Following on from the Chord Tone Solo lesson, I'd like to show you something completely different. Whilst focussing on chord tones is a great way to break out of pattern/scale based playing, another way you should consider is to listen to the music in your head.
I guarantee that if you listen close enough, you will hear phrases and melodies in your head that might not occur to you at all when you pick up a guitar and focus on the instrument, as all your attention is now on "Am in in tune?...What do I play next?...where do my fingers go?..what notes will sound right?..damn!..where's that cool lick I learned?!"..that kind of thing. At this stage, you're not listening.
For the purposes of this lesson, I created a backing track, just 1.30 long. Just a simple funk groove with a little Emin6 riff. Here it is:
http://www.box.net/shared/fv7j8z3ya4
Now, here's what I'd like you to try, set up your recording gear so you're ready to go, guitar in hand, but other than being in tune, I don't want you to pay much attention to the instrument itself.
1) Listen to the track. Do NOT play!
2) Listen again. Can you hear something in your head that might fit?. Play it!..hit record and just go for it!..this is practice, you can screw up as much as you like!.
3) Stop and listen back to what you did. Chances are, it won't be exactly what you heard in your head, unless you're blessed with terrific brain/ear/hand co-ordination..but it doesn't matter..you'll get better at this. The key thing is to try and replicate what you're hearing.
4) Get ready to record again, this time when you hear back the phrase you played, what does it make you want to play next? Play it!..hint: try and play the same thing again!..repetition is a HUGE part of improvisation. Now, the chances are, when you try and replicate what you just played, you may not get it exactly the same..and that opens up another door.
Each idea you get down, leads you to another one, you just have to LISTEN and trust yourself. This is a big thing. We get bogged down in theory and technique, but the music comes from inside you. Trust yourself...you'll get it wrong many, many times, but practice, practice, practice..and you might get a good take down now and then. And, then, it's worth the work.
In the interests of full disclosure, this is me practising over the above track. It's full of mistakes, but you'll also hear repetition, me struggling to get an idea I can't quite execute out, so the timing falls apart, and also one or two nice enough phrases that might lead to something at some point. Which is the goal of the exercise.
Those cool phrases make their way into my vocabulary and will hopefully become part of the music I hear in my head in order to be recycled in some other jam or song.
I'm not thinking about scales or chord tones
, I'm just trying to listen to what my head and instincts are telling me. Interestingly, as a side note, listening back I noticed that I stick almost exclusively to the E Dorian mode..which makes sense, but I wasn't thinking "Right, got to play E Dorian here"..that just happened to be what I heard.
http://www.box.net/shared/mb8rgu2ja3
A common problem is where you can't hear anything in your head. This is where you need to be patient and be aware that maybe the track isn't what you enjoy and so doesn't give you any ideas..find something you do like and I promise you will hear ideas that might work!
Hope this is useful for you guys and maybe gives you some ideas you hadn't considered before.
If you like, post your practice takes here. Remember, it's just practice!..if you do get a complete take you're happy with, post that in the "Backing Track" section of the forum!
I guarantee that if you listen close enough, you will hear phrases and melodies in your head that might not occur to you at all when you pick up a guitar and focus on the instrument, as all your attention is now on "Am in in tune?...What do I play next?...where do my fingers go?..what notes will sound right?..damn!..where's that cool lick I learned?!"..that kind of thing. At this stage, you're not listening.
For the purposes of this lesson, I created a backing track, just 1.30 long. Just a simple funk groove with a little Emin6 riff. Here it is:
http://www.box.net/shared/fv7j8z3ya4
Now, here's what I'd like you to try, set up your recording gear so you're ready to go, guitar in hand, but other than being in tune, I don't want you to pay much attention to the instrument itself.
1) Listen to the track. Do NOT play!
2) Listen again. Can you hear something in your head that might fit?. Play it!..hit record and just go for it!..this is practice, you can screw up as much as you like!.
3) Stop and listen back to what you did. Chances are, it won't be exactly what you heard in your head, unless you're blessed with terrific brain/ear/hand co-ordination..but it doesn't matter..you'll get better at this. The key thing is to try and replicate what you're hearing.
4) Get ready to record again, this time when you hear back the phrase you played, what does it make you want to play next? Play it!..hint: try and play the same thing again!..repetition is a HUGE part of improvisation. Now, the chances are, when you try and replicate what you just played, you may not get it exactly the same..and that opens up another door.
Each idea you get down, leads you to another one, you just have to LISTEN and trust yourself. This is a big thing. We get bogged down in theory and technique, but the music comes from inside you. Trust yourself...you'll get it wrong many, many times, but practice, practice, practice..and you might get a good take down now and then. And, then, it's worth the work.
In the interests of full disclosure, this is me practising over the above track. It's full of mistakes, but you'll also hear repetition, me struggling to get an idea I can't quite execute out, so the timing falls apart, and also one or two nice enough phrases that might lead to something at some point. Which is the goal of the exercise.
Those cool phrases make their way into my vocabulary and will hopefully become part of the music I hear in my head in order to be recycled in some other jam or song.
I'm not thinking about scales or chord tones
, I'm just trying to listen to what my head and instincts are telling me. Interestingly, as a side note, listening back I noticed that I stick almost exclusively to the E Dorian mode..which makes sense, but I wasn't thinking "Right, got to play E Dorian here"..that just happened to be what I heard.http://www.box.net/shared/mb8rgu2ja3
A common problem is where you can't hear anything in your head. This is where you need to be patient and be aware that maybe the track isn't what you enjoy and so doesn't give you any ideas..find something you do like and I promise you will hear ideas that might work!
Hope this is useful for you guys and maybe gives you some ideas you hadn't considered before.
If you like, post your practice takes here. Remember, it's just practice!..if you do get a complete take you're happy with, post that in the "Backing Track" section of the forum!
..yeah, we sometimes pay more attention to the tools, being scales or whatever, rather than the music.
