Easy jazz solos to transcribe
The first solo you transcribe matters less for what it teaches than for whether you finish it. So pick one you can finish: a medium or slow tempo, short phrases with space between them, simple harmony, and a recording clear enough that you can hear every note. These nine fit, and musicians have been starting with them for decades. Each is one or two minutes of music you will be glad to know by heart.
What makes a solo easy
A medium or slow tempo. Short phrases with rests between them, so you always know where one idea ends. Harmony that stays put: a blues, or a modal tune with one or two scales. A clear recording. And not much of it: one or two choruses is plenty for a first solo. Fast bebop, dense double-time lines and muddy recordings can wait.
Nine solos to start with
1. Miles Davis, “So What”
Kind of Blue (1959), trumpet. The usual first choice, and for good reason. The tune uses two scales, D Dorian and E flat Dorian, the tempo is medium, and Miles leaves long gaps between phrases. Nearly every phrase is singable after a few listens.
2. Miles Davis, “Bags’ Groove” (take 1)
Bags’ Groove (recorded 1954), trumpet. A relaxed blues in F. Simple, bluesy ideas, repeated and developed, with nothing fast in the way. A good first blues solo on any instrument.
3. Chet Baker, “It Could Happen to You”
It Could Happen to You (1958), voice. Chet sings this solo rather than playing it, which makes it easy to hear and easy to sing back. It moves through the chord changes clearly, so it is a gentle first step from blues and modal tunes to a standard.
4. Lester Young, “Lady Be Good”
Jones-Smith Incorporated (1936), tenor saxophone. One of the most studied solos in jazz, and still one of the most approachable: light, swinging, melodic lines at a comfortable tempo. The recording is old, so listen on good speakers or headphones.
5. Wynton Kelly, “Freddie Freeloader”
Kind of Blue (1959), piano. The first solo on the track, over a B flat blues. Mostly single-note right-hand lines with a strong swing feel, which makes it a favourite first solo for pianists and a useful one for everyone else.
6. Miles Davis, “Autumn Leaves”
Cannonball Adderley, Somethin’ Else (1958), trumpet. A tune most players already know, taken at an easy tempo, with Miles playing muted, spare, lyrical phrases. A good first solo over the changes of a standard.
7. Paul Desmond, “Take Five”
The Dave Brubeck Quartet, Time Out (1959), alto saxophone. The solo sits over a two-chord vamp, so there is no harmony to chase, and Desmond’s lines are clear and unhurried. The 5/4 time is the only challenge, and the vamp keeps you oriented.
8. Kenny Burrell, “Chitlins con Carne”
Midnight Blue (1963), guitar. A slow-burning blues with a clean guitar sound, short phrases and lots of room. A natural first choice for guitarists.
9. Hank Mobley, “Remember”
Soul Station (1960), tenor saxophone. A step up from the others: a medium swing tempo and longer lines over a standard’s changes, but so melodic and logical that it stays within reach. Save it for when the first few feel comfortable.
How to work on one
Listen until you can sing the solo, then take it one phrase at a time: loop a bar or two, slow it down only as far as you need, find it on your instrument, and play it with the record. The full method is in how to transcribe a jazz solo by ear.
Where SlowBird fits
SlowBird is an app for exactly this kind of practice. It slows a recording down from 25% to 200% without changing its pitch, loops a phrase seamlessly, and saves each phrase you are learning as a named note pinned to the recording, so the lines you learn from these solos stay findable. It runs on Mac and Windows, with a free 7-day trial.
Questions
What is the easiest jazz solo to transcribe?
Miles Davis on “So What” from Kind of Blue is the usual answer: a medium tempo, two scales, short phrases and plenty of space between them. His solo on “Bags’ Groove” and Chet Baker’s sung solo on “It Could Happen to You” are just as approachable.
Does the solo have to be on my instrument?
No. A melodic solo on any instrument teaches phrasing and time feel, and singers and horn players are often the easiest to hear. Guitarists and pianists learn a great deal from trumpet and saxophone lines, because they are single notes with room to breathe.
What makes a jazz solo easy to transcribe?
A medium or slow tempo, short phrases with space between them, simple harmony such as a blues or a modal tune, a clear recording, and a length of one or two choruses. Fast bebop, dense double-time lines and muddy recordings can wait.
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