An Introduction to Improvisation

Before we get started talking about how to improvise, we should probably talk about what exactly it is. On its most basic level, improvisation is simply making something up as you go along. In essence, we do this every day. Think about all the times this week that something unexpected happen. What did you do? Most likely your response wasn't pre-planned: you made something up as you went along based on your situation. Musical improvisation is exactly the same thing; you make something up based on your musical situation. Situation in this case means what everyone else is playing.

Improvisation in music has been around since music itself and every culture has its tradition of spontaneous group composition. In Indian classical music, improvisation is based around beat-cycles called talas. In Gregorian chant, it's based around notated pitches called neumes. In rock and jazz, it's based around song forms. The list of cultures and their various improvisation styles goes on and on but they all have one thing in common: the goal of the music is for a group to come together and co-operatively participate in a creative experience. This is an experience that is lost in some popular music and most western european art music. That's not to say that either of these are bad or that their practitioners aren't creative people (after all, few people would deny the quality of music put out by Beethoven or The Beatles). However, the creativity afforded in performing these two styles is that of interpretation. While interpreting music that has already been written is an incredibly rewarding experience, it is very different from composing it yourself on the spot and a musician should cultivate skill in both of these areas while enjoying the gratification that comes from each.

The most common mistake that students studying improvisation for the first time make is thinking that ideas come from thin air. The idea of someone picking up a guitar (or any instrument for that matter) is largely untrue. Learning to improvise takes a lot of work and the assimilation of a great deal of knowledge. Before we jump get started improvising, here are a few truisms to keep in mind while playing.

1.  
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      1. Anything played with good time will sound better than something played with bad time.

      2. A solo should reach a climax and then come down from it.

      3. Learning solos is a great way to gain a lot of knowledge quickly.

      4. There is no such thing as useless musical information. All scales, chords, and rhythms have their uses.

      5. If you run out of ideas, listen to the band. Often the people you play with can supply you with a variety of great ideas and push you into a new direction.

      6. Silence can be just as powerful as playing a lot of notes.

      7. Playing a lot of notes fast sounds great when used properly. It also sounds terrible or showy when used improperly.

      8. Always play in service of the music and the group.

Pentatonics: A Starting Place for Improvisation

To get started improvising, we're going to examine a scale that is almost universally known to guitar players: the minor pentatonic scale. Since there's a few different pentatonics out there, let me clarify that the one we're using is going to be built 1,b3,4,5,b7. So, if A is our root, it'll be A,C,D,E,G.

One of the most basic (and sometimes effective) chord progressions to improvise over is a simple one chord vamp. A vamp is simply a section of music that is repeated. Bands like The Grateful Dead, Led Zeppelin, Phish, and The Doors all have songs in which a one chord vamp is used to improvise over. Since we're using the minor pentatonic scale, a minor chord built on the root is the easiest place to start. To examine the many uses of the minor pentatonic scale, we're going to see how the notes of the scale match up against the chord.

Chord: A C E

1 b3 5

Scale: A C D E G

1 b3 11 5 7

As you can see, the notes of the A minor pentatonic scale spell out an Amin7(11) chord. However, the great thing about the minor pentatonic scale is that you don't have to play the same scale as the root of the chord. Look at what happens when we use a B minor pentatonic.

Chord: A C E                           B minor pentatonic (2 or 9 of A minor)

1 b3 5

Scale: B D E F# A

9 11 5 6 1

So, the B minor pentatonic scale contains many of the same notes as the A Dorian scale. The natural 6 (as opposed to the b6 in the A minor scale) is an important color note of the Dorian scale. What other minor pentatonics fit over an A minor chord? Let's look at minor pentatonics built on the 11 and 5 of an A minor chord.

Chord: A C E                           D Minor pentatonic (4 or 11 of A minor)

1 b3 5

Scale: D F G A C

11 b6 b7 1 3

Chord: A C E                           E minor pentatonic (5 of A minor)

1 b3 5

Scale: E G A B D

5 b7 1 9 11

Both of these scales contain the extensions of the A minor scale. Does this approach work over major chords? Certainly. Here are a few minor pentatonic scales over an A major chord. For reference, the notes of the A major scale are A, B, C#, D#, E, F#, G#.

Chord: A C# E                       F# minor pentatonic (6 of A major)

1 3 5

Scale: F# A B C# E

6 1 9 3 5

Chord: A C# E                      C# minor pentatonic (3 of A major)

1 3 5

Scale: C# E F# G# B

3 5 6 7 9

Chord: A C# E                      G# minor pentatonic (7 of A major)

1 3 5

Scale: G# B C# D# F#

7 9 3 #11 6

The minor pentatonics built on 6 and 3 contain notes from the A major scale while the minor pentatonic build on 7 contains notes from the A Lydian scale (the scale degrees of a Lydian scale are 1, 2, 3, #4, 5, 6, 7). So, to summarize:

For minor chords, use minor pentatonics built on 1, 2/9, 4/11, and 5

For major chords, use minor pentatonics built on 3, 6, and 7.

That's all for this month. Next month we'll be looking at pentatonics to use over dominant chords and start exploring two chord vamps. Until then, happy practicing.