A great deal of jazz piano pedagogy is devoted to the topic of playing with a rhythm section. Playing solo piano presents challenge (and rewards) of its own.
In clinics and in my private teaching, it’s been my experience that many students over-compensate for the lack of a rhythm section by trying to sound like a whole band.
For example, often less experienced pianists will use the left hand as the “bass player”, walking a bass line on the piano. This is not particularly effective; the left hand tends to get in the way of the right hand because the contrast in sonority that exists with an actual bass player is obviously missing with the “left hand bass,” so the sound gets muddied up. Also, if you are devoting a great deal of your energy and attention to keeping the left hand going constantly, you’ll be distracted from the melodic material you’re trying to create in your right hand.
Obviously this is not a hard and fast rule. Lennie Tristano used left-hand bass effectively at times. In my opinion this generally worked for him because his right hand lines are very strongly articulated and accented. Also, Lennie has a very highly developed sense of dynamic balance and right/left interdependence. He’s very aware of which hand is out front and of how the hands “mesh” together. So if you absolutely love this texture, go for it, but be aware of the issues it raises.
Another solution for creating a convincing accompaniment in the left hand is to play a figure that isn’t constant. It can be an intermittent phrase or a pedal point which is answered by the right hand. This gives the rhythmic momentum and harmonic foundation of the bass but allows the player the space to create something on top of it. Even though the figure isn’t constant, its propulsive effect carries through. The result is a full yet clear texture:
Sometimes when students play solo for me, I’ll ask, “were you playing rubato or in time?” Often they answer, “I don’t know.” It’s very important to be clear in your own mind about what you are trying to say. Otherwise, it will not be clear to the listener. Playing freely, out of time, can be very effective in creating a mood, so if you’re going to stretch out over the time, then really take your time. Try to feel phrases, not beats or bar lines.
In the Days of Our Love: Excerpt
Conversely, if you’re playing in time, consistency is important. Even though you’re playing by yourself you should still count the tune off in your mind and have a clear tempo going before you start the tune. The more solidly you feel the groove internally, the less you feel compelled to walk a bass line or bang out a chord on every downbeat as a time marker.
One of the biggest challenges in doing an entire concert, or a whole CD, of solo piano is to have enough variety. You may want to vary the head-solo-head routine. One way to do this is to play an introduction using thematic material from the tune to create a “free” improvisation in which you are not necessarily concerned with the tune’s chord changes.
Certain tunes lead themselves well to this approach. I like to open the Thelonious Monk tune, “Monk’s Dream”, this way because, as is typical with Monk’s compositions, it has very strong and distinctive motives.
Monk 1 – Variations on a Dream
The harmony in this case is derived from the way the melodic themes are combined as opposed to the soloist improvising over the pre-existing chords.
Variety is very important when playing on only one instrument. For example, you will want vary the register you are playing in, the meter, the mood, and the time feel. To create as much variety as possible while maintaining an esthetic consistency and unity, for my first solo CD [] link to solo page] I chose tunes from different genres of jazz. For examples, from the modern jazz composition pantheon I recorded Marian McPartland’s beautiful In the Days of Our Love and Chick Corea’s classic, Litha. From the Great American Songbook I chose the Arthur Schwartz classic I See Your Face Before Me, and from the bop era I chose Monk’s Dream. For this CD I chose to record one original, my composition Claude’s Clawed, which is a highly chromatic head arrangement with a free blowing section, very different from the rest of the material.
I also chose pieces that were not traditionally know as piano pieces, such as Wayne Shorter’s Nefertiti, made famous by Miles’ Quartet, and Sam Rivers’ Beatrice. This allowed me the freedom to create a fresh take on these pieces without comparing my interpretation to what has gone before.
The great thing about solo piano, is that you have total control and all kinds of possibilities; giant block chords to single lines: broad and expansive rubato or solid groove; dynamics from whisper soft to triple fortissimo. Take the time to explore. The rewards will be worth it.