REVIEW FOR DEANAA99
Dean, you have a nice command of the trombone. Intonation, tone, high range, clean articulation is all very nice! You've done good work to get to your level of proficiency with the horn. Bravo.

You wrote that you need a little more emotion, and you are right. When you listen to yourself, can you hear WHY it lacks the emotion you wish for? Part of the answer is that most of your improvisation consists of scales. Maybe not root to root scales, but hear the predominant intervals between most of your notes. They are half steps and whole steps: scale intervals.

I recorded myself playing over the tune as an example of the effect of playing wider intervals. I think it creates more interest. The listener doesn't know what is coming next, as apposed to the more predictable major and minor seconds up and down.

Next, consider the variety of note lengths in your solo. Most of yours were eighth and quarter notes. Variety adds emotion. We like surprise and are bored with the predictable. So, consider the variety of range, intervals, note lengths, harmonic tension and release that you can put into your solo. listen to great songs. They contain some of those same ingredients.

You have a lot of good stuff going on with your playing. I think a little spice could go a long way to taking you to the next level.
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This is not a solo to copy. It is just meant as examples of some of the variety I mentioned.

ML example of playing over When You're Smiling

It's easy to say, "play wider intervals, vary up your harmonic tension, etc..." But it does require courage to step outside our comfort zone. Here's a clip by the great sax player Joe Lovano on courage. It's a common theme here at MusicSavvy. When you practice these things, be open to sounding different, maybe even "wrong" to your ears. Always stay true to your own musical self but be brave and open to more that is within you!

A tip from Joe Lovano
  1. Practice playing with wider intervals and creating emotion with them
  2. When you play, listen for a variety of dynamics, note length, range, and articulation in your improvisation. Are you creating interest using those musical attributes or just playing it safe with scales, is the question to ask yourself.
  3. Sing over a rhythm track like this and hear if your personal musical instincts contain these 'ingredients' I am mentioning. Yes, the trombone is a beast of an instrument that makes improvisation difficult. See if the 'friction' of the horn is limiting your variety in these elements. If so, you know what to practice!!

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