(PLAYS GENTLE MELODY)
Linda, what do you think of solos?
Um, honestly, I like them sometimes,
and sometimes I can find them very indulgent and a bit wanky.
Well, I really like them, and so in this episode,
we're going to be talking all about solos and virtuosos.
Virtuosos have popped up frequently in history.
In the 9th century,
the composer and oud soloist Ziryab
was said to have memorised over 10,000 songs.
He was such an impressive instrumentalist
that he added an extra string to his oud,
used an eagle's beak instead of a pick,
and if he couldn't get any more legendary,
allegedly brought asparagus and cool hairstyles to Cordova in Spain.
Think that takes the cake?
One piano virtuoso and composer in the 19th century,
Clara Wieck,
was so famous,
she had a torte named after her,
and then she married the composer Robert Schumann,
who may have totally cramped her style.
Unlike style-cramping spouses,
changes in music technology often expands virtuosic style.
Improvements in piano technology,
like cast-iron frames in the 18th century,
meant that the piano could take even more string tension
and meant virtuosos
like Liszt and Chopin
could rock out even harder and louder
and play for bigger crowds.
(CHEERING, APPLAUSE)
In Harlem in the '20s,
virtuoso stride pianists like Willy 'The Lion' Smith,
James P. Johnson and Fats Waller,
would try to outplay each other,
developing even flashier styles of piano flourishes
and throwing down their best and fastest playing.
(PLAYS FRANTIC MELODY)
But virtuosity isn't just about crowd-pleasing.
(PLAYS JAZZ MELODY)
Soloing in the impenetrable, speedy and complex musical language
of bebop in the '40s,
musicians like Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker and Thelonious Monk
create jagged, defined and jarring music,
creating an emblem of protest in an era of racial discrimination.
(PLAYS JAZZY MELODY)
Virtuosity often flows from musicians
believing in something bigger than themselves
or spiritual traditions.
It seems we'll always have people
pushing the boundaries of their craft.
The microphone helped virtuosos like Minnie Riperton do vocal gymnastics
that would've otherwise been drowned out by the other instruments.
# Do-do-do-do-do-do...
(SINGS HIGH NOTES)
And the invention of amplified instruments,
like electric guitars,
brought new kinds of performances too.
(PLAYS GUITAR SOLO)
While it's tempting to see it as the pinnacle of musicianship,
at the end of the day,
music is a form of communication
and it's not just about what you're saying, but how and why.
So, Linda, do you still hate solos?
Are you still a solo hater? I don't hate them.
I just like them sometimes,
and we did speak to a bunch of soloists
to find out about their process.
(PLAYS FRANTIC MELODY)
WOMAN: It's so powerful what one person can do,
and I think without constant practising,
this life is not possible.
I try to do six to eight hours every day.
It's been that way for many years.
The music playing process can always be a little bit better,
a little bit sharper,
a little bit more exciting or a little bit more moving.
You seem to just split hairs
and it seems to get just refined a little bit more,
so it's a very addictive process for me
because the ability to really go from the heart to the fingertips
or the head to the fingertips,
it is truly exciting.
(PLAYS ROCK MELODY)
If you can make an instrument sing and actually connect with people,
that gives the guitarist and the song a different personality.
How can you create a voice with an instrument?
Like, that's magical.
That's something really, really interesting,
you know, when you hear, like, some of those Eddie Van Halen solos.
(PLAYS ROCK MELODY)
It's like, this guy's unleashing
and you can hear his stank and his attitude.
If you can pull that off correctly, I think that's why people love it.
MAN: A good soloist, I think, has to be a natural leader of sorts
because you're standing in front of the orchestra.
(PLAYS DRAMATIC CLASSICAL MUSIC)
Communication is probably the key to being just a great musician
regardless of whether you're a soloist or a chamber musician.
It kind of works like two people in a relationship
expressing their ideas within the music.
Look, I'm not going to be a violin or piano virtuoso overnight,
so I actually want to explore a different type of solo,
and that is freestyle rapping.
Yes. Yeah.
He knows it.
# It's a freestyle off top of the dome
# Big boy, city, you know, my home... #
In hip-hop, the most important and powerful instrument
isn't the turntable or drum machine -
it's language.
And the heart of freestyle rap
is wielding this power with unbelievable ability.
# I write backwards, the lies scatter
# I decode them as I practise... #
# Body-bag her now, she won't make it through the week
# And if you're scared, go to church
# But you should've been a deacon... #
Improvised, fast and cutting,
this lyrical athleticism makes for vocalised solos just as mesmerising
as anything Jimi Hendrix ever lay down.
And direct from Sydney, Kwame is going to show me how it's done.
1...2...
1, 2, 3...
OK, look.
# Came in the ABC, lights, camera, action like one, two, three... #
(GIGGLES) # And I'm with Linda...
# Hmm
# Swipe right Tinder, hmm... # Oh!
# Came through clean with the drip that I spit
# Lyrical whiz, nobody do it like... #
This. Yeah!
(LAUGHS)
I feel like people get excited about rap because of
the diversity that comes with it,
I think the wordplay.
Definitely, like, the beats as well,
because it's, like, it's all about rhythm
and, like, what gets you moving.
# Wake up in the morning, who do I see in the mirror?
# Got the message, so depressing, it just really made my heart cry
# How we keep depending on the people we forgiving?
# Bow my head, connect with heaven, in my dreams I'm seeing God's eye
# Momma in the kitchen whipping Sunday church chicken
# You can check this out, we'll show you how we living... #
I feel like rap doesn't have any boundaries,
so anything can come within to it.
I think that's what people really gravitate towards too,
and find interesting.
Yeah, I feel like you can't throw away how nerdy rappers are...
Yeah. ..in terms of language...
Yeah, you can't.
By using alliteration or using cadence.
Yeah.
Tell me a little bit about that and those parts that make it up.
For example, if I was to be rapping in, like, a tripler flow...
Da-da-da, da-da-da, DA, da-da-da, da-da-da, DA.
So, like, that kind of stuff. OK, yeah.
Ghostface Killah, I think,
he was talking about the stop-start kind of flow
that Skepta used in Praise The Lord, where he's like...
All the hook is like, # I came, da-DA, da-DA, da-DA... #
# I came, I saw, I praised the Lord
# And break the law
# I take what's mine... #
It really helps get across to people because they're remembering that.
So you can start, like, almost mumbling it.
From you mumbling it, it then translates into the words
and you remember that because of the rhythm and how it caught you.
What's on your mind right now? I was thinking about you being tall.
Tall. OK, cool, cool, cool. OK.
Have we got...we got the beat?
# He's tall, but not too tall... # Uh-huh.
# I might swipe and then I'll fall
# In love with a man on an app
# And then I'll need to have a nap
# 'Cause he bores me on my date
# On a Tuesday night Tuesday...
# I can't rate him high enough.
Friday. # It's Friday... #
OK. Well, let's talk about freestyling a bit.
How does it work?
I think in general, freestyling is more so about writing,
like, free form.
So, without a subject matter,
mostly freestyling was rapping about how good you were
off the top, which is, like... Yeah, OK.
..slaying for, like, just, like, whatever you...
Top of my head. Yeah, top of my head.
Like, whatever you see, you just rap about.
Whenever I'm writing, like, a track,
I'm in the studio and then, like, I've got the beat then,
I'm just, like, trying to figure out the flow, I'll just be, like...
(HUMS)
Like, I'll just be, like, looking at someone being like...
Yeah, yeah! (LAUGHS)
And they'll be like, yeah, yeah!
And then, like, I might say just one word where, like,
# Uh, like, I'm at ABC... #
(HUMS)
OK, yeah, then, like, I'll write that down
and I'm, like, OK, how can I expand from that?
# But even if we fall out, we gon' turn it all round
# Feed the people our sound, grab somebody,
# Tell 'em that you love 'em, put your heads together
# Miscommunication be the reason you ain't listening
# Coulda asked me how I'm feeling right now
# Round and round, my trisk is spun Like it's a merry-go
# I'm heavy dough, getting money like Homer Simpson,
# D'oh
# And I could never trust a groupie, no. #
How can I get better? Give me some tips.
Like, what words should I be thinking about?
What can help me, like, spark things?
I dunno. Maybe, like, look at something here.
So, like, I see a wheel.
OK, cool.
You look at that, but then what...
What else does a wheel kind of give you?
Like, OK, you're driving,
you're moving somewhere, you're going places.
OK. You know what I mean?
Like, something like that.
# Wheel gives me action Oh, OK!
# A reaction Yep.
# I got serious satisfaction Uh-huh.
# I'm working, working too hard
Ooh.
# Got a bit of a sweaty thing going on... #
Yep. (LAUGHS)
(LAUGHS)
But, like, that was cool, though.
How do you get through a block if you don't have any ideas?
Don't try to force it because
you're gonna be doubting yourself each time.
"This isn't good, this isn't good."
Like, you start questioning everything that you do.
So, I think definitely just, like, taking a break, go for a walk,
listen to other music, take five, whatever it is you need,
and then come back in with a different mindset,
like, just fresh thoughts and, cool, back into it.
# My headphones snapped at a DJ gig,
# I was looking at a guy, not at his rig...
No. # He was dancing
# I was feeling the flow
# And then I had to run out... and go. #
Whoo-hoo! Whoo!
Oh.
(LAUGHS) Yeah!
On a scale of not getting goose bumps
to me dramatically failing at dancing,
where would you place that?
Ah, OK, not as uncomfortable as you failing at dancing,
but definitely towards that spectrum,
probably like a 7 out of 10.
It's such a multitask in your brain, because Kwame's so good as well,
but you're thinking about the beat,
you're thinking about what words you're going to use
and the ideas that you're forming.
You want to sound cool,
so you want to have cool ideas and sentences.
You're thinking about your vocab as well.
And I think, honestly,
it just comes down to having a bit of talent, but practising.
Yeah, I think a lot of people think the virtuosos are just born,
but there's so much effort and time that goes into it.
Yeah.
It pays off because we love watching these talented freaks of nature
do their thang!
Mmm!
Captions by Red Bee Media
Copyright Australian Broadcasting Corporation
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