Originally published June 27, 2014, lightly edited for clarity.
Staying on point in a bass solo means picking an idea and developing it instead of rambling from lick to lick — the same way you would speak if you were standing in front of a room of people with something to say. When I listen to bass players solo these days, it is soon very clear to me if the player really understands the concept of taking a solo. By this I mean that the musician understands that when soloing, they are standing up in front of a group of people and are talking to them about something. Would you want to spend time listening to someone ramble on and on, jumping from one topic to the next and never making a point? Of course not. The following video bass lesson addresses this issue with some good ways of thinking about how to develop your bass solo. Soloing is one of the fundamentals I teach. If you want to sharpen your soloing, online bass lessons via Zoom are available.
