Did you enjoy Charles M.’s article a few weeks ago about learning to improvise? If you missed it, be sure to check it out if you’re feeling a bit discouraged. Learning to improvise can be tricky, and it doesn’t come naturally to everyone – not even the guitar masters of today. Continue reading to learn more…
Last time, I discussed how many famous guitarists carefully compose a great deal of their solos, or at least have many melodic ideas in mind before they begin recording solos. I cited Randy Rhoads as an example, but there are many other people that work out their solos – Brian May of Queen, and Paul Allender of Cradle of Filth are a couple more examples. This should be encouraging to those beginning to improvise since it proves that even the finest players often need time to find something that sounds good. However, we all must start somewhere and this week I would like to give some advice on how to begin improvising.
As I previously stated, I would learn at least ten solos by other artists before starting to improvise, since this is a fun way to build technique and learn how to pace yourself when soloing. After you learn some solos, take a step back and examine the individual phrases themselves. Consider why each of the phrases works where they are in the solo, i.e. why does the first phrase sound like a beginning lick? Why do the phrases in the middle sound like they go there? Is it the character of the melodies? The energy level? Once you begin to ask these questions you can begin to put what you have noticed into practice.
Just as people who are nervous often ramble on and on because they don’t know what to do with themselves, beginner improvisers will often just play a torrent of notes, creating the musical equivalent of run-on sentences. In order to control this I ask students to play only one or two well-placed notes per bar. I ask them to try various tones until they find something that piques the ear. You should always be conscious of how the harmonic progression creates a sense of tension and release, and the notes that are selected should mirror the level of tension at that particular time and space.
Another great technique is to sing while you are improvising. Your playing will automatically become more lyrical and the lines will “breathe” like a vocalist. While you’re at it, try to incorporate snippets of the song’s vocal melody into the solo. The song’s melody is a logical starting point since your solo is supposed to enhance the song, and the listener will already be familiar with the vocal line.
As a final suggestion, I would say just play. If you come up with some licks that are particularly inspired, keep them and use them the next time you improvise. Use them as soulful landmarks while you continue down the road of spontaneous expression. As always, keep in mind that Rome was not built in a day. Improvising is a skill that will never stop developing.
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Charles M. teaches guitar, music performan ce and music theory lessons to students of all ages in Salem, OR. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Music, a Master’s degree in Music Education, as well as a Ph.D in Musicology. Sign up for lessons with Charles, or visit TakeLessons to search for teachers near you!
Photo by StephenGilmer.
Suzy S.