Blues Improvisation.....Swirly sucks

[Swirly]

Hey again.
I seem to spend most my time in this section, and i wonder why

Well, i was wondering if anyone can help me on somthing.
I got a midi Little wing backing track, and recorded some really crap stuff over the top of it, using just an Em pent and an A m pent. I noticed, not only how much i suck at the guitar, but that after a while i was using the same stuff over and over, and it was sucking. It happens with all improvised blues stuff i do, i always do the same bends, in exactly the same place, with the same combination of things happening, and not only is it reptative as im basically playing the same blomming thing about 100 times, and boring, but quite anoying as i cant 'expand' my improvising, i just seem to stick to either running up and down pent box shapes, or picking random stuff, and then sticking to it. I like to think of blues as a story , theres a start, midlle and an end, and theres somthing being said in all of it, yet my stuff dosnt sound like a story, just a used porno mag


Im not sure what to expect in the way of anwsers, as i doubt theres one spersific thing i can do, or should i say, arnt doing, but all comments are welcome

[btweensunandmoon]

you just need to go back and dig up some blues tracks by the masters....albert king, bb king, muddy waters....etc etc etc. Even some early jimmy page and clapton would help too. There you will be able to pick up some cool licks and perhaps add your own touch to them. The biggest thing I hate about most teachers is they base their scale teaching on patterns. Patterns suck because you never learn to "look beyond the box" Music is about notes, not patterns. Good knowledge of music theory will also help you to get beyond the box and be a better at improve.

[Reaper]

The other thing is, along with what he said ^^^, listen to some stuff you normally don't listen to. One of your problems that you mentioned, is that you're hitting all the same licks. Listening to some new material might give you some new ones to use. Personally, I took a lot of blues from Clapton, SRV, and Gary Moore, if you want some suggestions.

[btweensunandmoon]

omg....how could i forget srv! I'm going to hell now.

[FruitSnax]

You should also listen to Blues in the Jazz realm. Pick up a few Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, and Miles Davis recordings and start transcribing some ideas. Horn players are great sources for single-line phrasing. As far as guitar players go, listen to Wes Montgomery, Freddie Green, and Benson's ealier work. Wes was the best guitar player that ever lived and listening to his blues recordings will give you years of harmonic possibilities you can explore.

[Drew]

Also look into Kenny Burrell. Man, I love his phrasing.

The biggest difference between a beginning blues guitarist and an advanced blues player in terms of note choice that I can usually pick up on is the use of chord tones. Learn your major and minor 7th arpeggios, and then start playing with 6th, 9th, and 13th voicings (I personally love the sound of an 11th chord, but it's not terribly "bluesy" to my ears. Give it a try anyway).

Also, someone mentioned Albert King... pick up a good compilation disc of his and spend some time transcribing his licks. Why? Because the guy's got ungodly control over his bends. You want a "story?" He can bend a note 8 times running and do it differently every time, saying more with that one repeated note than clapton can with ten, IMO.

The other blues player I've really been digging of late is Hubert Sumlin, Howlin' Wolf's right-hand man. Get yourself a good Wolf compilation too, if just for the riffs and vocals.

Also, you can debate endlessly whether or not he's "overrated," and i generally say he is, but the "Hendrix: Blues" album is my bible for electric blues playing. His phrasing is so larger-than-live and has this amazing swagger to it...

-Drew

[Rich]

Kenny Burrell from Florida? Great player, if he'd ever get off the nose candy

[FruitSnax]

Is there any other Kenny Burrell?

I almsot forgot to mention Joe Pass. Most of his lines generally stick to the tonality of the chord he is improvising over; he rarely goes outside the changes. A good book I just picked up is "Joe Pass on Guitar" published by Warner Bros. It has some awesome ideas and a few killer blues solo transcriptions with a CD. It goes over the fundamental concepts of the CAGED system, ii-V7-I patterns, altered changes, and chord melody playing. Well worth the $15.00 at Guitar Center.

[Mr Orange]

Originally Posted by btweensunandmoon

omg....how could i forget srv! I'm going to hell now.

Say hi to Stevie Ray when you get there.

[Drew]

Kenny Burrell? ""Midnight Blue" Kenny Burrell? who'd of thought...

I've hgeard good things about Pass's book- I'll have to grab a copy.

Course, the other thing is, "Little Wing" really isn't blues. Yeah, a lot of blues guys have covered it, and you could call it blues/rock i suppose, but blues it isn't. The changes are harmonically a little more complex- the first bit is rooted firmly in E Aeolean, while the sliding 5add9 chord bit is probably closer to A Aeolean, then back to E for the D-E bit at the end. I'd recommend moving away from pentatonic based licks for this- yeah, you can do it, but the chords really are diatonic more than pentatonic, and it'll open some new tonal options for you. Just a thought

-Drew

[Ekim]

Originally Posted by Mr Orange

Say hi to Stevie Ray when you get there.

OUCH!! Man, you're harsh, dude!!

[Anton]

lame ass

[earthman]

Originally Posted by Swirly

Im not sure what to expect in the way of anwsers, as i doubt theres one spersific thing i can do, or should i say, arnt doing, but all comments are welcome

three words, man.

i) Intense
ii) Rock
iii) Two

if you don't know, paul gilbert did an instructional video called Intense Rock II, and at the end of it he gives what is definitely the best guitar lesson on improvising that I've ever seen.

--c.

[Swirly]

Cool cheers mate. Ive got a few of the videos of the net from IR2.Although ive never seen the final part of it. Ill hunt around and try and find it on the net

Cheers