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[This is a crosspost with GreNME, since John doesn't post here anymore.]
[URL]Here's a snippet of me doing some 12-bar blues[/URL].
Now, I'm really happy with it, because it is probably the best guitar solo I've ever played from a raw talent perspective -- which means I've gotten better over the years, even though I thought before recording this that it had been essentially stagnant in the last 1-2 years. So that was a pleasant surprise.
But I'm not sure where to go next. It's true that I use a lot of scalar runs in various modes (blues, pentatonic) and that I like to play with relative minors and majors, but I still have problems integrating arpeggios into my playing. Should that be my next step?
posted
I'm going to preface this with the following disclaimer: I am not a good soloist. Given time, I can construct a halfway decent solo but I am horrible at improv soloing.
That being said, the largest problem I noticed was timing. Early on, the timing was fine, but as your runs got more complicated, the timing got worse and worse. It is one thing to cram a bunch of notes into a measure, it's another thing entirely to keep consistent time while doing it. You know you're playing at the edge of your ability when the timing breaks down, so focus on perfecting what you can do already before trying to incorporate things you are uncomfortable with.
I hope that didn't come off as mean, because your little solo is certainly better than anything I could do on the spot and I applaud the attempt.
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Maybe what I should do is practice this style of thing with drum loops or a metronome underneath to keep me on time...
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metronomes are wonderous inventions. It sometimes feels silly to use, but it improves timing immensely.
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Heh. Sadly the GarageBand metronome is insufficiently loud. Drum loops, however, are quite usable...
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There are really only 3 things you can do to learn improvisation:
- Know your instrument backwards and forwards. I know nothing about guitar but there's so much guitar music out there that it's straightforward to determine what should be possible.
- Integrate other people's solos into your brain. This is more than mere listening, even for a musical genius. Transcribe, transcribe, transcribe.
- Practice:
quote:Maybe what I should do is practice this style of thing with drum loops or a metronome underneath to keep me on time...
Aebersold is your friend. Even if you decide to stick with playing rhythm (or drums for that matter), these are mastered so that you can pan to one side and practice that aspect alone.
[ June 16, 2004, 03:09 AM: Message edited by: Richard Berg ]
Posts: 1839 | Registered: May 1999
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I can't hear this because I have no speakers at work.... so this is not a comment on what you have done.
I have lost count of the numbers of guitarists I have known who lost all of their soul in the process of becoming technical geniuses. Please do your best to avoid this. Beyond that, develop where you like.
If you want to explore some fascinating two-hand stuff, get "The Physics of Acoustics by Rhett Butler which has a windows media video guitar lesson on it as well as some really nice work... especially his melding of "Fur Elise" and "House of the Rising Sun"
Another technique you might look into is Victor Wooten's triplet slap-pop thing, which Rhett assures me can be done on guitar as he was recently asked to demonstrate by none other than Eric Johnson. Victor has a videotape out in which he demonstrates the technique, but I don't know what it's called. As I have yet been unable to master the thing on bass, you might want to consider this only if you are looking for a major challenge.
As an aside, it's one thing to be able to say that you know someone like Eric Johnson... an entirely different thing to be able to say Eric Johnson knows *you*. I'm so proud of my local boy!
Posts: 3846 | Registered: Apr 2004
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after listening, I have two things to integrate which I think will spice it up considerably: more bends and some chording (maybe a harmonic or two). Remember, too, with blues, less is almost always more.
Homework: "Wonderful Tonight" by Eric Clapton (find a live version if you can) and "Kid Gloves" by Rush (obscure song, but VERY cool solo that is, basically, all chords, rhythms, and harmonics).
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Those are two awesome songs Jim-Me. I'm not the best guitar teacher, by any means, without being able to sit down with someone and pull some licks out of who-knows-where, but....*nods* Good songs, there.
And harmonics rock my socks off.
For harmonic's practice, I play Linkin Park's Pushing Me Away, and for a good rythm/lead practice, Homegrown's Surfer Girl.
EDIT to add: I'm not the best teacher when I CAN do that, either. >_> Don't want to sound conceited, lol...
posted
That's weird... I can't imagine why. Everything looks to be fine.
Everyone else, thanks for the advice. I'll get to practicing and following it, and possibly post my progress as things move along Posts: 10886 | Registered: Feb 2000
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