Hey guys. I probabaly should be posting practice videos, but since I've been pretty busy writing a thesis I just did some quick improv videos for critique. My technique gets sloppy at times, I always lose concentration when I solo.

Cool stuff. I thought the execution was good, I am not so sure I always dug the note choice, or the bending. Looks like you are doing well, though! Of course, I'm no one!

Thanks man, I appreciate it!

Yeah, you sound pretty good; I'd love to hear some more "compositional" type stuff, you know originals and stuff!
Keep on Jamming, man!

-S

here is an interesting game I came up with for improving improv...You put on the track and dont allow yourself to play a single note before you hear it in your hear...You might be surprised at how quickly it makes your ability to hear what you play and learn to play what you hear this way.

I like it. Nice phrasing and Zappa like guitar and appearance makes it also interesting. Good stuff.

Extra plus from me to pull this off on a SG. Don't get me wrong SG:s are great and sometimes exceptional guitars, but I struggled with one for years till, I had to conclude that it is not for me. I mean for any lead work. The way I mangled that poor specimen, it is quite certain that no one else would try it on any lead work either!

here's a short 1-2 min exerpt from my last 30 minute improv session hehe...Argh

I liked it, there were some nice fast saroding there and that means you've obviously practiced it diligently! Around 0:54 and onward the note choices were very tasteful. To top it of to recline like the romans on a banquet was just a good touch. (this is a visual medium too so we notice these things!) The roman shredder should we say!

The recording level is a bit low, but for me I can boost the signal as much as I want so it is not a problem, for others they may not have this option. If you are using your webcam to record these, there may be an option there to boost the mic level by (up to) +20dB. That should give ample extra boost. But anyway nice going in your playing and thanks for making the video!

thanks man...when in Rome...one must act accordingly

Awesome video Nick! Tasty licks! And great idea you mentioned about thinking before you play. I tend to do it, but only for short periods, then ill just randomly go somewhere else....need to concentrate more!

And Mr. Gurgle, sorry I didn't reply earlier. I'm pretty much an amateur when it comes to gear, but I just really like the feel of the SG. The neck is really fast, plus the fret size is just right. I have a really nice ibanez RG prestige as well, but I always find that I come back to the SG
.....now all i need is a decent amp haha.

Thank you for your kind words, and yes Gibson SG is a fine guitar and known for its fast neck, so go for it! It's always good to know what works for yourself and not fall to the marketing hype.

I try to attach a pic here of my suffering SG, so you can see what a beat up guitar looks like. Take care of your SG better! (I hope the pic shows, it doesn't in the preview.)
[img]1 Gurgled SG.gif - Bild entfernt (keine Rechte)[/img]

Suffering might be a understatement !!! my Friend lol

I am wondering mr. gurgle, what is it you mean when you say "fast neck"? Do you mean it was quick to make? hard to break (as in it "held fast" in the face on much abuse) I just wanna know what people mean by this b/c all my bros over @ guitar center and whatnot (they are pretty the only friends I have any more) have used this phrase in passing regarding g-necks...and I have never understood what the heck they talking bout'.

To Wetduck: Heh underestimation indeed, but I have to be gracious!

To Nicky: It is mostly a phrase that people use because they've heard it so many times. For me it was one of the first things I heard back in the day when I told I had a Gibson SG, oh the fast neck etc.

I would imagine that the origin of that phrase is based on the fact that you could and can (today too) set up the SG so that it has a very low action. The frets are big but not tall. The neck is slim (if you think Gibsons). The scale length is short and the guitar is small and light by design. Add all these up and you get a guitar that facilitates all the requirements needed to play fast. In other words it can offer very little resistance. So no it is not about how fast the neck can be made or how fast it held under "guitar abuse". I've broken the neck on my SG three times and it didn't hold that fast to me at all! (Twice myself and once a friend, back in the day sat on the case but he vehemently denied it.)

Other reasons for the phrase are probably found in the fact that many older (1950 - 70) guitars lived in a different age. The action was high (not just in the strings though), strings heavy, and shredding was mostly thought of as Hendrix shredding his guitar to pieces before setting it on fire! Try a strat with a set of 12's in it, with a high action and you know why no one really even thought of going outside the pentatonic frame!!!! I think it was Clapton that started to popularize the use of lighter strings (might've been mandolin strings that he once used) and he played the SG then! Perhaps it was Clapton and his peers that gave some push for the phrase to live on.

Then you have the monster players like McLaughlin that truly sped things up and he was seeing using the SG. Add to the list Frank Zappa and you see that the SG was used in technical fast playing, when on the other side the rock guys were using their Les Pauls. These kinds of images live on. You don't really have guitars today that will do the same. I mean who will call a Jeff Loomis 7 string a fast neck and remember it tomorrow? Nobody! (Jeff Loomis is a great player, nothing against him or his guitar, but you get the picture.) They are all fast, super graphite krypton filled (add your own technical terms here) products. Sure they are great, but the era of burning the maple neck strat on stage has ended, now you have flamed maple tops, cooked, roasted maple necks etc! The company does it for you, for $899. And everything is fast nowadays! It's a fast food shred culture!

And what comes to burning the guitar etc. Hendrix seemed to suffer from this image. He didn't really want to act crazy on stage, but that was what was expected of him! Just playing calmly as good as at any other time wouldn't do it. People would say that he wasn't playing as good. So there you have it, people will stick to images, catch phrases and their own ideas of what something or someone is etc. and once the Gibson SG cultivated the fast neck moniker, for whatever reason, you will know that it will stick and you will continue to hear it at the Guitar Center on this forum and everywhere! For a lack of a better word, it must be some sort of meme of the guitar world!

Little Am latin improv for your consideration:

And one more... this time improv along to one of my favorite Santana tracks.

Hey JohnA - just watched your vids. Nice work! I particularly liked the first one - great groove to your playing :). I'm not really a jazz guy myself - can I ask who your main influences are?

Great job Cliff :) i listened to both :) some sweet tones coming out of your guitar !! 1 thing i really noticed :) in the second track ! you have a really good sense of melody. I think its the hardest part of learning to play, and you seem to have a natural way of feeling your way around it :) in both tracks you have a few really tasty licks going on !! great job !!

Thanks so much! But believe me, I have zero natural ability for melody. My ex-wife used to joke that I was tone deaf. The first half of the second one is Santana's melody, and after that I let myself go. Guess I have a lot of practice playing in a minor key, and now know it in a few positions up and down the neck. For me, one of the most interesting challenges for improv is phrasing. How is it some of the greats can improv such compelling solos out of such a limited set of note choices? I think, when improvising, just as one can play it too safe repeating the same notes over and over, that it's too easy to find one or two rhythmical figures that just come to mind, and need to be broke out of.

Glad you like the tone! I'm playing through a Mess Boogie Mk V. For the second track it was in Mk I emulation mode, which is the classic Santana sound. My main guitar has a lot more treble than Santana's however, and listening back it wonder if it isn't a bit too piercing in places. When I get excited I pick too hard, and that seems to rob the notes of some of their 'roundness' :)

Hello guys,
I haven't been on here or a while. I see many new members here. Welcome to all!!

I have been practicing 1.5-2 hours a day lately. My picking speed has gone way faster after I started lessons with Pebber. However, I still struggle with Improvising or playing over a backing track probably because I do not practice playing over a backing track lol. Well, its time to practice and progress.. Here is a video of me improvising over a C Major Rock backing track from Pbguitarstudio.com. I know it does not sound great, lots of mistakes, not clean etc. However this is on the spot improvisation. None of the licks/melodies were pre thought. Any feedback/advice would be greatly appreciated.


Cheers,

Cool tone! Almost violin-like. And great vibrato - I'm jealous ;).

Great vid man i think your doing great! Keep it up. I can't give your real good advise as my level of playing is not there yet heheheh

Cliff: Really nice improvisations on those tracks. You have that touch that some people seem to possess (or learn, don't know which) when improvising melodically. Is it the phrasing or what I don't know, but I bet that people really like to hear those solos. It's like Gilmour/May/Beck and others but still your own slant on things. I like it very much. Thanks for posting those improvs.

Diego: Nice playing. You have that fast stuff going already. I see that it pays to learn with Pebber. I was thinking some early Iron Maiden, Dave Murray and Adrian Smith while listening your improv. You had nice ideas for licks and those can be used further at other times, so keep up the good work! And thanks for posting the improv too!

Thanks so much - I'm really flattered. In my case, whatever good you here in there is learned: I started with very little musical ability. At any rate, you've inspired me! I've just finished a warmup session (first time in two weeks - whoops!) and might see if I can find a nice track to jam along to. Thanks again!