Learn how to inject your own style into playing the coolest instrument on earth. Learn how the pros do it.

1. 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

2. 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

3. 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?"•, 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 expression"• (I suggest you do watch
it!) click the download link above or below.
Once you've watched the mini-video-guitar-lesson,
BROWSE THE ARCHIVE at www.vGuitarLessons.com/archive.
There's a large selection of solos to learn such as
"Pariseanne Walkways by Gary Moore", "Samba Pati by
Santana", "Hotel California solo by the Eagles". 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.vGuitarLessons.com/course because
I'm sure they will benefit from this eCourse also.
Until next time, keep practising, and enjoy playing
guitar no matter what standard you are at. I'll see you
in a few days with the last segment of this e-course,
'how to get paid to play'.
Ben Lowrey

4. http://www.vguitarlessons.com