I need help with improvisation, how can I do it?

petchimp123 · #1 04-19-2008, 12:15 PM

My friends and I just made a band recently. We like just doing long jams and playing classic rock. In some songs two of us play the rhythm while one person solos. When it's my turn to solo, i have trouble doing it in the blues scale because theres no variety i can get out of it.

I also want to get better at writing up basslines and playing basslines to match what the guitars are doing. What can I do to improve? Learn scales?

Last call · #2 04-19-2008, 01:52 PM

brother it comes with time, before you know it if u keep practicing youl "feel" it. and youl know what "it" is when it happens, just keep at it!

petchimp123 · #3 04-19-2008, 02:12 PM

no offense, but that didn't really help. I know the whole feel part to it, but how can I feel when I don't know what sounds right and what sounds wrong? On the spot I mean... If I hit one bad note it can screw anything up. Especially if I'm playing on the wrong key.

nortonrider · #4 04-19-2008, 02:23 PM

I've found that I can get away with a lot just staying in the box.

also, octaves are your friend. Whatever note you start your run on (key), jump to that same note in another position on the fretboard and play the run again. You'll learn the notes on the neck and find out what sound good together pretty quick. at least it works for me.

Qvist · #5 04-19-2008, 04:34 PM

Yeah, same.. I do octaves, fifths and fourths all the time

MarkTAW · #6 04-19-2008, 06:28 PM

Learn what the guitars are doing? Play scales other than the blues scale?

steve66 · #7 04-19-2008, 06:50 PM

If you are thinking about hitting the wrong note, you will never learn to improvise or groove. Playing bass is about the groove and keeping the bottom solid. Just feel the groove going. Then add little pieces to it without losing it. So what if you hit a bad note, as long as its grooving use that wrong note to create a run to the right one, It is usually a fret away to the next chord tone. There are no wrong notes in music. The chromatic scale is a very powerful one to know. Once you learn that you will find yourself grooving.

WSoloBass · #8 04-20-2008, 07:59 AM

If you have to ask somebody else how to improvise, you're already thinking way to hard.

Jabinski · #9 04-21-2008, 02:36 PM

Jeff Berlin used to lecture readers in his old Bass Player columns about the vast majority of players not knowing how to vamp over chords and improvise in general.

He always claimed his players school of music taught this stuff systematically.

Wished I'd have attended cos I would struggle to explain how to improvise musically.

Do you improvise when you're playing by your self?

jaebee · #10 04-21-2008, 04:07 PM

its not going to come quickly.

learn some scales, learn what sounds good, what intervals you like.

no matter what you do, its not going to happen over night. mess around by yourself and see what intervals sound good. go through a I IV V progression slowly (simple blues) and see what intervals sound best with which chords. then you just have to remember them.

CapnSev · #11 04-21-2008, 04:11 PM

I agree with the octave posts. When in doubt, go octave bump style. I think the best bass solo, especially blues bass solo, is one where your bass line is just elaborated a little bit more.

I would also recommend hitting the Mixolydian mode of the key. It will fit right into the blues, and you won't sound like you're trying to play a pentatonic guitar solo.

ryan06 · #12 04-23-2008, 02:19 PM

Yes! Learn your modes good sir!

Once you realize that every major has a relitive minor, then you open it all up and you start throwing in mixolydian fills or whatever. Also learn all the different shapes of the blues scale.

artistanbul · #13 04-23-2008, 03:46 PM

Apart from the good suggestions, I could also advise singing the solo. With your mouth. Or inside your head. And play it. This especially helps when your hands tend to do what they're used to do. IMO.

ClassicRock55 · #14 04-25-2008, 01:11 PM

Good call on starting out with the Blues Scale as it is relatively straightforward. When I first started soloing (I'm still not that good at it, takes a long time so be patient), I felt limited by my chops and the blues scale. First, learn all of the box shapes up and down the fretboard. You will feel less limited if you can play in different positions. Then, learn and make up some standard licks to work off of. Listen to your favorite players soloing and learn how they use phrases in solos and finally, PRACTICE!!!!

And of course, don't become a guitard by only learning the minor pentatonic. Learn your modes of the major scale and the major scale, harmonic minor, major-minor (blues scale with added major 3rd) and anything else out there. good luck

Yngwie 4String · #15 04-25-2008, 01:51 PM

Learn minor Pentatonic scale. It has no disenance therefore every note in it can be played in any order and sound very good. Add bends, hammer ons, and pull offs for flair. Maybe hang out with a guitarist or watch some guitar soloing, and then apply it back to bass guitar. That is how I learned my improve.

Edit:LOL I just read the post above me.

rootshock · #16 04-25-2008, 04:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WSoloBass

If you have to ask somebody else how to improvise, you're already thinking way to hard.

+1

EDIT: Also learn how the scale tones relate to the root. If you have a good understanding of that, you should be able to not make "boring" interval lines. Learn some tensions and how they relate. Try to work on tension and release. Don't play scale notes in chromatic sequence (up the scale then back down) all the time.

DON'T BE AFRAID OF MISTAKES!!

Oratorio · #17 04-26-2008, 12:54 AM

I think everyone can improvise within a scale fairly easy if they've been playing or listening to music for a fair while. I feel like it's something we all got in our blood, so to speak.

But to improvise WELL, that's the hard part for me. I feel like I too, can nail it when it comes to the feel part, but I'm not up to par on the rest, really. I know it in theory - as in, within the chord of G7 and Amin7 you play the chordal tones along with some scale tones, but it just sounds abit arpeggio-ish at times. Where do I go from there?

giantrobot_69 · #18 04-26-2008, 01:17 AM

Listen to music very, very closely, take some lessons, and learn as much about music as you possibly can.

Yngwie 4String · #19 04-26-2008, 02:09 AM

Its all about playing with flair: Hammers, Pulls, and bends. Make it spicy.

mothmonsterman · #20 04-27-2008, 11:56 AM

Practice, improv gets better with time.
learn your theory at least some scales to start they will show you how notes relate to each other.

I still suck at improv, but i'm getting better.
My guitarists play with my bass all the time and can play alot better stuff then i can pull out of my butt. But i watch them and learn and i get better.

get a drum machine, Biggest just i got with my improve came very recently with the addition of a zoom b2.1u the built in drum tracks have really made a difference and it's really fun.

Make it groove, don't just play the notes, more is not better.
K.I.S.S. (keep it simple stupid)
is the best advice i think i can give. Start slow, simple and groovy, then add to it.