Ok- I’ve been listening back to quite a few of my own gigs recently and picked up on something in my own soloing that’s bugging me. Rhythmically I tend to get into a rhythmic pattern and stick to it, something that- I feel- detract from the tension/dynamics of longer solos.
Anyone got any good tips & or exercises to try & make myself more rhythmically diverse?
Practise to play solo with one, two , three tones .... . Here is some exercises. Think as your tounge is a drumstick and the reed is is a drum. Try to play the riffs adlib.
1. Try play the same tones but change the order.
2. Same tones but add some effects/accents.
3. Transpose the scale to diffent keys.
4. Play your own patterns in the same way.
http://s297.photobucket.com/albums/mm201/thomsax/?action=view¤t=Rhythm.jpg
The samples above is Uffe Anderssons (ABBAs sax-woodwindplayer). He is using a pentatonic scale in a afro-latin way/style.
You can also practise John Paulsons masterclass for saxophone Journal, Minor Blues Workout (sep/oct 1997): 1357 arpeggios, 7531 arpeggios, 3579 arpeggios, 9753 arpeggios, mixed arpeggios, intervals (3rds), intervals (4ths), motive rhythms, phrase rhythms ….. .
David Liebman did a good masterclass for Saxophone Journal called ”Expessives Techniques” (vol 20, #3,nov/dec 1995.
Send a PM if you want more info (mp3, doc).
Thomas