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10 Essentials On Guitar Improvisation

June 15, 2010 By Klaus Crow /43 Comments

Photo by Simone13 AKA John Pastorello

Besides writing and playing songs I just love improvising.

When I practice improvising I always first pour myself a cup of green

tea, I put on some folk music (e.g. Ray La Montagne, Damien Rice,
Stephen Fretwell, Glen Hansard, Sheryl Crow, etc.) on Last.fm or
Spotify and then I start to improvise over these songs. I get totally
caught up in the moment and let my fingers carry me away.
Other times I practice melodic patterns, triads, arpeggios, licks,
everything that will spice up my improvisation skills. You can never
stop growing. There is always more to learn and explore.

Improvising is one of the most fun and fulfilling aspects of guitar

playing, but also something that requires a lot of hard work and
dedication. Its the next step in becoming a better guitar player.

Here are 10 basic essentials that will help you become a better
improviser.

1 Pentatonics / blues

Learn to play the pentatonic/blues scale all over the neck in all five
shapes. It will take some time to learn this thoroughly, but if you
practice regularly it will really pay off. The pentatonic / blues scale is
the corner stone of all soloing in blues, pop, country, rock and metal.
Learn not only the scale, but also how to use it for improvisation. See
below.
2 Major Scale

Next to the pentatonic scale, the major scale is the most important
scale to learn.
Learn to play the major scale all over the neck in every position
starting from the root note. Again this takes time, but learn
thoroughly. It is worth the effort.

Once you can play the scale in all positions, connect the different
shapes/positions with each other. For example: Play one part of the
scale in the first position, continue the scale in the second position
and then go on to the third position. Experiment and try different
combinations.

The most exciting and challenging part is learning how to improvise

with the scales. That is what you are heading for.

3- Melodic patterns

Melodic patterns or sequences will help you not to sound like you are
playing scales all the time. It will expand your possibilities and create
more freedom in your playing. They are really useful when
improvising. Learn to play the scales in 3rds, 4ths, 5ths, 6ths, 3 in a
line, 4 in a line, etc.

Example:
Major scale = 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
C major scale = C D E F G A B C D E F G A B C

3rds = 1 3, 2 4, 3 5, 4 6, 5 7, 6 8, 7 9, 8 10, 9 11, etc.

C major scale = C E, D F, E G, F A, G B, A C, B D, C E, D F, etc.

4ths = 1 4, 2 5, 3 6, 4 7, 5 8, 6 9, 7 10, 8 11, 9 12, etc.

5ths = 1 5, 2 6, 3 7, 4 8, 5 9, 6 10, 7 11, 8 12, 9 13, etc.
6ths = 1 6, 2 7, 3 8, 4 9, 5 10, 6 11, 7 12, 8 13, 9 14, etc.

3 in a line = 123, 234, 345, 456, 567, 678, 789, etc.

4 in a line = 1234, 2345, 3456, 4567, 5678, 6789, etc.

4 Random notes
Practice playing random notes through the scale. For example:

Major scale = 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

Pick out notes randomly: 1 6 3 2 12 15 3 5 11 7 etc.

This will help you to learn the scale thoroughly, it will make you
more flexible and again give you more freedom when improvising.

5 Triads
Triads are used to open up your playing and get away from playing
diatonic and pentatonic scale runs. Triads are 3 note chords. You can
play a triad starting from the first/root note (the root position triad),
from the second note (the 1st inversion) and from the 3rd note (2nd
inversion). There are 4 different types of triads : major, minor,
augmented and diminished. A major triad is formed by the 1st, 3rd
and 5th note of the major scale.

Example:

Major scale = 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8, Cmajor scale = C D E F G A B C

Major triad = 1 3 5, Cmajor triad = C E G (= C)

Minor triad = 1 b3 5, Cminor triad = C Eb G (= Cm)

Augmented triad = 1 3 #5, Caug triad = C E G# (= C+)

Diminished triad = 1 b3 b5, Cdim triad = C Eb Gb (= Co)

Learn all the triads you can play through a major scale. For example:
C major scale: Cmajor triad, Dmin triad, Emin triad, Fmajor triad,
Gmajor triad, Amin triad and Bdim triad. You can use all these triads
improvising through a Cmajor scale, A minor scale or A minor
pentatonic.

6 Arppegios
Learn arpeggios and incorporate them in your playing. Arpeggios are
like triads, they are used to open up your playing and create more
color and variety to your improvisation. A triad is actually an
arpeggio if it is played note by note, ascending or descending. While
a triad contains only three notes, an arpeggio can be expanded with
a b7, maj7, a 9th, 11th, etc which gives you endless possibilities.

7 Licks
A lick is a short series of notes that creates a cool melodic line which
can be used in your improvisation. Increase your lick vocabulary.
Learning new licks is an ongoing process that will keep your
improvisation sound fresh and help you grow becoming a better
player.

8 Modes
Learn to play all the 7 modes of the major scale to expand your
improvising skills even more. The 7 modes are:

Ionian = 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Dorian = 1 2 b3 4 5 6 b7 8
Phrygian = 1 b2 b3 4 5 b6 b7 8
Lydian = 1 2 3 #4 5 6 7 8
 Mixolydian = 1 2 3 4 5 6 b7 8
Aeolian = 1 2 b3 4 5 b6 b7 8
Locrian = 1 b2 b3 4 b5 b6 b7 8

9 Solos
Transcribe and learn solos from the greatest guitar players to be
inspired. Steal, copy their licks and make your own out of them.
Study how they phrase and use rhythm in their soloing. Learn solos
in different styles and genres; Blues, rock, country, metal, pop, etc.
There is much to be learned from different guitar players.

10 Improvise
The best way to learn how to improvise is actually do it.
Put on your favorite songs or use a backing track and start
improvising over the chord progressions. Play licks. melodic
patterns, triads, arpeggios, every thing you learned, then combine,
improvise, phrase, experiment, make mistakes, try again, put your
soul into it and let your fingers lead the way.

Regardless of what you play, the biggest thing is keeping the feel going.
Wes Montgomery

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Related Posts:

Pentatonic Scale Shape Exercises Around The Fretboard

The 5 Minute Guitar Workout
How to Make Faster Progress On The Guitar
The Awesome Harmonic Minor Scale

Filed Under: Intermediate, Advanced, Practice

Tagged With: Motivation, practice, music theory, exercises, improvisation

Comments
junil says

July 5, 2010 at 6:33 pm

i like ur tutorials very much. its been of great help. im learning to play the
guitar(acoustic so far) very passionately on my own for the last year and a
half. ive saved this page for future referrals. thanks for this very helpful
article!

Klaus Crow says

July 6, 2010 at 12:28 pm

Hi Junil,

Happy to hear I could help you out.

If you need more help let me know.
Thanx for the comment.

Klaus Crow

pewehh says

July 8, 2010 at 9:01 pm

Good advices! Id like to add: try to imitate the melody of the singer (if present)
with all its little detunes and phrasing. That will make your improvisation
much more vivid and unique and will improve your ability to play emotional
lines!

Klaus Crow says

July 12, 2010 at 3:07 pm

Hi Pewehh,

Thats a great tip! I second that.

I once heard a story about bass player Jaco Pastorius. He tried to play along
the vocal melody of every song he heard on the radio or TV for hours and
hours.

Thats how you become awesome!

Klaus Crow

Jim says

July 20, 2010 at 2:56 pm

Hi Klaus

Im sorry but I am no longer able to hold my guitar where it should be held.

(Ive lost the key to the case) and besides it took me over 50 years to learn the
intro to Johnny B Goode. What ngers do you play pentatonics with? Ive been
trying for so long now but my children always tell me to take off my gloves
rst, but its so cold out here at the bottom of my garden where every one tells
me where to go and practice. I play all the right notes but in the wrong order.
Your numbering seems a bit confusing. I tried loading it up in my Jam man
but then I forgot to tread on it. I think that you dont need to practice scales as
such you need to remember where to put your ngers. That is after youve
taken off your boxing gloves.
Well, I must practice again or my teacher (Andres) will smack me. He cant
Segovia much nowadays.
You asked for comments so I thought Id join in, but I cant think of anything
sensible to say after youve said it all!!!
Thanks for your Guitar Habits

Jim (Eugene Crudd)

Klaus Crow says

July 22, 2010 at 9:08 pm

Hi Jim,

Maybe you would like to check out my post The 5 Pentatonic Scale Shapes
You Must Know. http://bit.ly/cjmPQJ
Here you can see how and where to put your ngers on the strings.

I hope your family will be a little more considerate in the future concerning
your guitar ambitions.

Thanks for taking the time to comment. :)

Good luck to you Jim!

Aum says

July 30, 2010 at 9:57 am

Hi Klaus,

I stumbled upon your link at the most crucial part of my life where I need to
make a pact with myself that i practice everyday for at least 2 hours. And
these essentials is just what i wished for to get me started. I do jam with my
bands at least 2wice a week,but i feel that practicing as a group is not the
same as practicing alone. I am trying to convince the rest of the band to get
into the individual practice routine they dont listen. How do professional
bands do it?

Thanks again,
Aum (India)

Klaus Crow says

July 31, 2010 at 3:53 pm

Hi Aim,

Professionals also practice with their band as well as on their own.

Youve guessed it right. Practicing on your own is a totally different thing.
Here is where you can totally focus in detail on your technical skills, theory
knowledge, improving your improvisation, etc.
Do it both.

Klaus Crow
 Kevin says

August 11, 2010 at 3:13 am

Hey, I love the article, its a great tutorial. I think it would help to explain that
the pentatonic scale is the same as the major scale except it leaves out two
notes. So when people are trying to learn the major scale, they wont feel like
theyre trying to learn a whole new series of notes and can instead relate to
the pentatonic scale to understand where the other notes lie on the fretboard.
Also, I think you should mention that modes are simply playing the major
scale (i.e. same spacing of notes) except you start and end on a note other
than the root. I know these things are somewhat basic, but if people dont
know them then it can make learning how to play seem a lot more difcult.
Just thought Id put in my two cents.

Klaus Crow says

August 11, 2010 at 11:30 am

Hi Kevin,

There is a lot more to tell about every topic.

I didnt want to go into too much detail otherwise it would be a very very long
post.
I rather save the details for another post, but thanks anyway for adding your
two cents.
Its good advice. I appreciate it.

Klaus

Macie Keaffaber says

May 26, 2011 at 8:33 pm

I truly wanted to write down a brief note so as to say thanks to you for the
splendid ways you are giving out on this site. My extended internet look up
has nally been rewarded with professional details to write about with my
family members. I would admit that most of us site visitors are undoubtedly
endowed to dwell in a superb network with very many wonderful people with
insightful tips. I feel somewhat grateful to have come across your web site
and look forward to really more thrilling minutes reading here. Thanks once
more for everything.

ben says

May 29, 2011 at 3:12 am

after using your tutes to practice, I offer up my efforts.

http://www.akaname.net

enjoy or not :/

Johan Kock says

May 30, 2011 at 2:13 pm

In school I recieved 6 in song. (Music). Nobody recieved any worse. So I gave

it up.

When about 30 yars old I built a 4 string guitar with strings of plastic line..
Then I dared buy a *real* guitar with steelstrings and later my still favorite
guitar with nylonstrings.

All acustical.
I *have* played guitar more or less classical style. I really liked to pick russian
tunes, old and new in ngerstyle. However the russian music often asks for
less thin sounds than you can get from a semiclassic guitar.

On a visit to a russian speaking country I bought a simple but beautiful

sounding Bayan which I imagine seems to love the russian tunes. I have been
training Bayan for about 6 years starting at the age of 70. Not so terribly
young isnt it.

My present teacher has recommended that I somehow should learn to play

music without depending on notesheets.

Although my instrument presently is mainly Bayan with some interspersed

guitar and harmonica I belive that playing by ear and improvising is mostly
similiar whatever instrument you play.

I shall certainly read what I found on your site and try to assimilate it.

Perhaps you would be interested to write something about how to connect

the tune you hear and alternatively the tune you hear in your head to
performance on guitar or whatever.

Anyways Ill read your texts and it seems as if there were valuable hints in
them

Thanks

Signature Chuck the Monk

presentation says

July 19, 2011 at 10:56 am

This is great content. Youve loaded this with useful, informative content that
any reader can understand. I enjoy reading articles that are so very well-
written.

bodybuilding best protein says

August 1, 2011 at 7:38 pm

great postthanks for share this tips..keep up

colon cleansing says

August 16, 2011 at 7:59 am

I appreciate well-written and informative content. This article shows the

writers knowledge of the subject matter as well as masterful writing skills. I
enjoyed this article and will return for more very soon. Thank you.

Nevi says

September 19, 2011 at 2:24 pm

Very good site,and great teaching.You make it easy to understand.

Odchudzanie says

September 30, 2011 at 12:42 pm

When I originally commented I clicked the -Notify me when new comments

are added- checkbox and now each time a comment is added I get four
emails with the same comment. Is there any way you can remove me from
that service? Thanks!
 Yen Petruzzelli says

October 3, 2011 at 9:54 am

Hiya! Quick question thats totally off topic. Do you know how to make your
site mobile friendly? My blog looks weird when browsing from my apple
iphone. Im trying to nd a theme or plugin that might be able to correct this
issue. If you have any suggestions, please share. Thank you!

Klaus Crow says

October 4, 2011 at 7:34 am

Hi Odchudzanie,

Each time you get a notifying email for new comments theres an unsubsribe
section at the bottom of the email. Check or uncheck the box (depending on
the question) and submit.

Best regards,
Klaus Crow

Mehmet says

December 21, 2011 at 5:06 pm

Hey Klaus

Thank you for this great post. It is inspiring i can say. I really enjoyed reading
it. Thanx
 Shaneka Treutel says

January 25, 2012 at 11:06 pm

Hi! Would you mind if I share your blog with my myspace group? Theres a lot
of people that I think would really enjoy your content. Please let me know.
Thank you

Klaus Crow says

January 27, 2012 at 2:26 pm

Hai Shaneka,
Be my guest.

Best regards,
Klaus

Lothar says

January 29, 2012 at 11:29 am

Hi Klaus, thank you for this great blog! Its a veritable goldmine of information!

Public Speaking says

June 28, 2012 at 1:33 pm

Great, thanks for sharing this blog post great blog,

 Andres says

June 29, 2012 at 11:18 pm

Let me share with you a nice video http://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=6QcT17lqIiI

Stefan says

July 27, 2012 at 5:43 am

Hey there, i dont get it with the modes, if you learn you majorscale in all
positions u basically know all the modes already

faturoti olayiwola david says

October 22, 2012 at 5:41 pm

Pls I want to ask that which of the strings when improvising is the most
appropriate to take ones root note from,,is it the second or the third string
because some lick are easier to copy when you pick your root note from the
third string and vice-versathanks

Sam says

January 24, 2013 at 8:03 pm

Oh ey! Its nice to get these articles,

Well everything Ive been learning on guitar keeps my interest in it growing,
but Ive not been playing outside, I pactice alone and what remains for me to
learn the modes and experience on how to solo, I really suck most of the
time trying to solo, well I use to think it to be that I have not yet played on
electric guitar, cos everything Ive learnd , I have played on accoustic, so most
times -ts not eazy bending noted, hammer-ons and most especially, nger
tapin.

Chaliq says

February 1, 2013 at 2:41 am

Very cool

pizza says

March 12, 2013 at 9:05 pm

Hi klaus, am just indebted to comment that you have said it

all,coincise,precise and extremely article right there!!!!!

Big Chief says

April 21, 2013 at 8:55 am

There is a old Japansese Haiku that says, Snail Snail. Climb Mt. Fuji. Slowly
Slowly.
Thanks for your words on Tao and Zen and your words on the Fretboard. The
information which is on the Ten Essentials, is challenging. When you talk
about melogics and triads it goes beyond me and I dont know how to use it. I
think thta if there were further explanation on these area it might help. I will
read it a few more times to see if I can apply it.
I think you owulld appreciate it, at least from my point of view.
Keep up the good work. The fretboard entry is well worth doing. Perhaps I will
prgress enought to make use of the rest.
Patience is the key

sanidhya says

June 7, 2013 at 12:09 am

Hi!

Just 2 questions.
What should a daily 30 min warm up session for a guitar include?

Is it really a good idea to learn sweep picking when youre done with the
modes and scales?

Thanks.

sinep says

June 18, 2013 at 2:00 pm

relly great site and helped me out immensely

jair says

September 10, 2013 at 1:39 am

Yes. Everyone, that point about pentatonics, someone said it, a pentatonic
scale with just 2 notes added becomes a major scale. So learn the
pentatonics well, then add in that missing 4th note and that missing 7th note
and you have the major scale. They also said the other fundamentally
important thing, about modes, that the major scale and the mode scales are
the same scale, just start on any chosen note and nish an octave higher. So
in C scale you might choose to start on D and play DEFGABCD or start on F
and play FGABCDEF. D to D is the 2nd mode, F to F is the 4th mode. To really
hear it working play the mode against its chord, so the chords for the key of C
are C, Dm, Em, F, G7, Am, Bm7 flat5. So to hear that 2nd mode for example
play the Dm chord while playing the scale DEFGABCD. To hear the 4th mode
for example play the F chord and play the scale FGABCDEF. Same for any
mode you choose, same principle for any key you choose. Staying in the
mode is a great way to explore improvisation. Do not underestimate the value
of this, it is the best simple thing i have discovered. Try it with a friend. The
possibilities are limitless. Id call it modal soloing on a modal chord, because
that is what it is. Hear the character of each mode, make innite melodies of
any chosen flavour.

Shimmy says

September 11, 2013 at 3:34 am

Thanks for sharing.

Learn a lot from this great article.

karma says

September 13, 2013 at 11:56 am

thanks man this is really very helpful. Ive been going around simply playing
the scales back and forth and have heard about it helping in the formation of
chords and improvising and stuffs bt the articles that ive read dont actually
teach you how to do so..the examples are really helpful!!! This has really
helped me..looking forward for some more tips so that i can make my guitar
playing experience even better!
 Jair says

September 13, 2013 at 1:15 pm

When you play the modal scale against its chord, youll nd the sweetest note
will be the root note of the chord. Then every second note, will be sweet too.
Example: play C chord, the sweetest notes of the scale CDEFGABC (against
the C chord) will be CEGB, [every second note from the root note C]. Another
example: play Dm chord, the sweetest notes of the scale CDEFGABC (when
played against the Dm chord) will be DFAC, [every second note from the
chords root note D]. Same, for Em chord the root note E is the sweetest, EGBD
are all quite sweet. Same for F chord, sweet with FACE. For G, sweet with
GBDF. Am, sweet with ACEG. The 7th chord is Bm7flat5 also called B half
diminished, it is sweet with BDFA.

In fact the sweet notes in each instance ARE the chord, that is what a chord is
(in a perfectly harmonised musical world / while note substitutions might
create less perfectly harmonised chords, such as sus2s and sus4s etc). So
it is pretty obvious the notes of the scale, create all the chords of the key, in
their respective combinations. When improvising play any of the scale notes,
hear them against the chord to hear the mode, hear their sweet notes
occuring at every 2nd note, know that the root note of your chosen chord is
the core note of your mode and therefore is the sweetest note in its mode.

Chords can be extended. Two note chords become more like a true chord
when they get an additional note to become a triad. 4 note chords become
maj7ths or minor 7ths, (add another note, you are into the next octave), to get
a fully fleshed out 9th chord, same applies when building 11ths and
flat13ths, etc, though it becomes practical to omit obvious notes wuch as
5ths (which somebody else will probably be playing anyway).
 Matt says

February 25, 2014 at 6:13 am

Great article, Id like to add this link if I may:

http://unlockthefretboard.weebly.com, its a great book on guitar
improvisation Ive been working out of and denitely goes well with your
master list! Cheers!

Matt says

July 22, 2014 at 5:25 am

Dude. I was just about to say `You didnt mention Pat`

But then I saw you quoted Wes Montgomery.

Well played, Crow, well played.

Gina says

August 19, 2014 at 5:01 pm

This is such an amazing website. It has a lot of practical knowledge. I really

need to change the way I think. I have to realize that there are no good or bad
practice sessions. Everything is a learning experience!

Manjay says

October 4, 2014 at 8:21 am

Hey
Thanks for the good habits. I really appreciate it. It been almost 16 yrs I
played guitar still there so many thing to learn. Though I didnt took classes
for guitar these things really help me..
Really appreciate u man..

Matt says

January 8, 2015 at 3:38 am

May I recommend learning the Major scale rst then the three forms of the
minor scale, before focusing on Pentatonic. The major and minor scales are
by far the most used scales of the past three hundred years and practicing
them will lead to an understanding of keys. Fluency with keys and
understanding there relationships to each other will make you the most
affective musician in the room.

Also, knowing all three triad inversions and hearing the difference between
each will add depth and color to your playing.

Practice with a metronome.

Practice hymns. These will get you playing in the flat keys that you may not
be used to. Plus people love hymns.

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