Jump to content

Having Trouble Soloing Over F# and A Chords?


Recommended Posts

I can't remember exactly who it was that said this, and I don't know if it helps you at all, but the thread title just made me think of this quote that I have held to heart ever since I heard it.


 


You spend countless hours and years, learning and mastering all the chords, scales and theories, just so you can throw it all out the window and just play what you feel from the heart.


 


maybe not exactly like that, but that's how I interpret it. You know what you feel, it may take a while to translate it, but just go with it.


Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

I can't remember exactly who it was that said this, and I don't know if it helps you at all, but the thread title just made me think of this quote that I have held to heart ever since I heard it.

 

You spend countless hours and years, learning and mastering all the chords, scales and theories, just so you can throw it all out the window and just play what you feel from the heart.

 

maybe not exactly like that, but that's how I interpret it. You know what you feel, it may take a while to translate it, but just go with it.

 

 

I guarantee that if you "throw it all out the window and play what you feel from the heart" it's going to sound like shit.

 

A good instrumentalist knows what notes to play during improvisation because they have a general understanding of how to stay in key and make specific choices when playing accidentals. They know this because they've played and practiced for a long time; they may not be theory experts but they still know what's going to work and what isn't going to work. An instrument is a tool used to manipulate sound, and instrumentalists have to achieve a certain proficiency with that tool in order to produce the sounds they want. That means actually knowing how to play an F# or a Bb when they need to, and that means they're making the choice to play an F# or a Bb for specific reasons. That choice can be made within an instant, but it's still a choice that's being made.

 

I always roll my eyes a little when people talk about improvisation in these really romantic, cerebral terms where a person is just "feeling the music." There's a lot of study and practice that needs to be done to get to the point where an instrumentalist is proficient enough to be able to make those choices sub-consciously and let muscle memory guide their playing.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

I can't remember exactly who it was that said this, and I don't know if it helps you at all, but the thread title just made me think of this quote that I have held to heart ever since I heard it.

 

You spend countless hours and years, learning and mastering all the chords, scales and theories, just so you can throw it all out the window and just play what you feel from the heart.

 

maybe not exactly like that, but that's how I interpret it. You know what you feel, it may take a while to translate it, but just go with it.

 

 

You can't just forget what you've learned and hope to play something in the key just like that. You have to at least implicitly know music theory, even if you can't explain it formally, to write something that happens to follow theory.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...