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The Basics of Improvising
hey everyone, I have posted this somewhere else, but i just wanted all those people who are new, or are struggling with improvising to read this, and to hopefully learn something There is nothing better to me, than really getting in "the zone" on a solo, and creating and playing simultaniously. its pretty sweet. enjoy.
Just putting my two cents out there. I have been improvising for a good 4 years now, and to me, the thing that is key to having meaningful, strong solos is listening. Listen to your favorite artists, and really concentrate on the lines that they play during their solos. Try and recognise how they build up to something, or how they work melodic lines into their solos. If you are just starting, i recommend using the minor penatonic to solo in. Learn the scale, learn a few simple licks and then try and use those licks, and notes, preferably on the d,g,b,e strings to fill inbetween. (just noting, this is only for when you are learning, when you progress, you can create and play at the same time) Also, learn vibrato. It is a pain to learn, and can take a while, but it is completely worth it. A guy who knows 5 notes, and has killer vibrato strait up beats the shredder who has no feeling and meaning to his playing. (not trying to piss off metal-shredders) Also, bend the strings. If you dont, you are playing the piano. Try and bend on the e,b, and g strings, to pitch, by playing a note 2 frets higher, and then bending to the same pitch as that note. I hope this helps anyone trying to learn how to improvise. (btw, i am a lefty, so improv came pretty easy for me. ) Good Luck
PS.
try and solo over your favourite songs. You can solo while the vocalist is singing, just try and go for the whole song. You will progress weekly if you do one song a day.
whenever have a question, just ask yourself, "what would SRV do?"
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