[jseth]

This really is not rocket science we're talking about here...

If you sit down with your guitar (without a chart or sheet music or tab) and just PLAY ANYTHING... you are improvising... try it some time: just sit down with your guitar in your hands/lap, and relax a bit, take a few deep breaths, put your fingers on the guitar and let them begin to play whatever comes... Do your best to NOT think too much about what you're doing...

And YOU ARE IMPROVISING!

Even if you are playing a "blues scale" or some sort in the key of E... just thump the low E string and play a few intervals against that sound... as you get more adept and comfortable within that scale/format/pattern, begin to s t r e t c h your "lines", the notes you string together... try to "hear" notes or phrases inside of your head, and translate that to what you're playing... singing along with those notes/lines is a wonderful way to learn to hear what's inside of you...

The more you do it, the better you'll get at it! A great way to get started is to use a familiar scale or pattern and then just mess around with it! Try to widen the intervals that you play, skipping notes within the scale instead of playing adjacent notes... as you get more fluent with that scale/key, switch to a different key and try it there.

As with everything, there are varying degrees of improvising, and there are those who are MASTERS at it... and there are those who are constantly regurgitating "licks" or phrases that are pre-learned and pre-planned... those types of players tend to sound bland and banal to my ears, but, to each his own!

Above all else, HAVE FUN WITH THIS! They call it "playing" the guitar for good reason...