In this course I have taken 3 improvised solos, each of which is based around certain limitations and fretboard patterns. In each lesson I dissect 3 phrases from one of the solos and break them down into their core building blocks, turning them into new licks and exercises that we can take away and use for our own improvisation.
Volume One focuses on a Static Chord Groove in E Dorian. A situation many Guitar players will find themselves in. One of the challenges of playing over a static groove is keeping it interesting. It can be handy to have several options that we can focus in on whilst improvising to keep things fresh. The limitations I pick are based on contrast, another key feature of developing interest and movement, the interplay of phrases complimenting, bouncing off and changing the meaning of each other. Each lesson comes with TAB for the entire Improvised solo and TAB for the exercises that we develop during the lessons. There is also a short and extended backing track to use for your own practice.
In this solo we’re also looking into how we can use m7b5 arpeggios over a static chord groove to highlight a little more tension into our phrasing. Using some of the core shapes we’ll look at how we can start subtracting melodies and lines from these core patterns. We’re also going to take a look at a simple and effective way of making our Pentatonic phrases sound ‘outside’.
In this lesson we look at adding Chromatics to Arpeggios and Scales. We also look at ways of modernising the Minor Pentatonic scale with the use of Expanded 2-1-2 patterns. Once we’ve done that, we’ll take a look at playing Diminished Patterns over a Static Chord Groove, which not only add a bit of tension to our playing but also give us a platform to develop wider interval phrases.
In this lesson we dive into rhythmic control with both picking and legato, how working on both helps develop more confidence in phrasing in improvisation. We then dive into some Legato concepts using string skipping not only to create interesting sheets of sound but to further our dynamic playing within melodic ideas.
