When working out a phrase or lick, the most obvious thing to work to is a click
track or metronome. This can be misleading however, as when we eventually
apply it to a musical situation, there won’t necessarily be a definite quarter
note pulse. More likely you will be faced with a moving bass line or melody
line that is heavily syncopated.
We could avoid that problem by practising to a sequence rather than a click.
Your sequence could be a bass line or percussion line or even a melodic
sequence. The content does not matter, what is important is that you are
working to a moving, musical metronome.
We can also use these sequences to work on musical soloing ideas. Often
when we solo, we just churn out pre-meditated “drum” phrases rather than
musical ideas. A melodic soloist wouldn’t just churn out scales and arpeggios,
we should think like a melodic instrument. We need to think about developing
ideas and ostinatos, as well as being free within the form. Ostinatos can be a
reaction to the melodies and phrases in the sequence, it can also make us
think about orchestration of our phrase.
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