Improvising on Guitar: The Beginner’s Guide

A past tutor of mine defined improvisation like this: ‘Think of it like composing. You’re effectively composing a part, but you’re doing it on the fly.’

I don’t think I could outline it any better. Improvising, whether you’re on guitar or another instrument entirely, is doing just that. Composing a part, a melody, whatever you want. But you’re required to do it on the spot. That’s what makes it difficult.

This post is intended for guitarists who already have a basic grasp of improvising. Especially those of you who've hit the sticking point: Do you find that you're just playing the same stale patterns over and over? Do you see other's improvising fluidly and find that you're unable to get the same results?

Sound familiar?

Up until recently I was at this point too, but after studying up on a range of methods and techniques, I've gotten through the tunnel. I want that for you too. So here's what I've learned, handily distilled into a single article...

Get out there and look for all the info you can. I know my stuff, but there are many, many others who can do these concepts justice in ways I can't. Consider this post a starting point, you'll get the basics and a little more on top of that.

Starting Off

For me, it’s the absolute definition of easy to learn, hard to master. Anyone can work out the appropriate scales and shapes and then noodle around over a backing track. The goal is to create a melody line. One that expresses interesting ideas, and suits the backing track well. A great improviser’s playing could fool you into thinking that their instrument is part of the backing track, rather than an external addition.

I’m reminded of a tip from an exam I took during the first year of my guitar degree: ‘Always strive to serve the music and not show off.’ Treat this as a golden rule. Yeah, we’re guitarists, and some of us really need to think about slowing down from time to time. I like fancy shredding as much as the next guy, but throwing in a bit of restraint from time to time is a trait shared by all the best players among us.

When improvising, you need to fight the urge not to just wale away over it incoherently, without regard for the nature of the track. Start off by not playing at all, listen to the chords, the changes and dynamics present in the music. Work out the best time to come in, and the best time to drop out. Play with the track. Not on your own next to the track. These small elements make the difference between you being a good improviser and a crap shredder.

Play What's In Your Head

Chic Corea (check him out if you don’t know the name) has a lot of great advice for budding improvisers. One such tip: ‘You should only be playing what’s in your head. If there’s nothing in your head, don’t play anything at all.’ In short, think of melody, play melody, repeat. Spice it up with the odd flashy lick and you’ve got a recipe for great improvisation.

This is much, much harder than it sounds. I can’t overstate this enough. Once again, fight the urge to just start throwing out licks. Force your brain to sit still and try to think of a couple of simple melody lines before playing through them. I’m reminded of some advice a friend gave me: ‘You need to be able to hear a melody and play it right back.’

Unsurprisingly, this is also fairly challenging and will take some time to get down. Invest some time into practicing it. Sing or hum simple melodies out loud over a backing track of your choice and work out how to replicate them on the guitar. The more you do this, the easier it will become. Just be prepared for a bit of a slow start.

This concept is called 'Auditation' and it's the cornerstone of improvising on any instrument. Sing everything you play. Put on a backing track, sing a melody line (start simple) and then try to replicate that melody on the guitar neck. It starts off slow, but the more you practice, then more you'll improve and before long you'll be able to think up ever more complex and interesting lines. Just be prepared for a bit of a frustrating start.

Here's a link to Adam Neely's (Check him out also) video on Audiation. It helped me a lot and it'll no doubt do the same for you...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMqOOokv4TM

Try to strike a balance between feeling the song and researching the underlying theory. Music, after all, is about feeling. it’s not possible without it. The more you know about what you’re playing, the better, but treating the whole thing like musical maths is the wrong way to go. As much theory and as many scales as your learn, it always pays to stick to simple and effective licks. Less can be more.

Learning From The Masters

Lastly, listen to your favourite players. It might sound like and obvious tip, but really take the time to think about what they’re doing. What styles are they using? What techniques? Why do they sound like the they do? Every great player tends to have a signature style, and one that they’re more than happy to talk about in interviews and online lessons. Research all you can, with your ears as well as your eyes. Stop, listen, play.

Try to mix it up somewhat. Use backing tracks in both Major and Minor keys, try out different genres and styles, use different techniques and approaches to get the best result for the track at hand. If you patiently put in the work, you’ll be rewarded handsomely.

Now, get to work. Here’s a playlist I’ve put together, featuring some my favourite backing tracks.

Link- https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLy_Q5UWA4ijGWPJUSxFd-0hXy2PyrXCE3