Soloing, part 2: Emoting

Do you smile when you solo? Why or why not? Do you kiai when you solo? Do you look ahead like a laser or scan the crowd to make eye contact?

One thing that can change an ordinary solo into a truly memorable one happens from the audience's perspective. When you emote, when you truly put meaning behind your solo, it shows.

I see people soloing and I can tell they're thinking - and the thinking often translates into a blank look. It's really hard to make someone doing this look happy when they're soloing for more than a few seconds - they'll usually smile out of embarrassment but then the smile fades and blank comes back.

It's not always easy to take a step backwards, but if you want to really sell that solo to your audience, practice by making it simpler and focusing on what it is you want to try. It might feel weird to think about smiling while you solo, but it gets easier pretty quickly. Or maybe you can try to punctuate your solos with kiai - so play simple patterns and think about when you can really project one.

There are more levels you can take this idea to, such as more complex emotions than "happy" - like "confident", "strong", "playful", etc. You can also make your kiai a musical part of your solo as well, filling in gaps or adding to syncopation. But don't worry about that until you're comfortable doing the basics!

When you solo, you're the focal point of the group, the song, for a short period of time. You want the audience to enjoy it as much as you are, and with something as simple as a smile or eye contact, you make that happen!