Guitar Improv Tips
December 6th, 2007 | 
Author: I know that many of you are looking for a few guitar improvising tips. I will get to that in a moment but first I would like to make a couple of points.
1. Mastering lead guitar is an ongoing process. It takes steady daily practice to make it happen. There are no amazing lead guitar secrets to instantly transform you into some sort of guitar hero.
2. You don’t have to be some amazing technical wizard to a nice sounding pentatonic scale based solo. In fact, the video in this lesson is a minor pentatonic solo. And it only uses 4 notes!
Watch the video and then apply what you have learned immediately. I have provided the tab and a backing track as well
Click Here To Download This Video On Guitar Improv Tips
Popularity: 55% [?]
Posted in
Amazing how simple it can be. I can actually pick up on this one and improv a little.
I have two big problems and you touched on one of them with your last video. I seem to be stuck in a “play the same thing no matter what the melody or tempo is” rut! I do see some light in the tunnel as I think I have been trying to do too much with the lead licks. I see where it can be much simpler and still sound ok.
The other problem I have is when to pick and when not to pick using hammer on’s. I seem to do ok with the pull off’s as I mentioned before.
I enjoy your videos and for some reason get more out of them than I have some of the other ones I have seen.
Thanks for making them simple
Gaz
Dude, these are perfect. Can you send more?
If I have a slow blues in” A” and the chords are basically A13 to D9 to E9 can I use the melodic minor scale a half step above the functioning 5 chord which in this case would be E right ? So I would use an F mel minor scale right? Why would I use a Bb mel min scale if I use the A as the functioning 5 chord in this same progression ?
why doesn’t this sound right to my ears along with the Am pent scale and it’s modes?
Thanx
Mike
Hi Mike,
You are correct in your thinking about which scale to use. Another way of stating this is to create an altered dominant sound use the melodic minor scale up one half step from the root of a dominant 7th chord.
So over E7 use F melodic minor.
Over A7 use Bb melodic minor.
Just a slight correction, in this progression the A is functioning as the 1, chord not the 5. You can still play Bb melodic minor over it though.
I would say there are a couple of reasons that is doesn’t sound right to your ears.
1. These sounds are not typically associated with blues playing so it may sound a little off.
2. Anytime you use something like this you are using altered notes to create tension. that is fine and dandy but how you resolve the tension then becomes an important factor.
If you play around with these sounds for awhile and let them creep into your ear, you will start to hear them and accept then as “sounding right”
Just keep at it.
Thanks for the question.
Best Wishes,
Bob
hi bob,
your lessons are fantastic. i am a beginer, but now my friends who started years before me, adore me.thank you