Improvisation
Improvisation means creating your own melodies by ear. You now know more than enough to begin improvising. Although some licks and melodies are derived entirely from one scale, it is also common that notes from a combination of scales is used. Most musicians create new melodies totally by ear, drawing on all the sounds they are familiar with. When you are learning, the best approach is to learn all the sounds and scales but also to experiment with making up your own licks totally by ear. Composing is usually done by intuition based on subconscious knowledge and then rounded off with fine tuning based on conscious knowledge, i.e. the creating is done by ear and the theoretical analysis comes later. Spend some time each day improvising over the Jam-along tracks at the end of CD2 (page 178).
A good way to begin improvising is to use a short rhythm pattern (e.g. two swung eighth notes) and move it between different notes to create variations. This is demonstrated in the following example.
Once you are comfortable with this, try using a longer rhythm pattern. It is a good idea to play any new rhythm on one note until you have it memorized. This next example demonstrates a rhythm on one note and then on a variety of pitches.
Here is another variation using a set rhythm pattern. Notice the way using the rhythm on different groups of notes creates a call and response effect between the phrases.
This one uses a repetition and variation approach which is a common improvising technique. One of the most important things to remember when using the repetition and variation technique is to keep your basic idea fairly simple. This makes it easy to develop and easy for the listener to follow what you are doing.
Another useful improvising technique is to begin with a short rhythmic phrase and then add longer variations, each one adding something to what has gone before.
Here is a Blues solo based on the previous example. Notice the use or repetition and variation throughout. A great player to listen to for this kind of improvisation is Sonny Boy Williamson 2. His real name was Rice Miller. There is also an earlier Sonnyboy Williamson.
