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What is the best book for learning improvision?

Reviews of Instructional Material, CDs and Shows

Last Post by NoteBoat 16 years ago

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click26

(@click26)

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Joined: 18 years ago

Posts: 29

Topic starter 09/06/2008 11:19 am

Hi, can anyone recommend a book to learn how to solo. I have learned the scales and can visulise them in my head, but I need to get the feeling. I am unable to jam with anyone. So I guess the best thing is to play along/learn from a book......

Any Advice

Thank You :)

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jackss565

(@jackss565)

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Joined: 16 years ago

Posts: 233

09/06/2008 12:49 pm

Just practise, muck around and work out what sounds good then fit it into a pattern, then alter the pattern and start again. Thats what i'm doing.

Jack

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notes_norton

(@notes_norton)

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09/06/2008 1:14 pm

Improvisation is both an art and a science. I don't know of any books that can teach the art, and most of the books that teach the science I have seen are not worth the money.

The Science (by no means complete but enough for a beginner)

Memorize the notes on the 5th and 6th strings. Start with the dots and go from there.

Learn your minor and major pentatonic scales. These are the best scales to learn for the beginner. Also on the major pentatonic, learn where the minor 3rd note is, and on the minor pentatonic learn where the flatted 5 note is. Note: there are 5 positions of each pentatonic scale, memorize them all.

Learn your major and minor scales (natural minor, harmonic minor and melodic minor)

The Art

Listen to solos, lots of them, and don't listen to only guitar, listen to vocals, saxophones, organs, etc. and listen until you can sing along with the solos (this will put the melodic concept in your brain)

Play along with some easy progressions. Start with the 12 bar blues. Note: if you have nobody to jam with, try an auto-accompaniment program like Band-in-a-Box - Disclaimer: I write aftermarket styles for BiaB - but I was a fan of it as a practice aid before I started my add-on style business). Start with both the minor and major pentatonic scales over the same chord progression and just doodle around, listening to what the notes sound like. Play them in any order you like, experiment, and don't think about progress yet, it will come all by itself, and the speed will depend on your talent and your listening skills. Don't worry, in a 12 bar blues progression, if you are playing the pentatonics in the same key as the blues, you cannot play a wrong note.

After you get comfortable with the pentatonics, the major and minor scales are next. If you want to do jazz, there is a book by Jerry Coker (and others) called Patterns For Jazz, but I would not recommend this until you are at least an advanced intermediate improvisor

No part about music is instant gratification. There is a good and bad side of that. If it was as easy as making microwave popcorn, everybody would do it an the musician would not be special nor would he/she get paid for his/her services. But it does take time and practice (don't consider practice work, remember they don't call it playing music for nothing <grin>)

Insights and incites by Notes

Bob "Notes" Norton

Owner, Norton Music http://www.nortonmusic.com Add-on Styles for Band-in-a-Box and Microsoft SongSmith

The Sophisticats http://www.s-cats.com >^. .^< >^. .^<

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NoteBoat

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09/06/2008 3:22 pm

Excellent post. To add to #3 in "The Art", if you're interested in jazz, Jamey Aebersold has some good CD/book sets for learning to improvise.

Guitar teacher offering lessons in Plainfield IL

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