Blues Improvisation

[Mahesh]

Hey guys,

I know there are lots of tips,lessons etc online,but I wanted to know from each of you guitarists out there,what is the most useful tip/method that you can give(which made a big difference to you)on improvising solos.It might be big or small but I want to know what changed the way you play.

I know my scales,I've been experimenting around it but I dont find that 'fluency' even after months.Was there any specific detail out of the lot which helped you?

[Retrosaurus Rex]

Practice improvising. Sure, you've got the scales under your fingers, but what do you do with them when it's shit or bust? Record some vamps, alternating between two chords, or some simple 8-bar progressions. Then pick an appropriate scale and feel your way thru a solo. Listen back to what you've done and see what you like. At first you might play just a couple of notes per chord, or a simple sequence and try to move that thru the progression. After a while you'll find your "fluency", and better yet, it will be your own voice speaking, not repeating what a million other people have already done. Not that there's anything wrong with learning other peoples' solos, all the greats studied the greats, but ultimately you want to do your own thing.

[Mahesh]

Hey Retro! thank you so much for the reply.

Yes,I've been doin that a lot,and when I say 'fluency',I mean not exactly the WAY I play(tho Im not sayin Im good at that either ) but the authenticity of it. I mean to say that Im kinda stuck halfway and cant seem to express differently. Everything I play seems the same.

Here's a video where I show where I am,ofcourse Im playin the same thing a lot of times here,but this is as much I can play around with!http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQ-6pBFZIbg

[Steve]

The best advice I can offer is to get a more comfortable chair!

Try standing up to play as well!

[Retrosaurus Rex]

The best advice I can offer is to get a more comfortable chair!

Try standing up to play as well!

I would advise you to get a less comfortable chair, which would encourage you to stand up!

[Retrosaurus Rex]

Hey Retro! thank you so much for the reply.

Yes,I've been doin that a lot,and when I say 'fluency',I mean not exactly the WAY I play(tho Im not sayin Im good at that either ) but the authenticity of it. I mean to say that Im kinda stuck halfway and cant seem to express differently. Everything I play seems the same.

I dig it. What you're sayin' and what you're playin', that is. Authenticity somewhat come with time. There was a killer blues band that I used to check out from time to time, and I remember one show where they got a new guitarist. The guy could really tear it up, but he was obviously a rock 'n' roll shredder, he wasn't playing the blues at all. About 3 months later I went to see them again... same guitarist... but by then he sho 'nuff had the blues. You can get there too.

Suggestions... change up your amp tone. Different sounds will make you play differently.

Try playing the same thing in different styles... classical, folk, funk, rock, you name it... even down to individual players... how would Jimi play this lick? or Brian May? or Jack White? Just throwing out names, pick your own...

[Mahesh]

Hey Steve & Retro,

I spend a lot of time playing the guitar seated,I'll have to change that habit of mine.

And Retro,Since I play the acoustic guitar almost all the time,I hadnt thought of changing the tones. I listen to a LOT of music,But I guess it doesnt make sense tryin to improvise and imitate on just an acoustic guitar.

Very useful!

Thanks guys.(if any more to add in to this,please do)

Mahesh

[RodChandler]

You have been given some good tips thus far,and I am far from accomplished at guitar,but some things that help me are.

Try to say more with less notes.Pick a box of any 4 notes in a scale for example and try to ring out as much expression from just those 4 notes only(think Billy Gibbons from ZZ Top,a master of wringing 4 notes dry).Another is to remember that silence at the right spot is just as powerful as a played note,so don't just keep a running flurry of notes.You wouldn't talk that way,unless you were manic or all coked up,and has anyone ever had a good conversation with someone who was either? Think of it as speaking with your guitar and you don't usually speak in a run on sentence,so don't fill every space with notes,let it breathe a little and let the listener digest what you just "said" with your guitar.

Finally I would say that you take some of the scales that you have learned,forget about them and don't think that you have to stay right in that one scale pattern only.Don't be afraid to go out in any direction that may or may not be in that scale mode or not.Let your ears dictate what step you need to take,and even if it is wrong,play it with rythmic conviction and think about your overall solo in terms of rythm and what the song's rythm is and staying within it and noone but the most seasoned of ears will tell if your playing a "wrong"note or not.Plus there are really no "wrong" notes,just ones not played with conviction.

One more thing,alot of times when you have a rythm down cold,just close your eyes and let go and don't think about what you want to play or where you are going with it,just feel the music and the vibration and it will lead you.The better in tune with it you get,the better your solo's will be.But I know that is a sucky esoteric what the hell kind of metaphysical B.S. are you talking about answer,but believe me it will make sense.The more we do anything the better we get at it.

These are a few things that have helped me get to the point that I am,but like I wrote earlier,I still have a long ways to go too,and this is a neverending lifetime journey,so really try to enjoy the process.

[Mahesh]

Hey Rod,

Thanks a lot :)it made a lot of sense,very useful!

[Nick]

Sing the solo you want to play - either out loud or in your head - and play it. Likely to be a lot more musical too and more enjoyable.

The other thing is to improvise based on the tune you are playing rather than 'just improvise'. One of the thing that really makes me want to go home is to be sitting in an informal jam and people start playing 'blues'. Usually by the second one you realise that a lot of people improvise by playing the same thing over everything!

A good blues to improvise over is 'Nobody Loves You When You're Down and Out' - absolutely knackers the '5 note blues pentatonic with a quarter bend here and there' mechants because it sounds crap. If you start with the tune and branch out from there and can make something that sounds good you are on the way.

I sat in another thing recently and was baffled by the fluent, but depressing guitarist who couldn't work out why a major and a minor blues sound different.

The tune is a good starting point though. Even just playing the tune on an instrument rather than a voice sounds different. If you then amend emphasis and start to move away from the tune - but still being aware of it - it's a good place to be.

Oh the other thing that I remember someone pointing out is that a lot of blues playing is about creating tension and then (at some point) resolving it. Much great playing lives in that idea.

Lazz once pointed to a Victor Wooten book (the first chapter is on line I think) which was about feel for music rather than necessrily technique (though he is an awesome player himself)

Edited April 25, 2011 by Nick

[AlexOConnor]

Find a blues radio station and jam. Best way to nail it (if you've already learnt various scales) is to practice like a maniac

[MarcG]

When I'm just fiddling wanting to come up with a simple solo I'll do stuff like mixing up diddys.. for instance do a line of row row row your boat then twinkle twinkle little star. Hope you get what I'm saying lol.

Also, knowing quite a few solos is a good arsonal of licks at your disposal.

[TapperMike]

I used to host a blues jam many years back. The good players not only knew the solo's all the way thru they also knew how to personify improvisations. It's more then just crowding up space with lots of notes or knowing scales and licks.

All blues greats stand on the shoulders of giants. If you listen to any serious blues players for a good length of time you begin to hear influences of those who've gone before them. Stevie Ray Vaughn started off trying to be Albert King. And he was very good at emulating King, When he stopped trying to be Albert King he started to sound like SRV, It's not enough to simply be able to hear what someone else has done. When you recreate the work it gives your playing a persona from which you can then take back and apply to your own playing.

Playing the blues is much like learning an accent. While we all may speak english we do so with inflections that come from our environment. That's why if you really want to get into the blues you focus your attention to one specific artist and craft it to your own persona. For a long time I was all about Santana. Had every record learned his stuff backwards and forewards. Then when ever I'd learn a lick I'd instantly think, How can I santana-ify it. When you learn a lick. Play it enough times to remember it "straight" then try accenting different notes and shifting your timing.

Finally get out and play. I'm all for listening to the blues and jamming along with band in a box but the best education you'll ever recieve is that of being on the stage with seasoned blues players.

[Jim622]

Learn the blues scale and go to youtube - blues backing tracks. There's plenty there.

Jim

[berndgast]

Hi!

Beside all of the recommendation above:

Listen to other instruments.

Try to play Blues-Vocal-Lines on the guitar as impressive as possible!

Best Regards from Germany

Bernd Gast