How do I really start developing my improvisation?

Hello everyone,

Somewhat new to improvising and learning theory here.

I've been spending all my energy learning to visualize the major scale all across the fret board. I'm at the point where I can sort of "meander" all over the neck and stay in key, and I also have a good grasp on visualizing the root, third, and fifth for landing zones. I can improvise slowly all around, where I'm moving around and emphasizing the arpeggio notes, but I feel like I'm in a rut. I've gotten vibrato down, and I'm improving my bending so it hits the right notes, but I just don't know how to develop my playing further.

Whats the next thing I should learn to make my playing more interesting? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. https://discord.software/ FetLife https://downloader.vip/itunes/

Thank you.

Hey & welcome to GT!

Originally Posted by: tonyruffalo3217

I've been spending all my energy learning to visualize the major scale all across the fret board. I'm at the point where I can sort of "meander" all over the neck and stay in key, and I also have a good grasp on visualizing the root, third, and fifth for landing zones. I can improvise slowly all around, where I'm moving around and emphasizing the arpeggio notes, but I feel like I'm in a rut. I've gotten vibrato down, and I'm improving my bending so it hits the right notes, but I just don't know how to develop my playing further.

In order to improvise you need to do 3 things.

1. Find an appropriate scale (key signature).[br]2. Target chord tones.[br]3. Make musical phrases.

So, it sounds like you are on the right track! The next step is build a repertoire of licks you can play in the moment, so you can use the scale & chord tones to build little melodies, licks, phrases.

I covered this topic in detail in this blog post that also has links to GT tutorials teaching the concepts & skills.

https://www.guitartricks.com/blog/how-to-play-a-guitar-solo

Hope this helps!

Originally Posted by: tonyruffalo3217

Hello everyone,

Somewhat new to improvising and learning theory here.

I've been spending all my energy learning to visualize the major scale all across the fret board. I'm at the point where I can sort of "meander" all over the neck and stay in key, and I also have a good grasp on visualizing the root, third, and fifth for landing zones. I can improvise slowly all around, where I'm moving around and emphasizing the arpeggio notes, but I feel like I'm in a rut. I've gotten vibrato down, and I'm improving my bending so it hits the right notes, but I just don't know how to develop my playing further.

Whats the next thing I should learn to make my playing more interesting? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. https://discord.software/ FetLife https://downloader.vip/itunes/

Thank you.

Also, following what Chris said, from the GT Toolbox, try out the Jam Station. You do a bit of scrolling and finding things you want to jam with but it helps to hone something down where you're not just meandering (you'll notice that meandering often sounds terrible in the context of a song/jam).

One way someone told to look at is; guitar and lead playing is like a vocabulary you learn to speak. The more leads and songs you learn, the larger 'vocabularly' you build. Like Chris siad; make musical phrases.

You'll find that when you do the Jam Station that you start out sounding terrible. This goes back many years for me when I first started jamming with people in the 80's but the same idea; I had no idea how to builld a improvisational jam. With the Jam Station, you can keep looping ad start working out how to phrase. How to fit in licks that is in key, in time and also works within the songs measures.