Question about improvisation and composing in general

Harmony & Theory
#1

Hell everyone!

I have a question. For example I play a simple 12 bar blues in C
C F C C
F F C C
G F C G

1 measure, 4 beats each chord. I can’t manage to keep track of the chord while focusing on composing/improvising anything cuz I literally don’t know how to keep track of the chord. The same thing for any music structure.

I started playing some piano recently where is much easier to be aware of the chord becouse you literally have to play it but when I play any melody ( right hand) that is not on the main beats I struggle to also focus on the sound of the melody and of what chord I am on , which beat , where in the structure.

Anyone any advice? something that would apply for any instrument as in general advice ?

#2

Alternate between playing the chords and improvising, and make things absolutely as simple as possible at first. For example, only alternate between playing two measures of a C chord, and then 2 measures of C major pentatonic improv. Loop this and make sure you’re absolutely in time. Once it’s easy, try two chords, like C and G, and do it in the same way - play two measures C chords, improv two measures C maj pent, play two measures G chord, improv two measures G maj pent.

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#3

Huge topic!

In short, I think the answer is: “reduce your options”.

I like this broad introduction by Jack Gardiner:

#4

Have you tried using backing tracks at all (either pre-recorded, or using a looper or something like Band In a Box software) or are you trying to improvise without any backing track? The latter is nice to achieve and useful if you actually want to be able to outline the harmony or self-accompany while doing improvised solo guitar playing which is pretty rare outside of jazz, I think. (Note that basic grammar dictates that “solo guitar” is not the same thing as a “guitar solo” although Googling in a way that distinguishes these presents challenges…) Plenty of quite advanced people (rock, jazz and other styles of music) practise with backing tracks and it may more closely resemble their usual playing situation anyway,

William

#5

Yes I tried and failed haha, my biggest difficulty being not knowing how to keep track of the chords but the first commetn here actually started solving it becouse, as starting to learn piano too i started looking for new ways to look at things so I tried it.

As simple as it seems , play 1 chord (C7 lets say as i mostly play blues rock) then one measure of most basic blues scale melody then back to the chord and so on, Then doing this with a C7 and F7 ( still just C blues scale) I started naturally playing the chord in my mind which I never managed to do before.

So right now im on the best track I ever been on to start learning to improv. I played over a 12 bar blues for the first time knowing exactly where I am in the structure, and im gonna keep playing having this concept as the base. Like playing “two hands” on the piano. For some this thing might have come very naturally without giving it a name or “strategy” but for me this literally started workin.

So thank you @Riffdiculous !!

Now its just a matter of making vocabulary in context. Thing was I want to be able to play as I had a backing track going without having it if I want to and I had no idea how to do that cuz whatever way of counting I tried my mind couldnt process it. But also I wanted to start using vocal singing ( im not a singer but you know the basic play what you hear) but in context and also mixing it with actual vocabulary from my favorite music. In case anyone wonders what would be a good way to start trying to do that: I recently saw a Josh Smith interview( music is win) : you basically just learrn to sing with your voice and memorize it that way a certain lick, you can’t go " lick hendrix number 15 " , you have to be your literal voice, thats why the greats say music is a languange , you literally speak it, Never understood how to do anything like that until yesterday haha.

If anyone has more ideas or wanna share their way of improvising/composing /using their voice and vocabulary please tell us!!

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#6

You’re welcome, glad the little strategy helped!

1 Like
#7

Marty did a great vid on this.

#8

I don’t know if this helps, but I come from a jazz background and the very first thing I learned when soloing over a blues is to actually “play the changes”.

This means that even if there is no chordal accompaniment, you should play something so that people can hear the chord change. The easiest way to do this is by playing guide tones. For example: lower the b7 of the C7 chord by a half step, and what do you get? The major third of the F7, the A. Now when you play a phrase that incorporates that move during the chord change, I guarantee you will hear it. Or you could play the E, the major third of the C7 and go down a half step to the Eb, the b7 of the F7 chord.

Try focusing on those kind of guide tones for a while and the sound of the chord changing will become ingrained in your ear.