can be.
Note: What you write for harmony, melody, and rhythm can overlap.
STEP 3: WRITE YOUR SOLO. START FROM THE BEGINNING.
Now, you should just make sure to keep your rules. I wanted my harmony to be simple and inside. I also wanted to stay close to the melody and add spaces.
STEP 4: REPEAT YOUR IDEAS, BUT ADD CONTRASTS.
If you listen to the great classical composers, they are not afraid of repeating their ideas. The same goes for the great jazz masters. However: Once you repeat your ideas, make sure you spice them up with some contrasts.
RED = REPEATING PATTERN - BLUE = EVOLVING THE PATTERN TO THE NEXT LEVEL.
YELLOW = MAKING A RHYTHMICAL CONTRAST TO ALL THOSE EIGHT NOTES.
STEP 5: PLAN HOW YOU WANT TO PERFORM
My focus on performing the Impro Leaves was to make it swing as much as possible.
One great idea that I stole from Keith Jarrett is to play behind the beat. To help me remember where to play behind the beat, I simply wrote in the sheets.
When we improvise, we're searching for some form of resolution or climax as we play. When we compose, we should do the same. Now we have all the time in the world to speculate on how we should create a peaking point.
To define the climax, we'll have to constantly review what we have written previously and our overall plan/outline.
I had two kinds of climax in my solo. The first was at the start of the third round, where I played "outside."
from the start, then I would have to create a different climax.
The second climax was closer to the end, where I played "The Red Garland Style."
Now I played both loud and strong chords.
One good way of ending your solo is to connect the dots somehow. Think about it this way: Your solo is like a movie. There should be one character that the audience gets to know more than others.
The main character in my composed solo is the blues element that I first presented in bar 14. Just like when the audience gets to know the main character of the movie, you should make sure to bring back the main character
of your composed tune, or in this case, a written piano solo.
Ideally, you can end your solo where your main character appears for the last time.
My main character, the blues line, is presenting himself four times in my solo before he fades out into the pentatonic field:
Once everything is composed, now it is time to practice. This part is CRUCIAL!
The process is simple: Start at the top, and take your time. Use a play-along track and metronome.
When you compose, you should write something that you think that you can play. That does not mean that you already KNOW how to play it.
Sometimes, we simply don't have what it takes. I'm no different. I'm still learning and doing my best.
In bars 77 and 78, I wrote as follows:
I still had to practice a lot to get it right.
After writing the Impro Leaves, I practiced for 5 hours, 25 minutes, and 44 seconds.
In addition, I recorded a couple of times before I was satisfied with the result.
Once you have written and practice your entire solo, it is time to extract some
elements/ideas that you invented/discovered through the process.
In other words, now the goal is that you get more clarity on how [INSERT YOUR
NAME] sound.
What you now do, is practice your ideas in all the different keys. Then, practice
improvisation based on chord changes of famous jazz standards, where you
intentionally insert your ideas. THAT'S IT!
If you can speak, you can write. If you can play, you can compose. Just as when you're learning a language, you'll probably understand so much more if you also write.
Music is no different. Unfortunately, in my experience, most piano teachers don't ask their students to compose anything. Composing an entire threeround piano solo can be slightly unusual. But if you take the time to do it, the payoff can be huge! Do you have 10 hours to invest in your music by following these ten steps? Please give it a try, and experience it for yourself!
Good luck!
Gjermund Sivertsen
