This Skill Will Change Your Soloing Forever!!

ByDaniel Weiss

Welcome back to another wise guitar episode today I’m going to show you a very very important concept to transform your soloing these are not some magic tricks or just a lick I’m going to teach you it’s a whole concept that when implemented can transform the way you approach soloing that of course means you got to practice I had a number of comments and questions about the subject so let’s do this so musical phrasing by definition is the way a musician shapes a sequence of notes in a passage of music to allow expression much like we’re speaking English a phrase may be written identically but may be spoken differently now while that has to do a lot with dynamics articulation and the way one would approach a musical phrase today I choose to focus on concepts for developing storytelling and musical sense within soloing something I tend to believe is not talked about enough in the guitar community and just working on that alone can set your playing way apart from a lot of other players so here are exercises you can start practicing to really learn to develop a story within your solos so that whoever is listening can follow your musical train of thought

Repetition

repetition repetition Repetition repetition you can emphasize an idea by repeating it giving it more meaning from time to time so that is done by just playing a motive whatever you want to and repeating and milking that idea so that’s how that’s done

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Variation

all right another cool technique is called variation okay it’s very common in composition so what you do you play a motive or a phrase and then you keep the rhythm of that phrase but you change the notes so you play a phrase you rest and then you play another phrase with the same rhythm but you change the notes and then you repeat that whole process so here it is

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Fragmentation

so the fur the last technique I’m going to show you today is called fragmentation in fragmentation what you do you play a longer phrase can be two or three bars then you rest and then you take a part of that phrase you just play and play a variation on it as we know variation is keeping the rhythm and changing the notes so you play a longer phrase two or three bars you rest and then you play a variation on idea the first half the second half or just a part of that original phrase so that’s how that is done

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Summary

in this video I explained and demonstrated the importance of continuity and storytelling through a few concepts of motivic development number one repetition emphasizing an idea by repeating it again and again the second exercise was variation repeating the rhythm of the original phrase while changing its notes and the last and third example fragmentation where I play the phrase and then play the variation using a part of that phrase also please like this video and subscribe and I’ll see you soon

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Next level Soloing Using Motivic Development

After learning the material in this article you will have the abilities to:

  • Develop a story, so the listener can follow your musical train of thought.
  • Discover the art of variation In your playing.
  • Acknowledge/ Develop your ideas bringing new purpose to your current musical abilities.

Preface:

I want to start by giving thanks to all the great artists who were my musical inspiration through the years. Helping me discover again and again the deep meaning of developing a musical idea. Their artistry and craftsmanship are the wind beneath my wings.

One of the most often asked questions I get from my students and guitarists around the world, Is: “How do I use the material I know so far to create musical sense and flow in my soloing?”.
My answer hasn’t changed in 15 years: Learn to tell a story with it.

What makes a great movie great? What makes a great book great?
Well, a very big part of it is the art of developing an idea.

Before we can become great storytellers, we will first need to have some storytelling skills under our belts. Yes, it does take time and effort just like anything else: learning scales, working on technique etc. but this my friends is TOTALLY worth your practice time.

The art of motivic development Is a rudimentary skill to have as a player of any instrument and is the heart and soul of soloing. Once you dive deep into it, you will have the ability to take an idea all the way to the moon, grabbing the listener’s attention.
Within time and practice, you’re soloing will have its own identity, story and energy. Your solos will become juicy and alive like never before.

Let me show you some of the main tools I practice and how I help my students develop storytelling in their playing.

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Choosing a Motive

Before you can develop an idea you first need to choose what idea you’d like to develop.

So how do you choose? It depends, but here are a few ideas

Suppose you are jamming with friends, how about grabbing one of their ideas and trying to develop it? Let’s say the drummer comes up with some groovy rhythmic figure, try and develop that! That intention alone can make the jam way more happening.

Let’s take another example: You are trying to build a solo on a given song.
That song probably has a melody. How about taking ideas from that song’s melodic structure and developing them into full solos. Using the song as an “idea box”. You see, as improvisers, inspiration, and ideas are always around the corner.

In this lesson, I choose a standard form and harmony of a C jazz blues.

I came up with whatever melodic ideas I had at the moment and tried to apply the different motivic development principles into real-time improvisation in my soloing.

So without further ado, let’s head over to the exercises.

The following exercises are based on the evergreen topic of continuity. Which can be found in almost any art form, including: Literature, dancing, songwriting, theater etc.

1: Repetition, Repetition, Repetition.

You can simply and powerfully emphasize an Idea by repeating it again and again.

It can be an Exact repeat or an inexact repeat.

  • Play a phrase.
  • Rest.
  • Repeat the phrase with intention.

When you “had enough” with that idea, move on and apply the same process with the next idea.

So how do you choose? It depends, but here are a few ideas

soloing

2: Variation

The goal here is to keep the original rhythm in the ears of the listener, while altering the notes working them out through the tune.

  • Play a phrase.
  • Rest.
  • Play another phrase with the same rhythm, different notes.
  • Repeat
soloing

3: Fragmentation

In this exercise you will a play longer phrase, then, take a part of that longer phrase and apply variation on it. As we know from the last exercise, variation is keeping the rhythm while changing the notes.

  • Play a longer phrase.
  • Rest.
  • Apply variation on a part (aka fragment) of that longer phrase.
  • Repeat.
soloing

But wait!… How do I know what notes to play to create motives in my soloing?
Of course, you need to have the harmonic/melodic fundamentals down.

This course will teach you the very fundamentals of improvisation covering subjects such as: Triads, Arpeggios, Voice Leading your ideas, hitting the right notes. And most importantly making actual music while soloing! We’ll cover the basics, unleash your creativity and apply the concepts through actual tunes showing you how to play over it!

Check out my youtube channel!

Daniel Weiss