Is this alright?

[ColdShotStrat]

When I take solos in jazz band I usually like to take time at home to make a motif for the solo and then maybe a shell of what I want it to sound like by improvising at home. I don't write out a solo I still improvise but I just practice what I want to put across (if that makes sense) before class because I want it to be good. Is practicing what I want the solo to end up like wrong? I hope this all makes sense.

[Zappa]

Express yourself however you like, would be my advice.

[jake plays guitar]

Originally Posted by Zappa

Express yourself however you like, would be my advice.

likewise

[dj_ando]

you can do that, but it's something you need to be careful of. when you're playing in the band, don't just think about your solo and what you're going to play. your ears need to be wide open to find ideas and phrases that you can add in, to make your solo more relevant to what everyone's been playing. i'm sure you wouldn't do this and you'd be considering the song, but if you were to go into your solo and play something that didn't fit with everything else that had been played, it wouldn't sound good. don't be so worried about what you're going to play, and just have faith that your ears can guide you through it.

that said, i wouldn't stop doing what you're doing if it works for you! just make sure you're open to ideas in the performance situation.

[Ned]

Originally Posted by dj_ando

you can do that, but it's something you need to be careful of. when you're playing in the band, don't just think about your solo and what you're going to play. your ears need to be wide open to find ideas and phrases that you can add in, to make your solo more relevant to what everyone's been playing. i'm sure you wouldn't do this and you'd be considering the song, but if you were to go into your solo and play something that didn't fit with everything else that had been played, it wouldn't sound good. don't be so worried about what you're going to play, and just have faith that your ears can guide you through it.

that said, i wouldn't stop doing what you're doing if it works for you! just make sure you're open to ideas in the performance situation.

Yes, I think this is an important point. You need to interact with the other musicians.

[Krabsworth]

Originally Posted by ColdShotStrat

When I take solos in jazz band I usually like to take time at home to make a motif for the solo and then maybe a shell of what I want it to sound like by improvising at home. I don't write out a solo I still improvise but I just practice what I want to put across (if that makes sense) before class because I want it to be good. Is practicing what I want the solo to end up like wrong? I hope this all makes sense.

Yeah it's perfectly fine. The more you do that, the better you will get at just doing it right there, off the bat. The reason Miles Davis, Coltrane, pretty much every famous jazz player could do it right off the bat is because they did it all the time.

[Caleb3221]

It's definatley OK to practice soloing, no one would expect you to learn to solo without practicing. It's also not too bad to have a bit of a solo planned before hand. But you also really need to practice being totally spontaneous and listening to what the other musicians are doing, and what's in your head. If you are playing in a looser jam, and someone points to you, you aren't gonna have a whole lot of time to plan out your solo.

[something vague]

Relative minor =