Hi there.
I am struggling a bit to try and get my improvisation skills up to scratch.
I
have made a concious effort to learn the major scale, minor scale,
blues scale, minor pentatonic, major arpeggio and minor arpeggio for
each of the five CAGED shapes and can connect them up, with little
problem, over the fretboard.
However, when it comes to improvising, I sort of freeze up and cannot really play anything worth while.
I
have found a really slow ballard backing-track to practice with (Am, G,
F, Em) but I still sound like I am noodling over the top and not really
complementing the backing.
Any tips to try and fix this would be much appreciated.
Thanks
Comments
you don’t have to deliberately change, but when one (and many are) in your current situation we always think we don’t notice how over time other things that we have picked up or heard, or played in something else, or just some weird imaginative things that kick in on Wednesday nights, etc start appearing in your play.
good luck, many people are in your same situation
Supportact said: [my style is] probably more an accumulation of limitations and bad habits than a 'style'.
@elsmandino Further to my initial point, this is really important. Actually learning information and where it is on the fretboard will help inform and develop your ear, improving your melodic playing.
Supportact said: [my style is] probably more an accumulation of limitations and bad habits than a 'style'.
Thanks @elsmandino for asking.
My trading feedback: https://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/210335/yorkie
The nature of scales and practising them is from low to high then back down ...that's not really music unless mixed up a bit
Learn all your three-note triad inversions on strings 1,2and 3 and 2,3, 4. Forget scales for now. Play them in scale order - this is the most musical way of learning keys. Later, you start to voice lead through them along the string set e.g. C, Am, F, Dm, B dim, G,Em, C,etc. Arpeggiate and sing it. Within those chord shapes are all sorts of useful intervals.
Chord tones are connected with diatonic scale tones or chromatic passing tones.
Then you learn that for say C7, you can use E dim, which is the triad at the top of the chord. Then you can just keep stacking thirds to see how the triads in the key relate to the stated chord. You find that some relate strongly, others less so.
Don't forget the melody.
Motivic development: create a motif and DO NOT ABANDON IT. Develop it rhythmically, melodically. Etc. This is probably the most important bit.
Scale practice.... generally not helpful for making music. I mean yes, you've got to do it at some point but eventually it's counter-productive.
And on it goes.
https://ibb.co/JvcspTf