Advice on improv

[Ethan Keeling]

hi guys, just a quickie.
When you jam over a backing track what kinda things do you use? I basically use the CAGED system as this is what i know mostly, just like scales more than anything, however I am looking to put arpaggios and major scales in there to see how they sound.
Just wanted to see what u guys use so I can maybe peer an eye into that
cheers

 

[idssdi]

Basically caged, arpeggios, relevant scales over each chord and the notes that I know that work with the chord.
But all these things are not Nescecarily the important thing in improvising, it’s more about playing what’s in your head than anything else. These are just tools to do so.

 

[Ethan Keeling]

Thanks Ids, what I need to work on is using scales which relate to the chord, i.e. c major pentatonic over a C major chord, but use this scale all over the fretboard.

 

[Calvin Phillips]

I don’t really think about how I’m tonna get there. I just think where do I wanna go?

 

[Ed Seith]

I look at improv like driving a car. You learn the rules and you practice the mechanics endlessly, making them second nature, so that when you’re actually driving, you’re literally not thinking about the mechanics of it AT ALL – you’re just doing it, and using your brain power for other things – situational awareness, singing the song on the radio, memorizing the fretboard, etc.
When you improv, you should just PLAY and not think. That’s my opinion on it, anyway, but I’m well known for not thinking.

 

[Firsty Lasty]

I developed how I “see” the notes on the fretboard by making a gigantic ms paint document mapping out all kinds of arpeggios and the main major/minor pentatonic within different scale boxes based on what was convenient for my fingers to do, which meant a mix of chord shapes and string skipping. I wish I could share this epic document with you, but that $3000 computer totally died and I couldn’t fix it and fuck everything lol.
What helped my “ear” for improvising the most was when I made a huge list of vocal melodies that I love and transcribed them. You want to be able to bring music from your imagination into reality, right? So why not start with the music you love the most, that you can easily remember and imagine? This was also super enlightening because I found I was only using one part of one scale box to play nearly every single one of my favorite vocal melodies, with only rare exceptions.

 

[Ethan Keeling]

Thanks for your advice! Firstly Lastly thats pretty interesting and something I might well explore.

 

[Calvin Phillips]

Pretty much what pg said. When I started to improv 2 years ago I couldnt go 30 seconds. Now I can go 30 minutes I dont really think about it at all when I play. I do focus on some things like when I’m trying to achieve technique wise but I only really think about the start and end points. The in between I try to make instinct.

 

[idssdi]

You can find the scales that work over each chord by disecting the chord and check whether the notes from the chord are in the scale. For example the major modes over major chords etc. Then just pick the ones you like. You can use caged to figure out where you can find those scales on the fretboard(CAGED really just is where can I find notes on the fretboard). Then play what’s in your head and land on the right note. The route to the right note is about 50% conscious and 50% intuition. You can’t use the same route every time because that’s kinda boring to listen to, so you want to kinda remember what you did before(or you know play what’s in your head)