Clifford Brown’s solo on Joy Spring is incredibly difficult. If the bridge is where you’re stuck on bass, that’s no surprise. I’d been practicing that bridge since 8 a.m. the morning I filmed my lesson on it. It’s very, very difficult.
Quick answer
Clifford Brown’s solo on Joy Spring is incredibly difficult, and the bridge is everyone’s favorite part. What amazes me about the bridge is how clear it is, how organized it is. The other part I like is where he develops his motif instead of playing it over and over, which is a problem we all have as improvisers.
Joy Spring is Clifford Brown’s own tune, and he plays the solo on trumpet. I made the solo a little simpler for bass and wrote in all the fingerings. Here are the two parts of it I go through in the lesson.
The bridge: insanely difficult and still organized
Everyone’s favorite part is the bridge. What amazes me about it is how clear it is, how organized it is. Even though it’s insanely difficult, he’s still organizing it so well.
There’s one phrase in there that’s such a cool phrase. Trumpet is almost as difficult as bass, so playing that with 16th notes is insanely difficult. Very few people can do that, so it’s kind of amazing. It’s my favorite part of the solo, because it’s so well articulated.
How does Clifford Brown develop a motif on Joy Spring?
Another part of the solo I like is where he uses a motif. We talk a lot about motivic development, and here’s what happens a lot: you play one motif over and over again and it gets boring. That’s a problem we all have as improvisers. We play the same motif over and over and over, and it’s kind of like, what are you doing?
Clifford Brown develops his motif instead. That’s cool. That’s motivic development. And the way he ends it is really nice. It’s more motivic development, but he isn’t doing it in a way that’s cliche. It’s really interesting.
He’s playing these lines that don’t really sound like they would go over the changes, but yet they’re perfect.
Cole Davis
How to work on it
Start with the bridge, the first part I go through in the lesson, and use the fingerings in the PDF. They’re there to make it a little bit easier. Then go to the motif section and listen to how he develops the motif instead of playing it over and over, and to the way he ends it. If you’d rather work the solo out by ear first, here’s how I transcribe a solo by ear.
What’s in the transcription
The full transcription is Clifford Brown’s solo as a PDF, made a little simpler for bass, with all the fingerings to make it a little bit easier. Just for fun, I included the bass line in the PDF too. The video lesson is short, about three and a half minutes. The solo itself is the long project.
Pick one phrase from the bridge tonight and start there.
Go deeper
Clifford Brown: Joy Spring Solo
Clifford Brown’s solo on Joy Spring, made a little more playable for bass, with fingerings. The bass line’s in there too.
FAQ
Who wrote Joy Spring?
Clifford Brown. It’s his own tune, and he plays the solo on trumpet.
Is the Joy Spring solo difficult to play on bass?
It’s incredibly difficult. I’d been practicing the bridge since 8 a.m. the morning I filmed the lesson. Trumpet is almost as difficult as bass, and playing that bridge phrase with 16th notes is insanely difficult; very few people can do it. I made it a little simpler for bass and wrote in all the fingerings.
Do Clifford Brown’s lines on Joy Spring fit the changes?
Perfectly. He’s playing lines that don’t really sound like they’d go over the changes, and yet they’re perfect.
How do I stop repeating the same motif when I solo?
Playing one motif over and over again is a problem we all have as improvisers, and it gets boring. What Clifford Brown does on Joy Spring is develop his motif instead, and he doesn’t do it in a way that’s cliche.
