Rhythmic Ideas
With
Ollie WestonOllie Weston shows how one simple rhythm - a quarter note and two eighths - moved around the bar can run as a constant thread through your solo.
What's in the course
51 lessons (2h 9m) · 1 free
01. Introduction + leaving town demonstration
Free lesson3:02
02. The Blues Scale
2:48
03. Swing Quavers
1:42
04. Combing the Blues Scale and Swing Quavers
3:57
05. Playing through the Blues form using root notes
1:18
06. Writes Your Own Blues
0:59
07. Leaving Town Blues - Improvise
4:13
08. Improvisation recap
0:49
01. Introduction to Minor 7th Chords
3:32
02. Dorian Scale Workout
1:40
03. Minor 7th Chord Lick
2:22
04. Minor Pentatonic Patterns
3:51
05. Minor Pentatonic Workout
1:52
06. Pentatonic vs Blues Scale
1:59
07. So Far so Good - Introduction
1:09
08. So Far so Good - Head
1:37
09. Minor Chord Extensions
2:45
10. Rhythmic Ideas
You are here2:13
11. So Far so Good - Performance with Solo
3:50
01. Introduction to Modes
6:09
02. Diatonic Modes Exercise
4:04
03. Modes with a Static Root
1:58
04. Modes with Static Root Exercise
1:06
05. Modes with Static Root Recap
0:34
06. Phrase Exercise for Modes
1:07
07. Phrase Exercise for Modes (Demonstration)
1:29
08. Song Examples
1:56
09. First Impresssions - Chords and Harmony
4:06
10. First Impresssions - Performance
4:06
11. First Impresssions - Introduction and Analysis
3:30
Lesson transcript
Exploring the Dorian Mode
So, having explored the upper extensions of the Dorian mode, and using your seconds, fourths, and sixths higher up the instrument to create color, I'm just going to give you a rhythmic idea for your solo as well.
Rhythmic Pattern
I'm just going to take a very simple rhythmic pattern of:
- Quarter note
- 2 eighth notes
This can be represented as:
ba, boo ba.
I will use this pattern in different parts of the bar. I will not always start on beat one; I might start on beat two, four, or three. This serves as a kind of rhythmic constant through my solo.
Example Solo
It might sound like this:
3, 4
And it just gives some sort of rhythmic direction to your solo.
So, over the track, using that pattern might sound like this:
1, 2, 1, 2, 3, 4.
Sample Solo
I've written out a sample solo for you using just that rhythmic pattern and trying to extract as much as I can from what is essentially a very simple phrase. There is space for you then to improvise in that style yourself.
If you look at Figure 3.16, I've written two bars of notes around that rhythm, and then some diagonal lines which indicate solo space for you.
Improvisation Space
- The diagonal lines indicate the passing of time.
- That's where there is space for you to solo for two bars.
- After that, you'll see another phrase for you to bounce off.
In effect, you're getting half a written solo as a kind of inspiration, as an impetus, and then you continue the solo for yourself.
Final Thoughts
As always, just use this as a guide. Eventually, it would be great for you to play the solo yourself. Use the head, then the solo space to improvise freely, and finally, use the head to close off your performance.
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Meet your guru
Meet your guru
Since graduating from the Leeds College of Music (BA Hons) and the Guildhall School of Music (Post Graduate Diploma in Performance), Ollie has built a busy and varied career in music. As a saxophonist he has performed in live and studio settings with artists as diverse as Amy Winehouse, Tim Minchin, Bonobo, Frank Turner, the London Jazz Orchestra, the Hackney Colliery Band, the Ambient Jazz Ensemble and the Nelson Riddle Orchestra. He is also the co-leader of the jazz quartet 'Time Is Of The Essence', and composes and arranges material for this and other ensembles.
Ollie is active in music education, currently as course leader for the jazz department at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama (junior school), where he runs jazz ensembles, big band and theory classes. He has written a series of 'Exploring Jazz' books for Schott Music that are published worldwide and feature on exam syllabuses in the UK. Ollie has also run workshops for Oxford University, Pro Corda Strings and BABSWE, as well as the Guildhall School of Music summer schools.
In his Exploring Jazz Saxophone courses, Ollie takes you from getting started right through to soloing confidently over songs and chord sequences, building the improvising skills that put a real jazz player's vocabulary at your fingertips.
