Improv to riffs
Alrite i wanna reach a new goal in my playin which is now improvisation. Im juss startin with riffs to songs i enjoy and tryin that out. But 20% of the time it sounds ok but the rest is all bunch of bad notes, repetitive licks and all that junk. How do i break out in my playin to get a better sense of waht to do when im actually improvisin.... thnx
# 1
# 2
Start by getting into the habit of singing what you play. Sounds insufficient and at first you'd think it wouldn't help, but trust me. You'll improve alot faster if you do so.
The routine is to do it while your practicing your scales. Play through and hum each note. (i.e. the major scale, "do ra me fa so la ti do"). Do this with all the scales you know.
Another thing to do is just to noodle around and sing whatever you play. Start slow and build up speed. It's good to know that E to F is a minor second, but knowing how it sounds is infinitely better. Once you know how intervals sound, it becomes alot easier to throw down ideas on the spot.
Test yourself by playing a root note. Think of a small melodic line and try to play it. Start with easy ones and increase the difficulty by thinking up more complex and longer lines. If you can master this, you can improv. anything you want to hear (within your technical ability of course).
Learn your modes and different positions of each scale, so that your not always starting a line with the root. This is probably the main cause of boring soloing for most beginners.
Take some time to practice improv. by grabbing a lead sheet and playing something to it. There are tones of them on the net. It's difficult at first but try doing it with any accompliment, just the chords in mind. This will force you to pay more attention to what your playing and how it sounds. All musicals lines should be able to stand alone and sound good.
Take a look and learn both the rhythm part and solo to your favorite songs. Analyze how they come together and why it works so well. Most people just learn the solo, find their favorite licks and repeat them. But they fall behind when they don't understand the rhythm/solo relationship. You'll better understand how, when and where to throw these licks in, if your better aware of the rhythm section. Learn how your favorite guitarists thinks.
Pick up on different tricks; legato, sweeps, hammers and pull-off, etc. Master them.
The routine is to do it while your practicing your scales. Play through and hum each note. (i.e. the major scale, "do ra me fa so la ti do"). Do this with all the scales you know.
Another thing to do is just to noodle around and sing whatever you play. Start slow and build up speed. It's good to know that E to F is a minor second, but knowing how it sounds is infinitely better. Once you know how intervals sound, it becomes alot easier to throw down ideas on the spot.
Test yourself by playing a root note. Think of a small melodic line and try to play it. Start with easy ones and increase the difficulty by thinking up more complex and longer lines. If you can master this, you can improv. anything you want to hear (within your technical ability of course).
Learn your modes and different positions of each scale, so that your not always starting a line with the root. This is probably the main cause of boring soloing for most beginners.
Take some time to practice improv. by grabbing a lead sheet and playing something to it. There are tones of them on the net. It's difficult at first but try doing it with any accompliment, just the chords in mind. This will force you to pay more attention to what your playing and how it sounds. All musicals lines should be able to stand alone and sound good.
Take a look and learn both the rhythm part and solo to your favorite songs. Analyze how they come together and why it works so well. Most people just learn the solo, find their favorite licks and repeat them. But they fall behind when they don't understand the rhythm/solo relationship. You'll better understand how, when and where to throw these licks in, if your better aware of the rhythm section. Learn how your favorite guitarists thinks.
Pick up on different tricks; legato, sweeps, hammers and pull-off, etc. Master them.
"My whole life is a dark room...ONE BIG DARK ROOM" - a.f.i.
# 3
thnx for the advice...the singin idea is great because im also interested in learnin to hum a couple of tunez as well....but i'll try it out for sure
later
later
# 4
