beginners advice for improvisation.
i know that the answers will be along the lines of scales/chords/theory/finding a tutor (cannot afford one at present) e.t.c. the thing is that i have problems (well quite a fewanyhoo guitar problem wise is that i just cannot revise music theory.i just switch off (same with practising scales/can only do it for 3-5 mins max before switching off.i know there are quite a few famous guitarists,who never actually learned theory/practised e.t.c properly (yet they can improvise really well).any tips on what i can do to start to be able to learn how to improvise half decently
without turning it into a open university type rigmarole.i know that i sound completely crazy by the way
p.s since getting my new tele,i have been playing it daily for a good few hours (am still rubbish though
thanks again everyone
i have a lovely vintage lemon drop guitar
Yes.Originally Posted by racefaceec90
justinguitar.com ... free online lessonscannot afford one at present
Complete mythical bollocks.....i know there are quite a few famous guitarists,who never actually learned theory/practised e.t.c properly (yet they can improvise really well).
Do you really think that any of the players you have in mind did not ever get shown a scale or did not ever sit for hours just practicing and practicing?
Did they just join a band and start ripping in to mega lead solos straight away?
Bollocks!
Yes - this.any tips on what i can do to start to be able to learn how to improvise half decently
http://www.justinguitar.com/en/BL-000-Blues.php
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May be selling some gear - some but not all - Yamaha SG400 / Overwater Custom / Agile AL3100 Custom
If you can only concentrate for 3 min at a time, then try 20 3 min sections. Break things down into manageable sizes. Spend 3 mins playing a C major scale, break for 5 mins then 3 mins on a C minor pentatonic scale, break for 5 or even 2 etc.
Learn How to learn! and then extend the time periods. Soon you will need to set an alarm to tell you when your time is up. When its time up, put down the guitar and take the break before beginning again. Try this or dont but you will need to make an effort for anything worth learning. Good Luck!
Yes, most of the answers will be along the lines of scales, chords, theory, tutor - a tutor is a good idea if you get a great tutor otherwise their answer will be scales/chords/theory (but rarely another tutor ;^)
For me there's a few conflicts of my own described in what you've said: theory vs feel, 'a way that's right for me' vs 'slogging it out with the way everyone else uses' - when is hitting my head against a brick wall a case of the wrong technique or simply my disbelief getting in my way? Recognise that every guitarist struggles with that or there would be only one book on playing the guitarthe thing is that i have problems (well quite a few
Improvisation has NOTHING to do with theory - theory can be used to explains good improvisation, but it can't generate formulas that guarantee good improvisation. In my experience, playing fluidly can only be done in the absence of theory - who really believes "ah hah a ii V I in D" therefore I shall use improvisation pattern delta - The Alan De Mausse manoeuvre. If someone has the presence of mind to shoe-horn it in, it's the degree to which they've practised that will dictate if it works (and by work, I mean really fit the music rather than sounding like it's been stuck on top of the music).
You mean you don't want a twelve page dispute of when to use the Gai Gaku Ritu Sen Poi scale? You'd rather be William Shatner than a Star Trek fan?!any tips on what i can do to start to be able to learn how to improvise half decently
Backing tracks. Apply the major scale fingering or the pentatonic scales all over the neck to an extent where playing over a backing track you like you know what the notes going to sound like before you play it - perhaps try the George Benson thing of singing along... and take note of where you miss, try and correct you anticipation - find the right note or repeat and sing the "bad" note, make it fit in (it will).
In music, theory is pretty pointless without application. Justinguitar is a great place for discovering the right amount of theory - none of this learn everything nonsense, learn enough to play music. A good ear and a good sense of timing, a good sense of fretboard knowledge and time to practise techniques are all you need.i really would like to learn some theory (but i really do switch off/it really pisses me off when it happens
JAYJO's comments on concentration and learning to teach yourself effectively are really on the button, they'll make everything else easier.
mucus ardour urban mr men turnip!
I would start with the CAGED system - there's no real theory to learn other than what you probably already know for building your basic chords.
With CAGED, you'll learn all the major and minor chords everywhere on the neck, and eventually every note on the fretboard, but it's based on the simple open C, A, G, E and D chord shapes you already know.
I'd add also that improvisation is not playing stuff that you've never played before and is more about using your ears.
Theory can give you the short cuts sometimes, but its more likely to confuse you in the beginning and might not make sense until after you've been playing a while. I think of theory as a labeling of sounds. Which is more important being able to play the sounds or knowing what they're called. Not saying it's not important but for a beginner, id say just try to make some sounds that you like.
All the above is good advice and I would also advise Justin Sandercoe's site. All good stuff. I would also add that learning to work out guitar parts by ear from CD's etc is a really good way of improving, and there are some video's on Justin's site that deal with that.
Get an app or program that slows down the tune without changing pitch, there are free ones and paid for ones. They really do help when you're starting out.
And that is how the "famous" guitarists did it! They spent hours working out how to play the music they liked. Days. It took Keith Richards years to finally understand one Jimmy Reed part, and in fact he was shown it by someone else at the back of a tour bus in the US midwest! So you need to develop patience.
I don't know where the idea that guitarists didn't know theory came from. They did and they still do. BB King is capable of discussing theory, as is Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page etc. They all started out not knowing it, but they went out of their way to learn it. After all, the theory is just another thing you do when you play the guitar. It is part of learning and none of them ever stopped. If you love music then you will naturally want to learn as much about it as you can. Why do you think that there are any musicians who play the guitar who never learnt any theory? I know of none.
The process for these "famous" players was to work out the parts by ear, then work out why they worked (the theory), then they adapted them to make them their own, and then they also stored them away in their memories, to bring out when they were composing their own pieces.
+1 on CAGED
and +1 on improv being playing what you've already heard.
Emily Remler covers this in one of her REH videos - find a lick incorporate it, combine it, change the rhythm and inflection, what beat it starts on, the works - to her mind people like Wes Montgomery improvise about 30% of the time and this can mean rhythmically whereas most other players purely create about 10% of the time in improv... it's reassuring to know and Emily was extremely good.
mucus ardour urban mr men turnip!
thanks for all the advicei must admit that it does sound strange when i said that some guitarists don't know any theory (doh!). whenever i am trying to improvise to some music e.t.c i always end up just going up and down the high strings.i have tried to use the pentatonic scale to improvise with also,but it really sounds boring,and i just don't know where to go next
i have a lovely vintage lemon drop guitar
It really depends on what you mean by theory - T-Bone Walker just followed the chord changes - so that meant playing the notes from the chords and finding nice ways of joining them... BB King plays over the change so he finds interesting sounds to prepare the listener for the next chord. British blues guitarists decided the pentatonic scale had any relevance - it partially matches what was being done before and easier to remember and whoosh zoom bland blues music was born!thanks for all the advice
Theory is just about notes and most authentic blues guitarists say it all with a very small number of notes (so how much theory is needed?) but played at exactly the right time. Timing is everything.
mucus ardour urban mr men turnip!
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