Instrumental Guitar Improvisation

Hello again!

I have been thinking about my playing style and what I can offer you that will make your playing better.

I feel I have much to teach people about music and specifically improvisation using individual notes. Firstly, with enough practice (10000 hours will do it but it can be achieved in less) mastery is open to all of us. We are all creative geniuses and have ability beyond measure, as some books suggest and obviously this will help with the difficulties you will encounter with playing improvised instrumental guitar.

In terms of music it is about sticking with whatever instrument you choose, making one your main instrument as learning more then one can help your playing ability a lot (I am a great advocate of the guitar, its versatility, playability and excellent sound make it my instrument of choice) but I have found, forcing yourself to play is not the most effective way of learning. Play when you feel like it, I do an intense 1 hour, sometimes up to two hour session every two days or so and you will make progress in leaps and bounds. This time allows what you have learned, both your muscle memory and knowledge held in the mind, to sink into your fingers and the theory you have acquired to gain a hold in your subconscious. Theory is very important part of learning instruments as long as you don't get held back by it. To be a great player the music has to come from within and this means your subconscious, which remembers everything you have ever played, everything you have ever done, even the weather and the meals you ate of everyday you have ever lived. So when playing improvisation and instrumental guitar music, learn to cut loose and get into the groove.

Passion is what its all about and I know that all of us will have been touched by music at some time or another throughout our lifetimes so creating music is the next logical step to experiencing other people's. Instrumental guitar is my favourite way to express myself on guitar, it is my passion which is why I am at a high level.

Now, if you would like to play like me (www.jacklawlor.co.uk has the links to my music or you can use the music player attached to this post to listen or even buy) I can give you some tips for getting started, assuming you already have some playing experience on guitar. My music is all improvisation work, but done in a framework of theory and scales, with rock guitar rhythm as the backing. I will play either the rhythm or the lead as one track on my iPad in one take, then improvise over it on a separate track, also as one take. This is well demonstrated by Track Zero, which you can download for free by imputing your email address. Listen to the whole thing, when it comes together it really is rewarding, and as a first recording I am happy with it.

Instrumental guitar improvisation is all about the connection between your heart and your head (or brain and body), using what you know theoretically but influencing it with your mind, making hundreds and even thousands of tiny quick decisions to play scales in a new way. So when I am improvising I let my fingers govern what I play but also am constantly making many decisions every second as to where to go next. Its all about looking at the scales from new angles, turning the runs and arpeggios on their heads and playing them in new ways.

Then there is the gelling with whatever else is going on from separate instruments and feeling the natural rhythm as it comes when jamming. Someone once said, and I agree to a certain extent that its all blags, as long as your both playing in the same key and in tune. Its a lot of fun when you find that groove and to help you can play along to a metronome or drum beat to hone your timing skills. I would recommend finding other, like minded musicians to play with and practising with them a lot, or finding the ability to play against your own music. My old guitar teacher, fast becoming a legend in his own right these days, taught me how to jam which is in fact practically all we did, giving me a rock solid ability to improvise, having done years of it with an immense rhythmist. All we did was improvisation and composing instrumental guitar music. 

Personally I found that things click every few months, suddenly you will be playing faster or a certain scale, even many scales will become easier and you will have better timing, finding the groove comes quicker. Eventually they become second nature, the guitar being an extension, these days of my very body and this can really help with your head if you suffer mental illness.

So if you haven’t learned an instrument yet, there is always still time and if you have then keep at it as tomorrow might be the day that hard scale or that sequence of notes 'clicks' and you make a tremendous jump forward! I am promoting Jamorama.com again, they are well known and seem like they would help alot! I have also started a spirituality blog called spiritual-knowledge.com, click the link if you would like to know more. Also check back here for more guitar advice and a video of me playing my electric!