Free Yourself From Aimless Noodling and Begin Playing Interesting Solos
The height of musical expression is being able to improvise something and have it sound like you intended.
In this lesson you’ll:
- Play what you imagine in your mind
- Transform your noodles into intentional phrases
- Learn to do more with less and make each note work for you
If you’re like most ukulele players, you “solo” by guessing, hoping, and avoiding commitment in case it’s wrong. By muddling through every note you can think of, you try to hide the fact that you don’t have a plan.
Sometimes this approach works, but it’s rarely consistent and usually sounds feeble.
With Soloing Masterclass, you’ll learn simple and effective ways to focus your efforts and get more music out of every note and phrase.
The Format
In this lesson, you’re a fly on the wall in my studio, learning along with my friend, Joey.
Joey is a wonderful, confident vocalist and performer, but wants to work on improving his improvising on the ukulele. In this 80 minute impromptu lesson, we dissect his soloing efforts and discuss ways that he – and anyone – can bring this skill to life.
The masterclass presentation style isn’t as prominent as it once was when VHS and DVDs were our main media. However, they have a great organic progression and vibrance that can’t be replicated in an online course setting.
Watching the on-screen student discover and understand the content in their own way makes for a very engaging learning experience for 3rd party viewers.
The Lesson
Joey came to my studio with a handful of questions to ask and goals to work towards. During the lesson, Joey learns (and you will too!) how to:
- Avoid aimless noodling and execute a specific plan
- Create a solo in his head and put it onto the ukulele
- Incorporate signature sounds into his playing
- Make a plan before playing (and know when to wing it)
- Play a solo with only one or two notes
These are just a few of the subjects we touch on in the lesson.
Who it’s for
Since Joey comes to the lesson with many decades of musical experience, we jump right into the deep end and begin exploring practical concepts right away.
However, if you’ve already spent some time improvising or are an intermediate player, most of the music we talk about should be accessible.
I really wanted to share this lesson so folks who were feeling overwhelmed or stuck in their soloing could be inspired and break through to the next level of comfort.
What You Get
When you buy Soloing Masterclass, you get:
- Access to 80+ minutes of on-demand, HD video instruction.
- Three backing tracks in different styles and keys
- Access to a community thread where you can discuss the lesson and your own soloing challenges
About Joey
Joey is a great musician who I met by happenstance when I bought his Mackie mixer via Craigslist. We hit it off right away and have been friends ever since, occasionally jamming, recording, and performing together.
Turns out that in a past life Joey recorded a reggae album with The Roots Radix – Never Let Go!
He performs his original music and an array of covers every Saturday night at Gill’s Lanai in Kapaʻau.
About Brad
I’ve been soloing since 2006 when I sat in on a class with Herb Ohta, Jr. He made us improvise over two chords and, even though I totally bombed, I was hooked.
A decade and a half later we played together at the Slack Key Show and he said of one of my solos: “Impressive. Very tasteful.” Guess I made some improvement!
My teaching on Live Ukulele and in person has allowed me to share my knowledge with thousands of people around the world. Improvising remains one of my favorite subjects because of how personal and multi-faceted it is.
Soloing Masterclass is a window into a warm, supportive lesson between friends. I hope you’ll join Joey and I in this exploration of one of the uke’s most fascinating subjects.