Do's and Do not's for soloing

[Djembe-nerd]

Ok, this one is for the ones getting into soloing.

After starting to get the feel of the rhytyms everyone tries solo, as it looks like the most glamourous part of the whole ensemble. Its a free spirit demonstration of your feel of the music, (if you are not doing the 4 X 4 repetetions or a dance class).

So what do the people who have "been there, done that" say to the ones about teh do's and the do not's of soloing are.

[michi]

Check out this post and this one.

As far as soloing being the most glamourous part, it really depends on the situation for me. There are times where I don't feel like soloing and I'm perfectly happy to let someone else play the solos so I can enjoy the ride.

Other times, I don't really feel like soloing, but I'm the only candidate around and end up doing it for that reason. Usually, those are not very good solos because I feel I'm under performance pressure. (Or they are boring solos because I retreat to the safety of something I know, so there really is no creative output.)

Then there are times where I have to solo for a dancer and I have no idea what he/she is going to do next, and the whole exercise becomes anything but glamorous because neither the dancer nor myself are happy with how things are going and it's like pushing shit uphill...

And then, occasionally, there are times where I solo and things seem to happen as if by magic and just flow out by themselves. But then, I don't really care about the glamour because I'm too amazed by what's happening to notice the audience all that much

Cheers,

Michi.

[Djembe-nerd]

Wow, excellent posts, how did I miss them.

The pressure thing is real, I play at home alone and many things come to me and when I get a chance to solo I am out.