.jpg)
Recommended Reading
There is a common misunderstanding that to create ‘classical’ music, one must first have studied many masterpieces and already be a master of their instrument. This delusion is perhaps not so common in the realm of ‘popular’ music, and I am certain that many budding guitarists first pick up the instrument with an aspiration write and perform their own songs. I would argue that whatever genre of music a guitar student wishes to master, it is important to be creative with their instrument from the very beginning. Even if a student isn’t interested in composing music it is important for them to exercise their ability to make artistic choices, as this is a necessary part of musical performance.
What is improvisation?
To ‘improvise’ is to compose music as it is being played. It is a process that occurs in many genres of music, including jazz, classical music, rock, blues, Indian classical music, Middle Eastern music and countless other traditions. There are many different sophisticated musical idioms in which improvisation is a central part of performance practice, and guitarists should be encouraged to study these idioms where necessary. However, there are many simple ways in which improvisation can improve every part of your playing.
I would like to suggest a few ways in which improvising on the guitar can be useful in the development of general musical skills:
Exploring your instrument:
Learning different pieces, scales and exercises will gradually give you a deeper understanding of the sounds your instrument can create. However, there is no reason why you can’t familiarise yourself with many of these sounds straight away. Try playing different strings with different rhythms, and producing different notes on the guitar. There is no need to only use sounds that have been learned through notation. Just make some noise!
Learning a key:
Choose a key to improvise in. Then take a particular scale and arpeggio and practice them a few times before you start improvising.
Start playing around the scale and arpeggio always keeping the key in your mind as you do so. This can be a fun way of learning different keys, and you could also try using it to practise other things like dynamics.
E.g. Improvise in D Major, with a Forte dynamic level.
Technical practice:
If there is a specific technical aspect of your playing that you are trying to improve, often the only way to do this is to repeat a particular exercise many times.
Lets suggest that you are trying to improve the transition between playing a G-chord and a C-chord on the guitar. Repeating these chords again with exactly the same rhythm, dynamic, attack. . . can get boring.
Try practising the same chords, but improvising a different rhythmic idea each time. Then you could introduce a different dynamic idea etc. . . . Apart from keeping the exercise interesting, this can be a good way of focusing in on the particular technical issues that you are having. Be aware that it is important to keep certain things constant in any technical study - ask your teacher which ways you might experiment with the exercise.
Improvisation to composition:
One of the main barriers that might stand in the way of beginner musicians from composing music, is the matter of musical notation and music theory. Even if your understanding of musical notation is very limited, I would encourage attempting to compose music using whatever notes and rhythms you have already learnt. You can start by improvising and then try to write your improvisations down. Ask your teacher for help with this if you’re not sure. I would suggest spending a little time each week writing a new piece with any new notes and rhythms you have learnt. Aside from being a good way to learn music theory, composing music is a great way to express yourself!
What is improvisation?
To ‘improvise’ is to compose music as it is being played. It is a process that occurs in many genres of music, including jazz, classical music, rock, blues, Indian classical music, Middle Eastern music and countless other traditions. There are many different sophisticated musical idioms in which improvisation is a central part of performance practice, and guitarists should be encouraged to study these idioms where necessary. However, there are many simple ways in which improvisation can improve every part of your playing.
I would like to suggest a few ways in which improvising on the guitar can be useful in the development of general musical skills:
Exploring your instrument:
Learning different pieces, scales and exercises will gradually give you a deeper understanding of the sounds your instrument can create. However, there is no reason why you can’t familiarise yourself with many of these sounds straight away. Try playing different strings with different rhythms, and producing different notes on the guitar. There is no need to only use sounds that have been learned through notation. Just make some noise!
Learning a key:
Choose a key to improvise in. Then take a particular scale and arpeggio and practice them a few times before you start improvising.
Start playing around the scale and arpeggio always keeping the key in your mind as you do so. This can be a fun way of learning different keys, and you could also try using it to practise other things like dynamics.
E.g. Improvise in D Major, with a Forte dynamic level.
Technical practice:
If there is a specific technical aspect of your playing that you are trying to improve, often the only way to do this is to repeat a particular exercise many times.
Lets suggest that you are trying to improve the transition between playing a G-chord and a C-chord on the guitar. Repeating these chords again with exactly the same rhythm, dynamic, attack. . . can get boring.
Try practising the same chords, but improvising a different rhythmic idea each time. Then you could introduce a different dynamic idea etc. . . . Apart from keeping the exercise interesting, this can be a good way of focusing in on the particular technical issues that you are having. Be aware that it is important to keep certain things constant in any technical study - ask your teacher which ways you might experiment with the exercise.
Improvisation to composition:
One of the main barriers that might stand in the way of beginner musicians from composing music, is the matter of musical notation and music theory. Even if your understanding of musical notation is very limited, I would encourage attempting to compose music using whatever notes and rhythms you have already learnt. You can start by improvising and then try to write your improvisations down. Ask your teacher for help with this if you’re not sure. I would suggest spending a little time each week writing a new piece with any new notes and rhythms you have learnt. Aside from being a good way to learn music theory, composing music is a great way to express yourself!
