Composition in real time, during performance
33
votes
11answers
793 views
I need help getting out of my scalar rut.
I'm a well versed and experienced guitarist. I have a decent sense for rhythm and melody, but I have a VERY hard time with soloing. I know you've heard it all before.. I'm one of those guys that got ...
15
votes
6answers
8k views
How to know what notes/chords go together while improvising?
This is 3 questions in one, so it might take a slightly involved answer, or some good links.
I'm a very good classical pianist, but I skipped theory entirely in my early days and learned to play well ...
13
votes
4answers
369 views
Where can I get started with my improvisation?
I have been playing the alto saxophone for a while now. I have also improvised from time to time and have some theoretical and practical background on the instrument, harmony, scales, etc.
I have ...
12
votes
4answers
714 views
What do I need to know and how do I need to practice to start playing by ear/improvising?
Up till now I've been playing music from the sheet, and eventually I've grown frustrated how after 3 years of playing I can't even play Jingle Bells if I'm asked to without figuring it out from a ...
11
votes
6answers
384 views
My ear is not very well trained - what can I look for as easy hints when trying to identify a ii-V-I progression in blues music?
I'm looking to learn how to better analyze music I am listening to, and I'm having problems identifying ii-V-I progressions, especially when they're the basis for improvisation. What are some hints or ...
10
votes
5answers
347 views
Breaking out of pentatonic scales for guitar riffs
I've been playing guitar for about 9 years now. From a young age, my teachers focused a lot on pentatonic scales. So that's what I'm defaulting to when improvising, soloing, writing stuff, etc.
...
9
votes
4answers
360 views
What to play instead of chords with an informal group?
I typically play guitar with an informal group and we mostly play traditional and old-timey songs. When I am not soloing I usually just play the chord progression of the song. Recently however I ...
9
votes
4answers
381 views
Theory of improvisation
I am looking for improvisation theory ressources. I mainly focus on free jazz and improvised music but I am also interested in dance, drama and pictural improvisation.
I want to know if a ...
9
votes
1answer
254 views
Mental approach to improvisation
Improvisation for guitar is a fairly well-covered topic, with good resources to be found within multiple contexts (Web, traditional literature, etc).
However, most of what I've read is basically ...
8
votes
6answers
196 views
How to close the gap between ideas and capabilities when improvising?
I'm a drumset player. I just finished a B.A. in Percussion Performance, marched 4 years of DCI drum & bugle corps, and am now working on a degree in jazz studies. As I've begun to play more and ...
7
votes
3answers
198 views
How to develop soloing vocabulary
Background:
My first guitar teacher used to show me small licks or note patterns that had that special quality of arousing interest during a solo improvisation. They were essentially "tools" in my ...
7
votes
1answer
97 views
Finding the “Starting point” when creating a composition or score
This is a fairly simple one, and hopefully not too wide-open to be permitted here: what approaches are available when sitting at a fresh screen or sheet of paper, or at your instrument, to create the ...
6
votes
3answers
254 views
Incorporating modes in solos
I have been playing and improvising quite happily for many years on a few different instruments but can't seem to get my head around incorporating modes into my day-to-day playing. I am from a blues ...
5
votes
3answers
1k views
What is a good solo to learn in the Dorian mode?
I understand that Dorian is a commonly used mode in rock. I am starting to play / improvise in the mode and would like to learn some guitar solos that are good examples of this scale so that I see how ...
5
votes
4answers
229 views
Comfortable notes in a key
I've been playing guitar for some time, and often when i do improvisation exercises, I hit notes which sound too tense to finish a run/lick/riff on. Kind of like having a sentence which no full stop.
...
5
votes
4answers
1k views
What is a good guitar solo to learn in the minor scale?
I am starting to play and improvise in the minor scale, and I would like to learn some guitar solos that are good examples of this scale so that I see how other people use it. What are some famous ...
4
votes
1answer
397 views
How much baroque music was derived from improvisation?
I've heard that much music we think of as "baroque" was actually improvised, and only later set in stone. Is this true?
I'm currently playing baroque-style continuo/bass lines in a duo that riffs ...
4
votes
1answer
271 views
Joik - traditional Sami songs from northern Sweden and Finland
I have some questions about the traditional Sami singing, Joiken, which is practiced in the northern parts of Sweden, Finland and Norway.
I learned that you don't joik about something, but you joik ...
4
votes
2answers
230 views
Software for practicing the reading of jazz chord changes?
There are now a lot of good programs out for sight-reading, simple chord progression recognition, and for jazz, even some backing track creators. But is there a program that generates chord changes ...
3
votes
6answers
392 views
How to learn piano improvisation
I am a self-taught piano player, played for about five years with shorter and longer breaks. I've never had any formal education, don't know chords or music theory. What should I do to learn piano ...
3
votes
2answers
255 views
Steve Gaines and Ed King… Love their playing, have a hard time emulating it…
Another question that's been puzzling me for a while.
I love Steve Gaines playing but I find it impossible to improvise in his style, especially the style he plays in I Know A Little.
I also love ...
3
votes
3answers
691 views
Bass-guitar online exercises for not-beginner
I'm an intermediate bass guitarist, and I want to improve my left arm fingers work, and improvisation during bass solo.
I think I should learn not only by simply remember some tabs by famous bass ...
3
votes
4answers
125 views
How to keep ANY progress and have fun again
Actually I'm not even sure where to start.
I play (mostly acoustic) guitar for about 4 year now and at the beginning (lets say 2 first years of playing) I was really inspired but now I kinda lost it.
...
3
votes
5answers
356 views
Developing a good practice routine for piano improvisation with a band
I have been playing the piano for 2 years now and I can play some of my favorite pieces through sheet music and a lot of time. I have also been singing in a band for quite some years and want to ...
3
votes
1answer
246 views
How can I improve my fingering on the saxophone in the high notes and overtones?
I have a couple of months working on my improvisation and I'm having some issues with fast passages on the saxophone's higher notes and overtones (starting from D with the left hand palm).
I'm ...
2
votes
2answers
548 views
What is a good solo to learn in the major scale?
I am starting to play / improvise in the major scale and would like to learn some guitar solos that are good examples of this scale so that I see how other people use it. What are some famous solos in ...
1
vote
4answers
103 views
Improvisation on Major and relative minor scales
I'm aware that A Minor is the relative key to C Major but how does this change the methods for improvising?
Would you use the Pentatonic as you would with C Major or are there other scales which can ...
1
vote
2answers
58 views
How to follow the lyric to strum in guitar [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
How do I play (and sing) a chord pattern song?
I am wondering how do I follow the lyric and strumming at the same time when I looking at the chords on the top of the ...
0
votes
4answers
86 views
Is there any kind of jam helper application? [closed]
Is there was an application which facilitates jamming in some way. I saw a few back tracks generators which allow you to select chords and measures to play them and I wonder if there is something ...
0
votes
1answer
60 views
what are the “reference” books about improvisation and specifically guitar?
I would like to explore the world of improvisation, but I am a little lost. I know the basics about theory, I have notion of intervals, scales and chords, but I am willing to develop myself with ear ...
