Does anyone have advice or tips for doing this? Some guys really know how to bust them out. Do these people just intuitively know what scale they're playing in and are able to come up with notes that fit the song, or do they know very well what they're playing in beforehand?
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Playing improv fills.
- Thread starter Tupac
- Start date
It could be any number of things, though it ultimately comes down to how well they grasp theory.
If you're looking to improve your playing then I highly suggest going through a few theory threads and read what has been said. You don't have to dive too deep into it in order to see a huge improvement in your approach to music. Likewise, start analyzing songs and baselines. Hear something you like? Go sit down and learn it. Then learn what everything else is doing around it and how it applies to each other (this is why you need to know some theory).
After awhile you'll begin to see, and hear, patterns that just make musical sense. You'll also build a repertoire of licks you'll be able to bust out at anytime, in any key, and it'll sound great. I'm sure this isn't the answer you were necessarily looking for as it means you have some homework to do, but there's really no way around it if you're serious about reaching the next level in your playing.
Best of luck!
If you're looking to improve your playing then I highly suggest going through a few theory threads and read what has been said. You don't have to dive too deep into it in order to see a huge improvement in your approach to music. Likewise, start analyzing songs and baselines. Hear something you like? Go sit down and learn it. Then learn what everything else is doing around it and how it applies to each other (this is why you need to know some theory).
After awhile you'll begin to see, and hear, patterns that just make musical sense. You'll also build a repertoire of licks you'll be able to bust out at anytime, in any key, and it'll sound great. I'm sure this isn't the answer you were necessarily looking for as it means you have some homework to do, but there's really no way around it if you're serious about reaching the next level in your playing.
Best of luck!
I can only speak to what I do. I know the scale we will be playing in before I start playing - because it's a given that everyone just needs to know that. Our director always calls the song title and the key we are to use.
The person calling the song says: "The next one is Kiss Ole Kate in D, ready 1 & 2 &........."
Or the sheet music will list the key the song is to be played in. And then you know what notes to use.
Most do not, just intuitively know, what scale to use as the scale (key) being used can very. One vocalist may want it in D and another would want it in A. So it's expected that someone will call out the key to be used.
Now if no one calls the key then it's left up to you to find the key. How? Use your ears. How? Fastest way is to ask someone; "What key are we in"? Or, run the G string up the neck - when what you are doing and what is being played sound good together you've found the tonal center (the key) look down at what note that happened on, that's your key.
IMO you gotta know the key everyone is going to play in so everyone will be playing the correct notes.
Now which notes? As fills, the chord's tones. Cmaj7 R-3-5-7. Or C major pentatonic over the C chord. Or ........... this will take us into building walking bass lines or improvisation, and that would be best handled in another post.
LISTEN to recordings by your favorite players and learn their fills. You'll get the hang of it and will start coming up with new ideas of your own. "Improv" doesn't mean coming up with crazy ideas nobody's ever heard before; it means knowing the vocabulary so that you can play the correct response in that musical moment.
Practice your scales and know what key you're playing in. Start slow and just try to keep up with the chord progressions.
A "fill" is a link between usually the end of a chord sequence and the start of another, yeah? Or in rock maybe you're just throwing one in every 4 or 8 bars.
I'm more of a rock player... let's say a verse ends on A minor and the chorus is about to kick in on D, i'll just know what notes to play (but it would probably begin by me working up to the A on the D string and then heading down to the D on the A string)
It's just knowing what you're filling in between and linking it up in a groovy way yknow
I'm more of a rock player... let's say a verse ends on A minor and the chorus is about to kick in on D, i'll just know what notes to play (but it would probably begin by me working up to the A on the D string and then heading down to the D on the A string)
It's just knowing what you're filling in between and linking it up in a groovy way yknow
I think a good part of it is having a vocabulary of ideas/musical phrases/licks or whatever you want to call it to draw from. When you come up with or hear something you like, write it down or record it.
theory.
theorytheorytheorytheorytheorytheorytheorytheorytheorytheory.
know your scales inside out, know exactly where everything is on the neck, but mor than that, know FAST. practise simple chord progressions, playing just the roots, then in the last couple beats of each chord just ******** your way to the next chord. use mostly scalestep-by-scalestep movement, maybe jump past the target note then come back to it, w/e. slow down the tempo until you can at least make it sound alright (but dont give yourself TOO much time to think) and just keep messing around, until you get some halfway house between thinking it through quick enough and just trusting your instinct. often just going down or up in quavers, one or two scalesteps at a time, can be enough until you have a feel for the song. then you can start throwing more interesting stuff in. dont be afraid to sound bad, thats kinda the point
most of all though, know your shapes if not your note names inside out upside down blindfold and tied to a stake by your fingers
theorytheorytheorytheorytheorytheorytheorytheorytheorytheory.
know your scales inside out, know exactly where everything is on the neck, but mor than that, know FAST. practise simple chord progressions, playing just the roots, then in the last couple beats of each chord just ******** your way to the next chord. use mostly scalestep-by-scalestep movement, maybe jump past the target note then come back to it, w/e. slow down the tempo until you can at least make it sound alright (but dont give yourself TOO much time to think) and just keep messing around, until you get some halfway house between thinking it through quick enough and just trusting your instinct. often just going down or up in quavers, one or two scalesteps at a time, can be enough until you have a feel for the song. then you can start throwing more interesting stuff in. dont be afraid to sound bad, thats kinda the point
most of all though, know your shapes if not your note names inside out upside down blindfold and tied to a stake by your fingers
A good friend of mine and great musician told me one of the improvisation exercises he uses in his classes is he chooses a player at random and says: "OK you've got the next solo. The catch is that you can only play the root. Play whatever rhythms/articulations you want. Just make it feel good!"
I consider myself a reasonably advanced player, and even I've started incorporating that into my practicing AND live playing. Breaking your playing down into its most basic elements can help bring out your best.
Whatever you do, keep practicing and keep listening.
I consider myself a reasonably advanced player, and even I've started incorporating that into my practicing AND live playing. Breaking your playing down into its most basic elements can help bring out your best.
Whatever you do, keep practicing and keep listening.
Jazz folk are pretty handy at playing improv fills...but they're significantly overrated!
The thing that will probably help you most is knowing the chords of the song and knowing the chord tones. For example, if you're on a dominant chord and you know what notes form that particular chord you can shoot up into the higher register and play a fill that might, for example, incorporate the major third, fifth and flat seven. But if you don't know what chord you're playing over and what notes make up that chord you'll likely be guessing. A little theory can go a long way...
