Terminology question...

[BoneDigger]

This may come across as a strange question, perhaps bordering on ignorant. If so, I apologize. I understand the concept of playing within a scale. And of course, the use of hammers, pull-offs, slides, etc. The sign of a good player is one who puts feeling into the music and really makes it sound unique or at least stirs feelings and emotions. To do that, you need to have a well developed touch and put those little embellishments on your playing. Most people don't want to hear somebody playing a lead if they are just playing notes in a scale.

So, for someone who wants to get better at that, what term do you research on YouTube? Is it phrasing? Embellishments? Lead? Touch? I just want some guidance on "okay, you are playing a song, try this little trick" sort of thing. Basically, how to take a boring lead and make it interesting, including tricks of the trade?

[Mandobart]

Don't forget the use of timing and rests. Some syncopation, push/pull on the beat, dynamics, etc. A lot of tone/feeling/emotion comes from the non-fretting hand.

I don't know the search terms. I would find an artist who does what you want to do and maybe search on their style, or listen to/watch what they do.

[Steve DeRosa]

Originally Posted by BoneDigger

...I understand the concept of playing within a scale. And of course, the use of hammers, pull-offs, slides, etc. The sign of a good player is one who puts feeling into the music and really makes it sound unique or at least stirs feelings and emotions...

Speaking as a summa com loudly graduate of the Hard Knocks Experiential Academy of Electric Guitar Tone (Class of 1966), you've already got the basic tools and an intrinsic knowledge of how to use them - it's simply a matter of applying them where you think they fit and developing your own unique voice . I'd also recommend a good musical dictionary, one that provides you with the traditional names for the aforementioned ornamental devices as well as written examples of each (did you know that hammer-on/pull-off combination could go by at least four different names, each having its own application in musical context?)...

That said, the two things I would add to your list are dynamics and non-blues/non-pentatonic scales, both of which can add significant emotional impact to your playing; while the first can be fairly easy to master - listen to Carlos Santana's relatively unembellished soloing on "Oye Como Va" - I'd recommend a good theory book for the latter, one that teaches construction/application of different scales and modes as well as the use of passing tones to create harmonic movement (most well-written jazz guitar books cover this territory). Finally, feel free to step outside the box in terms of application - think of George Harrison's use of classical Indian modes on several Beatles cuts, or Brian Setzer's where-did-that-come-from Gypsy-jazz inspired diminished runs on the neo-rockabilly "Stray Cat Strut" - and to paraphrase an old 1960's proverb, if it sounds good do it...

[rick-slo]

Play with feeling. You get that in part by listening to music and trying to figure out what you like about it, what makes it compelling and a nice listen. How to phrase things. Somewhat like a reading a story to an audience. Some do it compellingly and make the story live. Some don't.

[JonPR]

Originally Posted by BoneDigger

This may come across as a strange question, perhaps bordering on ignorant. If so, I apologize. I understand the concept of playing within a scale. And of course, the use of hammers, pull-offs, slides, etc. The sign of a good player is one who puts feeling into the music and really makes it sound unique or at least stirs feelings and emotions. To do that, you need to have a well developed touch and put those little embellishments on your playing. Most people don't want to hear somebody playing a lead if they are just playing notes in a scale.

So, for someone who wants to get better at that, what term do you research on YouTube? Is it phrasing? Embellishments? Lead? Touch? I just want some guidance on "okay, you are playing a song, try this little trick" sort of thing. Basically, how to take a boring lead and make it interesting, including tricks of the trade?

In a word, the answer is melody.

When jazz musicians improvise on a tune, the first thing they do is learn the melody. Obviously that's what the singers and horn players (lead instruments) do anyway - that's their job, to sing/play the melody! But guitarists and pianists (at least in jazz) know the melodies too. Even bass players normally do! But it's the fact that (a) they know the melody of that song, and (b) they've played countless melodies in the past, that gives them the vocabulary they need to produce new melodies over the same chord sequence.

I.e., all the elements mentioned in the above answers - timing, rests, syncopation, even modal flavour - are properties of "phrasing", and phrasing is what "melodies" consist of.

So yes, instead of just noodling on a scale (or scale or modes), you need to play in phrases. Leave space, pretend you're a singer or horn player who has to breathe now and then!

But also, learn the melody of the song you are improvising on. It's the one single reason why most guitarists (outside of jazz, sometimes even jazz students) are baffled about how to improvise: they don't learn the melody. They think that all they need to know is the chords, and then whatever scales or modes are supposed to go with those chords.
That's like thinking that all you need to speak French is a whole lot of French words (whose meaning you don't know). Hey all I have to do is string some of those words together and I will sound French! Probably you will - to a non-French speaker! But obviously it will be meaningless garbage, unless you use [I]phrases:/I] words that make sense as a group.
That's what melodies teach you: how to string notes together in a way that sounds you are telling a story, or making a point.

Lastly, just forget about modes - seriously. They have nothing to do with expression in improvisation. They are devices for composing music in the first place.
I.e., if by "improvisation" you just mean jamming from scratch, with no tune or chord sequence to refer to, then yes, knowledge of modes will give you some variety of flavours to use. (Instead of playing "in a key", you can play "in a mode". You could pick one chord and apply any mode to it that fits.)
But that's not how 99% of improvisation in the real world works. Normally you have (at least) a chord sequence - such as a backing track or exercise - and usually you have an actual song, with a melody as well as chords. The modes are already built into the composition.
It makes no sense at all to "apply" anything from outside. You have all the notes you need under your fingers as you play the chords. The song contains all the raw material you need to construct your solo. The chord tones are your foundation - your targets, your map of the fretboard - and your passing notes come from the chord before or after. If you want to add chromatic passing notes, you can (if you want to sound jazzier or bluesier).
And the melody shows you one route through the chords, and gives you plenty of ideas to start from: embellish it, take phrases from it and change their rhythm or timing, drop a note or two, take a phrase in a different direction; i.e., follow another route through the map of chord tones. (If it's a song with words, think of the words. How would you express those words in how you play?)

There is one other factor, which is style. This is where you might have a favourite player, or favourite genre of music - you want to sound like that - and that's where you need to copy (transcribe or learn by ear) other people's solos, or at least distinctive phrases from their solos, things that jump out and "speak" to you. ((Obviously not just the notes of a phrase or lick, but its rhythm and how it relates to the chords.)
You might not have to be too obsessive about this, just play along with your favourite tracks and try to pick up anything you can, have a conversation with singers and soloists. (Obviously you will be butting in on their "conversation", because they will rarely have left any space for you!) But to extend the "language/vocabulary" analogy, this is how you learn the "accent" - which you can't learn from books, because those details can't be notated: you have to do it by listening and copying. Over and over.

I'll give just one link to explain how jazz improvisation works - pay attention to the first 30-second rant in this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NehOx1JsuT4. That's an experienced jazz musician, dismissing the whole idea of "chord-scale relationships", and telling you why it's got a hold on jazz teaching: "they can sell it to you". He then goes on to demonstrate how improvisation works (or some ways it does anyway). All his videos are good reference for general attitude and approach to jazz improvisation - not so much on details. (You don't have to like jazz or want to play it, but it's jazz that has developed the most sophisticated systems of improvisation, at least in western culture. So those guys know what they are talking about.)

[Tuch]

Melody=creates musical interest...becomes 'memorable'.
A barrage of non sensical notes don't!which have no 'musical direction' but melody 'steers'=makes musical sense!'..becomes 'memorable'...a musical direction.
think 'vocally'...not 'technically!'

[JonPR]

Originally Posted by Tuch

Melody=creates musical interest...becomes 'memorable'.
A barrage of non sensical notes don't!which have no 'musical direction' but melody 'steers'=makes musical sense!'..becomes 'memorable'...a musical direction.
think 'vocally'...not 'technically!'

Thanks for summarizing my rant so succinctly!

[Silly Moustache]

Originally Posted by BoneDigger

This may come across as a strange question, perhaps bordering on ignorant. If so, I apologize. I understand the concept of playing within a scale. And of course, the use of hammers, pull-offs, slides, etc. The sign of a good player is one who puts feeling into the music and really makes it sound unique or at least stirs feelings and emotions. To do that, you need to have a well developed touch and put those little embellishments on your playing. Most people don't want to hear somebody playing a lead if they are just playing notes in a scale.

So, for someone who wants to get better at that, what term do you research on YouTube? Is it phrasing? Embellishments? Lead? Touch? I just want some guidance on "okay, you are playing a song, try this little trick" sort of thing. Basically, how to take a boring lead and make it interesting, including tricks of the trade?

Dear Bonedigger, your question is neither strange, nor ignorant. In fact you are demonstrating an awareness of expressing emotion in your guitar accompaniment along with good musical practice.

This is something that I feel strongly about - cynically it is about "selling the song" but really "telling the story", rather than simply reciting the lyrics.



I've helped/mentored a number of folks regarding the presentation of songs, and perhaps, via Zoom one-to-ones, I could help you.
PM me if interested.

[Robin, Wales]

Hi BoneDigger,

I would say that you are talking about timing and phrasing.

I'm a very basic guitarist, no fast or fancy stuff. I flatpick Carter style boom/chuck and Travis pick to accompany songs as a solo guitarist / singer. A campfire guitarist. Pretty much all my songs have an instrumental break that I compose myself. Basically, I take the melody and work something out around that, often with my left hand still in the basic chord shapes the song uses (which is very Carter style). I know squat about scales beyond do, re, mi.....

But I can shut up a Friday night bar room when playing an instrumental break on a slow tune like Tennessee Waltz; just by playing the simple single note melody of that tune, starting on the bass root note of a G chord shape, with the odd double stop or strum to fill out the sound. Folks will be listening, nodding along, and anticipating when the next note is going to drop. It’s a hackneyed “trick” really because I simply play my instrumentals just like I would sing the melody..... It's all about the timing and phrasing getting the emotion into the song.

I listen to, say, a jazz saxophonist and hear the same thing: it's all about the timing and phrasing. I know squat about jazz, but I know where that solo is going and the player takes me with them on the journey. It's their phrasing and timing that takes me along.

I did a weeklong bluegrass camp a few years back when I played dobro. I can remember someone asking Mike Witcher what defined a good dobro player. He said that it was someone who could play Amazing Grace up and down just one string and carry the audience with them. He talked a lot about Gerry Douglas and how, as a session musician, he would listen to the singer and then mimic back their timing and phrasing when playing his solos – and that was how he got such a great “fit” playing on other folk’s tracks.

So, I solo like I would sing – simple as that – all the emotion, timing and phrasing I put into my singing I put into my (very basic) instrumental breaks. Each song I sing has a different feel; therefore, each instrumental break has a different feel. And both can change slightly each performance.

I don’t know any specific guitar tutorial videos for this – I can only suggest listening to a great singer performing a simple song melody (say, Andy Williams singing Moon River – he really moves the timing and phrasing around a lot on that song), finding that melody on guitar, perhaps around the basic chord shapes, and trying to play your instrumental like they sing it. I think that you could learn a lot about phrasing and timing from trying that one exercise.

I can say what you don’t want though. Have you ever used one of those music programmes where you can get the midi to play the score? That’s like the exact opposite of what you are talking about!!!!

EDIT: I've just been visiting your website Todd. I really enjoyed listening to your tracks. You are far further along the road than I am!!!

[AX17609]

Originally Posted by BoneDigger

This may come across as a strange question, perhaps bordering on ignorant. If so, I apologize. I understand the concept of playing within a scale. And of course, the use of hammers, pull-offs, slides, etc. The sign of a good player is one who puts feeling into the music and really makes it sound unique or at least stirs feelings and emotions. To do that, you need to have a well developed touch and put those little embellishments on your playing. Most people don't want to hear somebody playing a lead if they are just playing notes in a scale.

So, for someone who wants to get better at that, what term do you research on YouTube? Is it phrasing? Embellishments? Lead? Touch? I just want some guidance on "okay, you are playing a song, try this little trick" sort of thing. Basically, how to take a boring lead and make it interesting, including tricks of the trade?

It's not a Google-able topic. These are issues that develop over a lifetime of experience. They're not tips and tricks. Speaking from my own experience, good vibrato was a dedicated two-year quest.

[Mr. Jelly]

You do it the same way as you would when speaking. It has to do with you not technic or scales. If you say something everything about it has to do with what is going on with you and your involvement with the subject matter. Or not. The same applies to musical phrasing.

[stanron]

Whilst I was reading your original post I was thinking "Just concentrate on melodies". Then I read JonPR's post which said it well and with reasons.

This morning I was listening to BBC Radio 3, the classical music channel. Two pieces grabbed my attention from widely differing melodic stances. J S Bach's Violin concerto in E major, 1st movement, and John Dowland's Tis now I must pass with the Frogs Galliard. J S Bach manipulates melody with outrageous complexity and invention. He could get more musical ideas into eight bars than most 19th Century composers got in eight lines of score. I absolutely love it.

The John Dowland piece was a model of simplicity. A Counter Tenor voice accompanied by a lute. Simple yes but gorgeous as well.

Get melodies in your head. Even just parts of melodies. Play around with them, faster, slower, quieter or louder. Then try and play them on guitar.

[TBman]

Emphasis, crescendos, extended note durations and the proper use of silence. Go listen/watch some world class classical guitar on Youtube to get ideas.

[Aspiring]

I made a big transition in turning notes into a song with emotions when my guitar teacher introduced me to phrasing combined with melody emphasis.

As learned from him it encompassed timing, grouping, dynamics and other techniques to bring life into the music.

[Gordon Currie]

Originally Posted by BoneDigger

The sign of a good player is one who puts feeling into the music and really makes it sound unique or at least stirs feelings and emotions. To do that, you need to have a well developed touch and put those little embellishments on your playing. Most people don't want to hear somebody playing a lead if they are just playing notes in a scale.

I call this phrasing. Ten people can play the same sequence of notes, but some are going to use embellishments, dynamics, timing and articulation to make that sequence their own.

Ultimately it is phrasing that gives players most of their identifiable style.