-
Whats the single most important thing when improvising on guitar, or any instrument for that matter?
-
06-02-2025 12:39 AM
-
When you listen to someone you like improvising what are you listening to most? That's your answer.
-
I like ragman1's answer, mine is right along the sames lines.
Originally Posted by AdroitMage
The transcendentals, three things, not a single thing
Truth
Beauty,
Goodness
Interpret the musical versions of those as
Authenticity - due respect for the tradition / period of the tune
Allure - the shared subjective feeling of expressing it right
Appropriateness - knowing your audience, what they like
-
Rhythm
-
Herb Ellis said "sing what you play, play what you sing".
He also said "play quiet and you'll always get work".
-
Always wear clean underwear. In case you get into an accidental. Originally Posted by AdroitMage
-
time awareness
-
Time and rhythm.
Boring notes placed well sound better than interesting notes placed poorly.
-
Speaking of threes: Artist (painter) Tony Alaine claimed the three necessary ingredients for any art to be effective are "communication, revelation, and celebration" Originally Posted by pauln
-
I've watched teachers work at getting reading/rote players--horns as well as guitar--to "get off the page," and aside from breaching the fear barrier (probably the first big challenge), what I've noticed is that they start simple--often one or two notes--and that they emphasize placement, which I think is another way of talking about the handling of time and pulse and rhythm. A sax teacher I observed suggested not playing a lot of notes--he pointed out that well-schooled players of their instrument could rip out fast scales, but those are not necessarily as musically interesting as a couple of well-placed single notes. Space is as important as fill.
I think if an otherwise competent player asked me for advice (poor schnook*), I might suggest "C Jam Blues" as a starting point, since it has a definite groove but nothing to speak of in the melody department, and two or three notes that fit the groove but mess with placement and duration might be interesting.
* In my musical circles, I'm notorious for not taking solos. I do, however, mess around with everything available when I sing, where improvisation is all about phrasing and time while still serving the text.
-
Forget what you know. Don't think about what you don't know. What you hear in your head are the questions. What you should improvise are the answers. I am not the first one to say any of that.
Last edited by lammie200; 06-02-2025 at 01:43 PM.
-
To me there's no single most important thing. I think all the parts need to come together for it to sound good. That's kind of what jazz is: rhythm, melody, and harmony comin at ya at once.
Last edited by Strat-itis; 06-02-2025 at 03:01 PM.
-
I guess I'm just lucky: they take turns working me over. Originally Posted by Strat-itis
-
^ Same. 'I'm gonna work on notes.' 'Doh! It needs better rhythm.'
Works on rhythm. 'Doh! Needs better note syntax.'
Works on syntax. 'Doh! Don't forget spicy harmony.'
-
I don't presume to know the answer, but I'd say the courage to take risks and make mistakes has to be there in both practice and performance. This is necessary for growth and to make it real, whatever your stylistic, technical, or aesthetic preference.
-
That's really it. Originally Posted by lammie200
Ideas asking to be played, playing the ones you answer "yes"
What I hear in my head are ideas contending for expression
What I play are the ones that sound true, beautiful, and good
-
Using chromaticism to create forward motion.
-
Being curious, hopeful and in a good mood. Originally Posted by AdroitMage
edit: to clarify, the rest of the most important things are probably just essential.
Meaning, whatever you consider essential, it should be pushed to your own max anyway.Last edited by emanresu; 06-03-2025 at 04:21 AM.
-
Based on the questions and comments I get from other guitarists it is all about having a nice guitar. "Your guitar looks and sounds amazing" they say. Some of them also ask about what strings I use or my amps. Originally Posted by AdroitMage
-
You have to learn the language and tell a story. Work on words, then sentences, paragraphs, then the whole solo.
For technique, good time and good sound.
-
Oh god :-) Originally Posted by orri
-
How about after you play, the audience members say "your guitar sounds great!" as if it played itself... Originally Posted by orri
-
Wow, there's not one right answer yet. When improvising the most important thing is phrasing.
If your phrasing is good enough, it almost doesn't matter what notes you play. The first great player I heard say that was Larry Carlton, then I read several articles where Metheny said the same thing, so that's good enough for me.
I know that in jazz, there's a certain amount of technical knowledge you need to possess to be able to handle playing the music. That's just a given. After that, you have to be able to play and make beautiful noise with it, and your phrasing is key there. Being a jazz musician is an "applied science "
Oh, and phrasing doesn't just mean the notes you play, the spaces between the notes are just as important.
Also, IMO, a thorough understanding of voice leading is like a genie bottle for a jazz musician. but it doesn't get talked about much on forums.
-
So, time and rhythm. Which multiple people have said.
-
Nope. Rhythm is an important part of phrasing, but rhythm and phrasing, are two different things, that's why there are two different words for them.
Reply With Quote
Recommandations for Hollowbodies for $600 and under?
Today, 05:20 AM in Guitar, Amps & Gizmos