improvising help.

[deftones]

hey, im a pretty decent imrpoviser by myself or when there are people watching me, but as soon as i try improvising over music, im lost. i cant do anything and it sounds horrible. i know that this is a common problem, so what are some suggestions on what i can to do over come this obsticle?

[John Prophet]

Is it because of bad rhythm or bad notes?


JP

[deftones]

an example of the situation is in my schools jazz band. the section i am in all plays the key of Bb. the scale im using is the Bb blues scale. so i know the notes are pretty decent, and im pretty sure its not my rythm, but it could be, so im not cancling that out. but its definetly not the notes im playing.

[geffen]

a few things you might want to try. most of these are copied from mel bays complete jazz method. dont think i wrote all of this.

1. play chord tones(notes in the chord being played over) on heavy beats(1 and 3 in 4/4 and beat 1 in 3/3)
2.avoid large skips unless its an octave
3. use scales, arpeggios, modes, guide tones
4. 2 skips in a row should only be done using arpeggios. dont have a skip larger than a whole step unless it is from a chord tone to another chord tone. Do not skip more than a whole step from a chord tone.
5. follow a skip by moving scalewise or chromatically in the oppisite direction of the skip. a skip can also be followed with another skip in the opposite direction.
6. change direction in motion at least once per measure.
7. over a basic chord (i.e., G7) use the notes of that chord's embellishment (i.e., G7b9) in the solo. For example, over a Dm7 you could play the notes from a DM9. Over Cmaj7, you could outline a Cmaj9. Over an E7, you could play the notes from an E13b9.
8. Use upper chord tones (7,9,11,13) and emphasize them by playing them on heavy beats. For example, over Am7 use the G(the seventh) and B(the ninth) notes.
9. do not repeat the same notes one after the other.

[deftones]

ok, that would probably be helpfull if i knew what was meant by a "skip"

[John Prophet]

Bb blues scale will sound like crap if they are playing Bb major, lol...are they playing minor or major keys? Ask another player who plays solos, like a horn player maybe, what scale he is using. Maybe they use mixolydian scales some. For instance if they have a "vamp", which is a repeated chord progression to solo over, and its basically a 7th tonality, you might be using mixolydian.

JP

[joyride]

the best way to learn how to improvise better is to listen to other guitarists. go out and buy a SRV cd, a muddy waters cd, a bb king cd, a bob marley cd, and a pantera cd. listen to each of the guitarist's solos and how he uses phrasing and comes up with new ideas that sound interesting. take what you learn from this and apply it to the music you are playing with your jazz band. in my opinion, it is the BEST way to learn.