Randy Johnston has created many helpful videos on Mike’s Masterclasses over the years and this is yet another addition to the catalog. This time, Randy breaks down some of his approaches to solo on Solar, a tune often credited to Miles Davis but is apparently a Chuck Wayne tune.
In this video, Randy begins by performing a 2-chorus solo on the tune. This is the exact solo that he explains note for note, bar by bar in the video. But, before going to the single note explanation, Randy shows his choice of chord voicings and how he comps on it.
Like many of his videos, Randy solos over a recorded loop of the changes so you can hear the lines in context. Accompanying the video is a one-page PDF file with the solo written out in standard notation and a summary of the seven techniques Randy uses in the solo.
Although you could just work through the material by reading the solo on the PDF file, it is useful to go through it with Randy bar by bar. You get to hear his explanations and even one bar that he got from listening to Charlie Parker.
Randy explains everything clearly and I definitely got a lot of value from what he taught in this video. Although I have played Solar before, I learned some different approaches that I didn’t necessarily thought of using on this tune. Very cool stuff.
In conclusion, if you want to learn how to solo over the changes of Solar, this new masterclass by Randy Johnston gives you a good approach to do exactly that.
Pros: Well constructed solo and lesson structure.
Cons: None.
TLDR: Wanna learn to solo on Solar? Get this course for a useful 2-chorus study/etude and also the approaches behind the solo.
Get it here: https://mikesmasterclasses.com/course/learn-a-2-chorus-solo-on-solar-and-the-techniques-used-to-create-it/
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