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Posted by: Rated Htr Oct 8 2008, 10:31 AM

When I'm jamming, I pick up a backing track, go get a scale diagram and start improvising, but I feel that, although I'm jaming alright, I'm feeling the music and all that, I shouldn't be learning things this way, I mean...When people jam, they just play around the guitar, and usually they know what notes to play, don't know if this is the hard work over the years about memorizing all the patterns of a certain scale or if it's just fretboard knowledge and knowing the formula of a certain scale, by all means, what should I do?
Like I know all the patterns of the major scale, and all the modes patterns, but for me it's still hard to connect them just like that, like swaping boxes...

Thanks

/Filipe

Posted by: Nemanja Filipovic Oct 8 2008, 11:24 AM

Jamming is good practice,and you should keep on practicing as you where,but jamming and improvisation can only help with your playing and technique.
All the people that you mentioned that play and know what to play,they haw jam a lot and there is where you pick up the improvisation skills.Learning scales and positions should be your daily routine,and you will come in position not to think of scales,but just play what is in your mind.
I hope I help a little

Posted by: Muris Varajic Oct 8 2008, 12:21 PM

I would say it's a hard work over the years.
You'll learn many licks,get better knowledge of the fretboard,
upgrade your technique and improve your musical improvising abilities.
It takes time and it's not easiest thing to do,
to jam/improvise and keep it interesting all the time.
I've played for about 14 years so far,
here and there I play the backing,record myself doing jam
and I take a listen to it...and very often I don't like what I hear.
So,it's almost like endless process/research of your own playing,
and the best thing is if you cant realize your greatest mistakes/lackings
so you could work and focus on that.

Posted by: Morn Oct 8 2008, 01:56 PM

I understand how you feel and I often think that I'm just playing the same patterns and not progressing.

A good piece of advice I was give was this:

"...If you can sing it, you can play it."


When practising/jamming to backing tracks, try singing or whilstling the licks you'd like to play (record them if possible). Don't worry if you're not a great singer...that's not the point. Then, try and work out what you've created vocally and apply it to your guitar. Write it down (TAB or notation), break it up into sections and examine how and where this can be played. Look at what notes you've used and examine the scales and patterns you can apply.

Unless you're a musical genious, your guitar playing is a learned behaviour whereas you're voice can be played more instinctively. Your currnet knowledge and playing can become an obstacle - so remove it whilst you decide where you want to go.

This doesn't just apply to string or wind instruments: I recently attended a DRUM clinic with Jo Jo Meyer and he actually hums the notes and rythms as he plays.

Morn.

Posted by: fatb0t Oct 8 2008, 03:17 PM

Like Muris said, it takes time. You learn new things constantly. Just put the effort in and you will be rewarded (eventually)

Posted by: Gus Oct 8 2008, 06:19 PM

100% improvisation will hardly give you a 100% good solo (even Muris said that happens to him ) . Of course you will improve over time ( I've been improving that a lot since I joined GMC)

So follow the advise from David Gilmour,

http://guitar.about.com/cs/guitartab/qt/solo_com_numb.htm

Posted by: Guitar1969 Oct 8 2008, 08:13 PM

Interesting article - It confirms what I've been told. I am having the same issue where my improv sounds so redundant(On different tunes) and can't break out of it - My issue is my lick library is limited(to a few of the "begginner licks" and a few others here and there - I really would like to find more short licks to learn(Like Albert King used alot of as opposed to the longer solos/riffs on many of the lessons here)- my attention span is short). But one thing to remember(And reinforced by that article) is the great solos where developed after a lot of trial and error - EVH didin't just rip out Eruption in one take - He played it over and over and adjusted accordingly until her got it the way he liked it.

Posted by: MickeM Oct 8 2008, 08:25 PM

Listen to me, I've played longer than Muris so I know what I'm talking about... Actually, it's kind of depressing I havn't come further *sob sob boo hoo*

IMO improvising as the general term isn't about learning. It's just repeating stuff you already know. Great to stay warm but there's no learning in it. While improvising should be about trying new ideas to reach a goal. A guy like McGyver is great at improvising since he find new ways to solve a task.

If you want to gain something while improvising tell yourself that during this impro I will connect this and this box, or I will use this mode over that chord and another mode over this chord.
So add a challange, something you feel you don't master fully. Once you can improvise your challange so it becomes the same same noodling as always you have taken a step forward.
Or pick a lesson and adopt the general idea, not the note for note approach, and make use of it.

I should do this more often aswell.

Posted by: Ivan Milenkovic Oct 8 2008, 08:49 PM

Don't worry man, through practice and and jamming you will get to know notes more and more, so you can improve your improvising skills. There isn't really a wrong way to learn it, your way is a good one, if you follow it, you will see some results, just need to be patient. In order to improvise good, you have to know all the notes, scales, and theory thoroughly.

Posted by: Bogdan Radovic Oct 9 2008, 12:36 AM

Its normal to develop your improvisation skills over years...You will learn how to connect "boxes" you know and everything in time..Just jam as much as you can and think about the theory behind it before and after and you will be on the right track.

Posted by: superize Oct 9 2008, 07:55 AM

I belive that learning some licks can be a good tool when improvising. Learn a lick and then try to use it ove the entire fretboard......

It can be usefull when imrovising since you always have something that you know hhw to play