Improvisation for the Fingerstyle Guitarist II

We continue with another concept.

Concept : Arpeggiations Mixed With Single Line Phrases

If you play Example 1, you will notice we now play 3 voices :

1) Melody (single note lines),

2) Accompaniment (chord arpeggiation), and

3) Bass (the root on the first beat of each measure to provide a solid reference point)

Before combining these 3 functions it’s wise to experiment with different melodies accompanied by the bass note of each chord

Here we play the melody of Hendrix‘ Little Wing‘s first two measures on different postions on the neck around the chord shapes with the bass notes on strings (6) and (5).. (Notice that I mix open and fretted strings).

It’s important to learn the melody of a tune in different positions because it can be used as a reference, a starting point to improvise and it will give you your solos a richer melodic quality.

Experiment by mixing open and fretted strings.

It’s also possible to play the melody an octave higher (Example 3A) or lower (Example 3 B).

Here we experiment with embellishments of the melody and scalar like passages. Keep in mind it’s our purpose to improvise around the melody. You can leave out or add notes.

Try to create differences into your playing activity. You don’t have to play a mass of notes all the time, incorporate fields of lesser activity.

Now we combine the three voices together on the first four measures of Little Wing. This is quite tricky at first, but the more you experiment the easier you will be able to invent great melodies at the spot in conjunction with an accompaniment and bass part.

Next time we will pay attention to the accompaniment part and put more movement into the bass part.

Also check out… Improvisation for the Fingerstyle Guitarist Part I