Learning to improvise by ear, rather than with scales.

viz

GuyBoden said:

brooom said:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IB1UZhiZMYw

Yes, great stuff, an excellent example of learning how to improvise without using patterns and licks.

This is exactly what I try and teach in melody-writing. Just play a chord, listen to it, sing what tickles your fancy, then play it, with your eyes closed. Closing your eyes helps you hear, think, and memorise. You don’t need to look at the keyboard, it confuses things. 

Lestratcaster

Always have a harmony (i.e. backing track) behind what you're playing. Otherwise the notes you play have no value against a chord. For example, if you play a C on the fretboard, it could be a root, a minor 3rd, a flat 5, anything. Unless you play it over a chord sequence then it has little meaning.

Just get used to how notes sound against the backing, does it need to go up, down, faster, slower etc. Rhythmical variation is good, pick 2-3 notes and then change the beat the phrase start on, usually most start on 4 or 1. But they can begin anywhere.
It must be just as much feel and heart as theory and getting the notes right etc.

thing

I always get my studes to recognise intervals as early as possible. It's surprising how even seven and eight year olds can do it if you make it fun. Just pick seven songs which have the opening two notes as one of the major scale intervals. 'Somewhere Over The Rainbow = octave etc. I then play/sing a very simple melody line and get them to repeat it after giving them the start note. 95% of the time they get it straight away.

The added bonus of all of this is that they can then tune their guitar by ear instead of using a bloody electronic tuner cos they can hear fourths an thirds.

I think the reason some guitarists who have started playing say in the last twenty years or so struggle with improv by ear is that they've never had to use their ears. It's all on a plate. That's not a a criticism, it's just the way it is.

Music is a listening skill.

Greatape

octatonic said:

There is a great technique I use that I stole from John Maclaughlin which is to repeat the same phrase 4 times but each time repeating the last note one more time.

Say it is a 3 note phrase:

C D F

Play it like this:

CDF
CDFF
CDFFF
CDFFFF

With a small gap between the 4 lines, as to mark that they are distinct phrases.

Or this:

CDF
CDFF
CDF
CDFFFC

Play some of the ideas across a different octave.
Or play it a 5th up.
Or a semitone up.
Wring its neck.

The big mistake people make is to not develop ideas fully.
You play a line and then it goes away, never to be developed or repeated or extended.
Scott Henderson taught me to develop simple ideas fully, get as much mileage as you can out of what you already know.

This last bit is gold. Tell the story. Develop the motif. And play what you know, better.