Solo preparation checklist

• Do you know all the rhythms?
• Can you clap the rhythms with a metronome?
• Do you know all the pitches?
• Do you know what key your solo is in?
• Did you practice that scale over the whole range of your instrument with a tuner?
• Did you practice your solo slowly with a metronome while you were learning the notes?
• Did you identify where the phrases are in your solo? Have you marked the phrases in pencil?
• Have you prepared a breathing or bowing plan so you can clearly perform the phrases? Have you marked where to breath in pencil and practiced it?
• Have you identified the types of articulations required to perform this solo?
• Can you perform those articulations cleanly? Have you isolated those articulations and practiced them through many repetitions?
• Do you perform the dynamics?
• If there are no dynamics indicated on the music, have you thought about how you can use dynamics creatively to make your solo more expressive?