Ben’s Blog : Part 12
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Congratulations! Today's lesson is a very special lesson. This is where the
magic is. The X-factor. This is where you get the opportunity to inject
personality, emotion and expression into you playing. This is where you get
to define your own unique style as a lead guitarist.
Today I am going to teach you how to improvise. In case you don't know,
\"improvise\" means to make it up as you are going along. When you see a
guitarist playing a solo, sometimes it's a melody that they had already
prepared in advance, sometimes they are making it up as they go along.
They do this by using a framework of notes called a scale. Do you
remember when we learned the blues scale and the minor scale? Any of the
notes in the scale can be played in any order and they will always sound
good! How exciting! What that means is, once you've memorized the scale
of notes, all you have to do is choose any of the notes in any random order
and it will sound good! Think how liberating that is. It's like having a comfy
pair of underwear, which makes every movement a pleasure throughout the
day!

When you improvise, you don't know what note you are going to play next
until the moment you play it. This can be extremely fulfilling because it
brings your attention into the present moment. Think about when you talk to
a friend, what you are thinking and what you are saying happen at exactly
the same time, as one single event. When you are relaxed, you are not
thinking about what to say next, and you are not thinking about what you just
said, and you didn't plan your speech before hand!
It just flows out of your mouth. It's very much the same when we improvise a
solo on the guitar. The scale is like a language. When we talk, we don't
insert bits of Spanish, French, German, Chinese and English do we? No.
We use language which will make sense, that is what a Scale in a certain
Key is.
This is a very spiritual concept because some people spend years learning
how to meditate so their conscious attention is fully in the present moment.
Not thinking about the past, not thinking about the future, but only aware of
this moment. In the moment there is no
Worries, only peace. Regret lives in the past, anxiety lives in the future, but
pure silence and peace lives in the present moment. Improvising brings you
into the present.
It's possible to improvise with chords also, so long as you are flexible
enough to choose from a range of different chords, which work well together.
But in this mini-video-guitar-lesson, we are going to use the minor scale as
the palette of notes to improvise a lead solo with.
In the mini-video-guitar-lesson, I'm am going to show you a range of
techniques which will help you add \"expression\" and \"feeling\" into your
solos. This is your chance to make the guitar talk.

I tell my student to \"tell a story\" with the notes they are playing.
Have a subject in mind, which you have some feelings about, maybe it is a
woman or a man, maybe it is something you are excited about, maybe it is a
situation you are frustrated about. Whatever it is, \"speak\" through the guitar,
and inject all of your emotions into the notes you
are playing and allow the guitar to tell the story.
When you improvise, you need some backing music to play over, maybe
another musician can play some chords, maybe you can record yourself
playing chords, maybe you can play along to your favourite music. (If you
are confused about keys, don't worry, you're not alone, I haven't explained it
fully in this eCourse because it is quite a large subject.
If you want to learn more about keys, go to the techniques section of the
archive where you'll find a full-length-video-lesson which will give you a fuller
explanation)
So, Would you like to connect to \"The Force\" young Skywalker? Would you
like to learn how to play an un-prepared solo, only by asking \"what key are
we in lads?\"ﾝ, Ok Good.
(If you have been playing for some time already, you may already be able to
improvise a solo. If so, I suggest you watch the mini-video-guitar-lesson
anyway, because there are many different techniques, and you will probably
find some new ideas. This 12-part eCourse is mainly aimed at beginner
guitarists so some of it may seem obvious to you. However, stick with me,
because each segment I send you will focus on different techniques, so
there's plenty here for you to enjoy.)
To Watch Your MINI-VIDEO-GUITAR-LESSON \"How to Improvise with

expres sion\" ﾝ (I sugge st you do watch it!) click the download link above or
below.
Once you've watched the mini-video- guitar- lesson, BROWS E THE
ARCHIVE at www.vGuitarLe s s on s.com/archive. There's a large selection of
solos to learn such as \"Parise a nn e Walkways by Gary Moore\", \"Samb a Pati
by Sa nt an a\", \"Hotel California solo by the Eagle s\". Also theirs is a range of
backing tracks for you to improvise over.
Also, if you have friends who are learning guitar, send them this link
www.vGuitarLes s o n s.com/course becau s e I'm sure they will benefit from
this eCourse also.
Until next time, keep practising, and enjoy playing guitar no matter what
stand ard you are at. I'll see you in a few days with the last segme nt of this e-
course, 'how to get paid to play'.
Ben Lowrey
http://www.vguitarles s on s.com