rets to

se c
5 ng bett er
lay i
p solos

INSTANTLY IMPROVE YOUR

IMPROVISATION

WWW.WELLROUNDEDKEYBOARDPLAYER.COM
SECRET#1
DON'T PLAY!

Easier said than done. Combine playing with ‘not

playing’ and you’ll be pleasantly surprised. Your
ideas will sound more meaningful and complete.
When you ‘rest’ you will also hear what other
musicians are playing and then you can respond
to it. Ahmad Jamal and Miles Davis are the
masters of ‘resting’ during a solo.

Owen Chimuka www.wellroundedkeyboardplayer.com

 SECRET#2
RHYTHMIC
EMBELLISHMENT
Thelonious Monk was a master of this. He
would take the notes of the melody, alter their
lengths and play them in different places
throughout the song. Same notes...different
rhythm.
Make sure you know your melody really well before
embellishing it. Thereafter, experiment with both slight and
extreme embellishments. Sonny Rollins and Keith Jarrett
do this very well.

Owen Chimuka www.wellroundedkeyboardplayer.com

SECRET#3
DON'T LOOK AT THE
KEYS

When you look at the keys you end up playing

what you always play. Boring! Those licks you’ve
practiced, & those very cliché lines. You never
genuinely create anything.The one thing that most
great soloists do though, is sing. In most cases, it’s
not even singing it’s grunting. They are obviously
thinking rhythms more than notes. Try playing the
rhythms you hear without looking at the keys.

Owen Chimuka www.wellroundedkeyboardplayer.com

SECRET#4
MOTIF DEVELOPMENT

A solo should sound logical, with one idea

connecting to the next. You can do this by
developing a motif. A motif is a musical idea
repeated throughout the solo. Start with 3-5
notes. You can develop it by playing the same
rhythm while changing the notes. You can also
play the motif, play some random ideas, & then
come back to it. You can develop a motif for a
while then start another. The possibilities are
endless. Bill Evans is a master of this.

Owen Chimuka www.wellroundedkeyboardplayer.com

SECRET#5
HAVE FUN!

That is the whole point of playing music isn't it?

Think about why you ever started playing music in
the first place. You probably heard something and
said to yourself 'I wanna do that'! When you play,
you shouldn't care what others will think. Love
every sound you make. Create freely and have
FUN! 

Owen Chimuka www.wellroundedkeyboardplayer.com