| These tips don't revolve around theory so much as | | | | vibrato, but even larger techniques such as sweeps |
| common principles for better playing. Theory and | | | | arpeggios, tapping and legato can certainly fit into the |
| scale knowledge is wonderful, but it leaves a lot of | | | | mix. |
| people with a blank face, so in this article we're going | | | | Always remember that in some cases less is more. If |
| to break down the components of a guitar solo, | | | | you try to use ever type of accent under the sun, |
| which in turn can be used to improve improvisation | | | | then your playing can become really gaudy, and |
| guitar playing. | | | | always remember to leave space in between for the |
| 1. Note arrangements | | | | listener of your music (or you) to be able to |
| A lot of people know some scales, but they aren't | | | | comprehend what's going on. |
| sure what to do with them. The first step is getting | | | | 4. Phrasing |
| used to making on-the-spot note choices. | | | | Basically, the last 3 principles make up the larger |
| Take any scale shape that you are working with, and | | | | structure of phrasing, but there is one more thing to |
| try to reorder the notes. There are really very few | | | | be said. Music is a conversation. Guitar is really an |
| rules to this. You can skip over a string, skip over a | | | | interpretation of the human voice. |
| note or two, leave out some notes, some times add | | | | When we converse in real life, we put certain |
| notes from another scale, ascend through some | | | | emphasis on words depending on the nature of the |
| parts, and descend through others. | | | | conversation. Questions and answers are the most |
| The choice is yours. A lot of guitar players have | | | | common form of phrasing. |
| trouble tapping into this mindset, because we tend to | | | | You can ask a question on the guitar with one |
| think too scientifically about guitar playing. | | | | passage, and then answer it with another passage. |
| The answer is always going to be experimentation, | | | | The beauty of this is you can really do it in any order |
| and trusting what your ears tell you. | | | | that you like, and the parts tend to loop, enabling |
| 2. Timing and variation | | | | you tocontinue the conversation. |
| No matter the time signature of a song, there is | | | | For improvisation guitar, this is one of the things that |
| plenty of room to play with. You can rush through | | | | can help you stay on track and not get lost. |
| the first few notes of something, slow down other | | | | 5. Create a visual and aural road map |
| notes, or do an interesting combination of both. | | | | If you notice, certain scale shapes, chord structures, |
| This creates variety and time texture. You can even | | | | or arpeggios have some common shapes to them. |
| for example, hold on a note at an unexpected time, | | | | These shapes usually don't change when transposing |
| hesitate, and then rush the remaining notes in. | | | | them from key to key, at least as long as you are |
| By working with principles like these we are creative | | | | staying true to one type of shape. |
| rhythm in our playing. The best place to get more | | | | This can help you identify landmarks on the |
| ideas for this is by listening to different genres of | | | | fretboard, the most common perhaps being octaves, |
| music, and yes you can certainly combine key | | | | and the recognizable pattern that they offer us. |
| themes together. | | | | Also, the more that you experience guitar playing, |
| 3. Accentuation | | | | the more your ears do absorb over time. You can |
| Now that we have the steps of note choices, and | | | | actually get to a point where you can just look at a |
| timing and variation, we can flavor our notes with | | | | fret or note, not have to know the name of it, and |
| accents. Some of the choices are hammer ons, pull | | | | hear it in your head. |
| offs, slides, bends, bend-releases, harmonics, and | | | | |