help a kid out

[iblack2492]

hey everybody

just wonderin if you guys could help me improve my improv. i love goin to the guitar shops and just jammin with guys who been around. i taught myself how to play about 2 years ago by ear n was just wonderin if you guys have any tips or tricks to make me sound better/more interestin

thanks in advance n heres a link to somethin i just recorded with a crappy mic n my slow pc in audacity lol cheap is good

bmprax.mp3 - 5.03MB

.

[iblack2492]

oh n i just used a backing track in from youtube

[Larry F]

Very nice work. You have a good feel for rhythm, as when you move between duple and triple subdivisions of the beat. Some guys will play forever and not be able to do that (or be aware that it can be done). You can start thinking about more variety at this point. Here are some things you can use that you don't need to work on much, if at all:

high and low registers
playing a note twice in a row
alternating between two notes, like: F# B F# B A E D
bends
slides
dyads
double dotted rhythms, like: double-dotted eighth, 32nd, downbeat; or 32nd, double-dotted eighth, downbeat
hemiolas, like: F# E F# E F# E F# played as triplets
more trills
slurs

Also, when you hit the distortion, your playing technique should reflect the way the guitar responds. This means fewer sixteenth notes and more screaming bends.

You are off to a great start, with the feel that you have.

[Budda]

Great advice!

I would add this: Vocabulary.

Learn a "Set List" (10 to 12 Tunes) worth of Classic Blues Tunes. This way, you can incorporate the Moves and Rhythms of the Masters.
The Greg Koch/Hal Leonard DVD "BLUES" is excellent for this. It lays out a Set List's worth of great Tunes, step by step. If you learned the entire DVD, you'd be really set to go!

[HOBBSTER01]

Nice playin.
Post a link to that backing track please.

[Ridge runner]

Wasn't able to do the download for some reason..But I tell this to anybody that ask me about becoming a better lead player..

Take a poster board or just plain sheet of paper..draw Six horizontal lines that represent your strings..and draw about 12 vertical lines thru them..this will be the frets..next label each horizontal line like this:
you will want to do all the strings not just like low E only here..
01 3 5 78 10 12ect...<--fret number that Cscale on low E string fall on..
ef-g-a-bc-d-e
a----------------
d--------------
g---------------
b-------------
e---------------
"0" represents you're open strings..next in the 12 spaces write out on each string....the note names of each fret..but let's not do all 12 notes let's simplify it and only do the C major scale notes..like C,D,E,F,G,A,B only these notes for now..write them in the 12 spaces on each string..
number the space's..1 to 12..F note at the first fret on the low and high E strings..if you don't know you're note names or where they are located find out!! Great players don't know this sometimes..but I feel hey get out of the stoneage..it's just lazy to not know at least this much..

but anywayz when you do this..it will create about 5 to 6 different finger patterns..commit these to memory this would be the same as playing only the white keys on piano...
This one will work for the key of C major/A minor..run them as scales at first up and down the ladder till you got that down then..mix em up so that they don't sound like scales by applying different patterns and sequences..doesn't matter the style of music from blues,to country,metal to classic rock..these are you're diatonic scales and they are the correct notes to play..

if the song is in Say E..we move all of the patterns or box shapes down..
hit me up if you want further detail..

[Larry F]

Here's another idea. Let's say you are using the C major scale = C D E F G A B. Let's call any motion from one note to the next higher or lower note a STEP. Let's call any other motion a LEAP.

Now, let's use the A minor pentatonic = A C D E G. Let's call any motion from one note to the next higher or lower note a STEP. Let's call any other motion a LEAP.

Notice that A-C is a step in the C major scale and a leap in the A minor pent. Same with E-G.

When working on melodic phrasing, you can try different things:

1. Use only steps going up, then changing direction and going down. And vice versa. This is the most utilitarian kind of phrasing. Sometimes it works well when stability and directness is needed. But it is also the phrasing device of choice among beginners, so be careful.

2. Use primarily stepwise motion, as described in No. 1 above, but throw in a leap maybe 25% of the time.

2a. The first option is to follow a leap with a step in the opposite direction. European -based music (classical) does this with incredible consistency.

2b. The second option is to follow a leap with a step in the same direction. This is used a lot in blues. Step 2a is used in blues, too, but how much is hard to say. The more musicians start incorporating scales into their blues solos, the more likely this is to occur. I like 2a for classical and jazz, and 2b for blues.

2c. The third option is to follow a leap with another leap in the same direction. Arpeggios often take this form.

This is very important: remember that a minor pent has steps between notes 1-2 and 4-5. If you consider these to be leaps, then all of the above won't make sense.

[Chris S.]

Hey, you're off to a really good start! And there's lots of good advice here already. Here are a few other ideas you might try messing around with:

1. Learn to play some melodies.

You can start with stuff like Happy Birthday and Mary Had a Little Lamb, and then move on to some songs you like. Doesn't matter what kind of song, just learn to play what the singer is singing.

2. Sing what you play.

Get used to singing the notes you're playing. It's great for your phrasing and your ear.

3. Play what you sing.

This sounds silly, but it really works. SING a melody or a bunch of licks to one of your backing tracks while you record it. Then go back and learn to play what you sang. That way you'll be learning licks that came out of your head, not anybody else's. It will help you develop your own style.

Best of luck and keep up the good work! :-) CS

[MickM]

For 2 yrs of playing I think you sound good. I can't read nor do I know any theory but all the above advice sounds solid to me. I will only add that I hear/recognize the sound of a timid or inhibited attack.(had the same affliction) Your choice of notes is good so let down the wall and just dig in with both hands. You'll hit some klunkers but hit 'em again and keep rollin' !!

[iblack2492]

thanks guys youve been helpful. some of the stuff you guys said is a lil technical for me, i play mostly by ear and cant really read that much but what i understood ill apply.

heres the backing track i used.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=biFDh...rom=PL&index=3

one thing i notice is when i play by myself with a backing track its harder to get into it then when im playin with people live. theres nobody to feed energy off of. but yeah i agree i need to throw in more variety.