Many guitarists tend to think that improvising is just making up something on the spot. This is true since it’s one interpretation of the word but there is more to it than just that. The following article will explore more about what improvising is and how to use it effectively.

Understanding What Improvising Is

My favorite definition of improvising is “spontaneous composition”. The idea is that you are not just taking a scale and noodling around with it or regurgitating licks that you learned and know sound good over the chord. That is a part of it but remember that you are trying to make music. You need to be able to take all the knowledge that you have and use it to create music. The better you are at this skill the better you will be able to use it in your music. It’s better to think like a composer and understand what notes you are going to use over the music in order to make a solo that sounds great.

How To Actually Practice Improvising

When it comes to practicing improvising most guitarists will usually just put on a backing track and start soloing over it. While this is one way to practice improvising it skips over several other ways to better learn this skill. One way is to specify your goal for the session such as be able to target certain chord tones in the progression or to practice using specific techniques in order to utilize them in your playing. This part is more like a visual artist practicing various techniques in a sketch pad. You have to work on all the aspects of your playing before trying to integrate them into your overall playing.

How To Use Improvising

The most common use of improvising is in soloing usually in blues and jazz styles. It is sometimes seen in rock playing and less often in country and metal but still possible. Improvising is a great way to create new ideas for solos you plan to write out for the songs that you write. It’s also a great way to test your skills in order to find what you should work on.
Other ways you can use improvising is with comping (playing chord progressions in a rhythm guitar role). By understanding chord structure and chord substitution you can add variation to the chords that you play and not just stay on one chord. You can also apply rhythmic improvisation in your playing as well. Maybe in the middle of a song, you notice that if you were to accent your chords when the drummer makes specific hits it would make the song sound better.

The overall idea of improvising is that you want to be able to utilize the skills you have in a spontaneous manner while still sounding proficient at your instrument. By practicing your techniques in a variety of situations you will be better equipped to use improvisation at your disposal and sound amazing.

Joshua LeBlanc is the owner and lead instructor at Lafayette School of Guitar specializing in guitar lessons in Lafayette, LA.