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In music, a solo (from the Italian solo, meaning alone) is a piece or a section of a piece played or sung by a single performer. In practice this means a number of different things, depending on the type of music and the context.
The word is also used for the act of performing a solo, and sometimes for the performer (more often a soloist).
The plural is 'soli' or 'solos'. In some context these are interchangeable, but 'soli' tends to be restricted to classical music, and tends to refer to either the solo performers or the solo passages in a single piece: it would not often be used to refer to several pieces that happen to be for single performers.
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Classical music
Solo pieces
A piece written for a single performer is referred to as a solo, often qualified by instrument, as piano solo or flute solo. These are common for polyphonic instruments such as the piano, organ, harpsichord or harp. Monophonic instruments such as flutes or violins are more often accompanied by piano or other instruments, but there are still plenty of solo works for such instruments, such as the violin partitas and the cello suites of J S Bach.
Solo is not usually part of title of a piece, except sometimes in a phrase such as '... for piano solo'.
Concertos
A Concerto is a piece written for generally one but occasionally more instrumental musicians and is intended to be performed accompanied by an orchestra
Vocal and Choral music
All the types of solo mentioned above in instrumental music have their parallels in vocal and choral music. There are pieces for solo singers, possibly accompanied; there are pieces for soloist and chorus (like concertos, but that word is not usually used); and there are solo passages in choral works.
Jazz
In many Jazz performances, each number will alternate ensemble sections with solo sections where one performer is playing either completely alone, or with unobtrusive accompaniment from the others. Common examples are the rhythm section of jazz bands, and quiet background music by other wind instruments. Such solos are most often improvised.
Popular music
In popular music a solo refers to a "crowd-pleasing" improvised melody[1] played by a single or featured performer and may also refer to a drum solo. Use of the term "solo" appears to follow from jazz and, though they are often pre-composed or originally improvised, the expectation that solos be improvised continues, especially in certain genres.
See also
Sources
- ^ Miller, Michael (2004). The Complete Idiot's Guide to Solos & Improv. ISBN 1592572103.
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