Improvisation

I find Improv difficult... Tips?

Think about what's being played as well as your lead, the chords bass etc. Actually think about it a lot of guitarists just let their fingers go into autopilot and just run down the pentatonic and throw some bends in where it suits them. A lot of those guitarists end up getting stuck on what to do next as well.

Also look at other peoples solos and see what happens.

Oh and maybe start on one melodic idea then keep coming back to it and changing it each time and building it up.

Hope this helps

Sit down and learn the fret board, I don't know how well you know it right now.
you will over time get a feel for every note, and how every note interacts with one another.

some good ways to really improve your improv is sit down learn your scales, then learn your chords. After that put them together. You do this by learning the intervals of the notes with in the scales/chords.

After that you can do whats call Chord Runs, now your playing scales that add up to chords, or chords that add up to scales.

another thing you can do is improve you musical ear. this is easy for some people and hard for others. Look into ear training, if you can get a feel for hearing notes and chords by ear you will have a great ability for making progressions on the fly.

Hope this helps.

Like DanielM said, A lot of guitarists go into "auto pilot" mode. But even running through simple pentatonic scales can be intresting....If you have good phrasing. I don't know a crap load of scales, but the ones I do know I try to master. I come up with good phrasing for Dorian, Aeolian, Blues Pentatonic, and also use a interesting combination of notes. My soloing is 90% improv. I feel written solos keep me "in a cage". Of course I do stick to a certain guideline when soloing, Improv can make you feel "free". Really, in simple steps.

1. Learn some scales (they don't have to be complex)
2. Learn good phrasing or special techniques (tapping, whammy bar, stuff)
3. Wing it over a backing track

I know it's easier said than done, but just practice on it.

I hope I helped.

use backing tracks in certain keys or buy a loop pedal and loop a simple chord progression and fiddle around with the scale which fits over it. . .

What do you see when you watch a great guitarist effortlessly moving across the fretboard,fingers expressing just the right feel for the song?Then what do you see when you watch you own fingers searching through patterns that seem only vaguely connected to wgat you feel inside?
The question of how to hook up your fingers to youur feelings us the primary ussue of any guitarist.And its too deep for an instant solution. But if i might reccomend something to start with,it woyld be to sing what you play.
Start like this.Play one of you favoritist licks or maybe a scale,and try to match every note with your voice.EVEN if your out of tune,make some kind of noise with your choice of licks.
you will notice after a few notes you need to take a breath,,just like a singer.This lends a natural breathing quality to your phrasingand keeps your fingers from running off to the bad notes during improv.Also all your old.tired licks will.sound new and fresh. This is the essential.method to.great improvisation.

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gs2112

wow Shredder, you just saved me $49.95 plus s&h!

Seriously nice advice.

Why thank you tsb,My students ask me this question alot,and this is the answer i give em.Its the way i learned.And im glad it helped you.

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gs2112

Thanks for sharing that GShred, I'd never thought about doing that. Godd stuff man

Yw case,I have heard that some famous guitarists use this technique
Ir joe satriani,scott henderson,john mclaughin,and wes montgomery.So there msut be some truth to it.Maybe Ii should make it a lesson?
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GS2112

Yeah gshred, that's some really good avice, nice post.

Well, the most important thing to know is that theory to music is just the guide lines - do not follow them to a T otherwise you will never find your "true sound".

It is important that you learn songs, licks and phrases. While learning these songs and phrases try to understand how they work with the song, why they work with that particular chord, with the bass note playing the root.

While thinking like this you will, with time, be able to come up with more and more melodic ideas that are yours to enjoy. You can spice them up by leading the song out of it's own key or you can just mess about for the however many bars you're improvising for.

What's important is that you must never forget to enjoy yourself. :)

Another great way to exercise your ability to improve is to records your self playing a nice simple chord progression, then playing pentatonics over it.