You’ll have a natural urge to explore more and achieve the freedom to improvise…
To use the fretboard as a means of expressing yourself...
Instead of just playing scales up and down.
While there’s no single path to work on your improvisation, there are a few tips that’ll help you on the way.
Here are 5 tips that can significantly up your improvisation game:
Be Inspired
Once you learn to run through the scales up and down, the next step is making them sound more melodic.
A good practice is to try and learn from your favourite players. Listen to their style and try to work out what they are playing.
But don’t copy things as they are...
Once you are comfortable, try and add a flavour of your own with different phrasing elements such as...
- Bends
- Vibrato
- Hammer on's
- Pull off's
Etc...
Continue this practice, and in time, you’ll develop your own unique improv style.
Think Different
When improvising, you need to think about more than just the notes you're playing.
Think of your guitar playing like a language.
When you speak, you don’t recite the dictionary...
You make phrases and sentences. Use expressions. Take pauses. Create dramatic effects. You get the idea right?
It's similar with improvisation.
Consider making sentences with your notes. As if you weren’t playing but communicating with your audience.
This perspective will up your improvisation game like crazy!
Explore the Octaves
Moving around the whole fretboard is essential for improvisation.
Just like a great speaker varies their tone up and down to get a message across...
you should vary your music tonality.
That’s where octaves come in.
For reference, look at guitar solos by John Petrucci.
He often starts off playing something on the very low strings/frets... and gradually climbs to the extreme other end of the guitar up high.
The tone becomes piercing, and even though he plays the same ‘notes,’ the effect it has changes.
Once you are comfortable with the basics, try and move up and down the octaves to add new effects to your playing.
Explore New Scales
Some exotic scales sound awesome even if you only play them up and down. The way the notes are arranged makes it sound unique. Try and sprinkle unique scales into your playing.
This will also make your playing unpredictable, which is something many listeners like and admire.
Play What Feels Right
This might be the last tip, but it’s a powerful one. When playing scales, many people stick to the ‘box’ because it’s safe.
While playing the pre-defined set of notes can create beautiful music, it will always keep you limited.
When you wish to improvise, you should be willing to break the norms and play by what feels right. There will be many occasions where your melody will not be ‘by the rules,’ but it will feel right and sound awesome.
Don’t be afraid to go outside the box and play unique notes. After all, that is what great musicians do!
Final Thoughts
Improvisation is so much fun to explore. If you get good at it, it becomes a tool for you to communicate your thoughts and feelings. Almost like learning a second language.
Great improvisers are the ones who stir emotions in the hearts of listeners without uttering a single word. We hope that someday you reach that place too. Till then, keep practicing!