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Tips for Improv?

F

feeblefingers

Guest
Mar 16, 2012
23
4
#1
Hello!

I've been playing bass for about three years now, and I'm a decent player for the most part. My problem is if I have to come up with something to play over a chord progression, or even just one chord held out, I don't have any idea what to do. Now if someone else came up with a really cool bassline to go with it, I could figure it out myself and play it note for note (usually). But most of the lines I try to write myself sound pitifully mediocre and predictable. Is there anything I can do to be more creative in a situation like that?
 
#2
Eventually "mediocre and predictable" becomes "tasteful and mature". As a student trying to discover new knoledge, playing 1-3-5 will seem lame and uninspired but it is what it is for a reason

If you know your scales and chords it's largely a matter of experimenting. Certain tones are more genre appropriate than others.

As a basic starting point - try to stick to the chord tones (1-3-5-7) on the 1 and the 3 beat, and try to embellish with outside tones (2, 4, 6) and chromatic lead ins on the off beats
 
#3
from my experience...make sure you internalized the melody and harmony....try this for your next practice...play the bass line and sing the melody over top...then verbally start to alter....and bingo..solo!
 
#4
Repetition also helps. A lot of the music my band does is blues, so we're generally doing a 1-4-5 chord progression. Knowing that this is the case, I typically come up with a "default" improv and perfect it. Once I have perfected it, I can add and take away depending on the mood of the song.
 
#5
feeblefingers said:
Hello!

I've been playing bass for about three years now, and I'm a decent player for the most part. My problem is if I have to come up with something to play over a chord progression, or even just one chord held out, I don't have any idea what to do. Now if someone else came up with a really cool bassline to go with it, I could figure it out myself and play it note for note (usually). But most of the lines I try to write myself sound pitifully mediocre and predictable. Is there anything I can do to be more creative in a situation like that?
Click to expand...

+ 1 for this answer,
puddin tame said:
Eventually "mediocre and predictable" becomes "tasteful and mature". As a student trying to discover new knowledge, playing 1-3-5 will seem lame and uninspired but it is what it is for a reason

If you know your scales and chords it's largely a matter of experimenting. Certain tones are more genre appropriate than others.

As a basic starting point - try to stick to the chord tones (1-3-5-7) on the 1 and the 3 beat, and try to embellish with outside tones (2, 4, 6) and chromatic lead ins on the off beats
Click to expand...

Get the basic ho-hum stuff down and then groove with the rest of the guys. Augment what they are doing, i.e. make them sound good, then work on making yourself sound good. That's where the creative stuff comes in.

We are the rhythm section, our job is to keep the beat and call attention to the chord changes. After we do that then we can worry about being creative. Root on 1 and walks to the next chord is our primary job. If you want to be creative work on the walk to the next chord and if you are getting lead breaks let the melody be your guide to a creative improvisation of the tune. To do that you first have to be able to play the tune.

Of course that is IMO.
 

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