Improvisation - Rythm/Timing

[chris_is_cool]

So far, Improvisation has taken a backseat in my still early guitar journey. Of course, I've been practicing my major and minor scale and modes and arpeggios in different keys, and I've been learning the solos from songs that I love... But just jamming to a backing track and coming up with lead lines on my own is something that I've neglected a lot until recently...

To change that, I've been looking for very simple backing tracks. Today, it was this one:
Very simple chord progression, makes it easy to hit chord tones while also exploring the dorian scale and "its sound". After listening to a couple of bars, I've come up with a simple groove and melody line and now...

I can't break out of it anymore. At all! Sure, I'm coming up with different melodic variations, with simple rhythmic variation variations (replace 8ths with triplets or 16ths or stuff like that), try to also work with licks I know from songs (with no success), etc... But in the end, the simple groove and melody still dominate the whole jam, and even after playing to the same backing track for an hour or so, I'm still unable to come up with something really different...

This was a long winded way to come to my actual question: Is this normal? Is this what I'm supposed to do? Just explore the shit out of a single simple idea? Whenever I look at other people improvising, they seem to come up with lots of different ideas in super short amounts of time, some of the ideas may be better than others but still...

TLDR: Do you know the feeling, being stuck with basically one idea for extended time? And how do you break out of it?

Sorry for the wall of text

 

[idssdi]

The truth is that once you improvise enough over the same thing you will always be drawn back to ideas that stick with you with only a small variation.

If you really want to come up with something else take a break for a week and during that week expend your library of licks and skills(fretboard knowledge/CAGED etc.) And come back to it.

 

[chris_is_cool]

You know, as I was typing all my thoughts out, I was already realizing that there isn't really much of a problem, hence also the mismatch between thread title and the actual post . But you are probably right, it's likely to get better with new input.

 

[William B.]

Try changing tracks with the chords you know, change the styles too like Rock or Blues, stuff like that and the tempos
could also try jam some chord riffs in between licks or a pinch harmonic

 

[Chris Johnston]

So far, Improvisation has taken a backseat in my still early guitar journey. Of course, I've been practicing my major and minor scale and modes and arpeggios in different keys, and I've been learning the solos from songs that I love... But just jamming to a backing track and coming up with lead lines on my own is something that I've neglected a lot until recently...

To change that, I've been looking for very simple backing tracks. Today, it was this one:
Very simple chord progression, makes it easy to hit chord tones while also exploring the dorian scale and "its sound". After listening to a couple of bars, I've come up with a simple groove and melody line and now...

I can't break out of it anymore. At all! Sure, I'm coming up with different melodic variations, with simple rhythmic variation variations (replace 8ths with triplets or 16ths or stuff like that), try to also work with licks I know from songs (with no success), etc... But in the end, the simple groove and melody still dominate the whole jam, and even after playing to the same backing track for an hour or so, I'm still unable to come up with something really different...

This was a long winded way to come to my actual question: Is this normal? Is this what I'm supposed to do? Just explore the shit out of a single simple idea? Whenever I look at other people improvising, they seem to come up with lots of different ideas in super short amounts of time, some of the ideas may be better than others but still...

TLDR: Do you know the feeling, being stuck with basically one idea for extended time? And how do you break out of it?

Sorry for the wall of text

One thing I've found that helps break me out of rhythmic ruts is to look around my room and say what I see, listen to myself say it, and play notes from the scale with the rhythm that matches the syllables. You'll feel really silly saying 'Lamp, chest of drawers, bed, cushion' - but it makes a '1 2-and- 3 4 / 1-and' rhythm

Works wonders!