Improvisation

It surprises me time and again how few guitar solos can be heard on the radio today. Although the guitar is probably one of the most played instruments in the world and in popular music, its presence is often overshadowed by keyboards, programming or simply doesn't exist. Over more than the last decade even rock music had most of the solos eliminated. There are a few acts that still incorporate solos in their arrangements. I have no idea why things are the way they are. Do bands skip solos to become more marketable and adhere to the "a hit song can't be longer than three and a half minutes" rule? Or is there a legion of hundreds of thousands of guitar players that can play great rhythm but no lead? It will probably remain a mystery to me. However, I do think that it is a shame because guitar solos were an integral part in the rise of rock music in the late 60's, 70's and still in the 80's.

Styles that to this day enjoy the presence of guitar solos are blues and jazz. It could very well be that because of the lack of the mass appeal of these styles and the persistence and longevity of the fans and audience artists feel encouraged to continue to deliver the highest quality of their playing.

During my tenure in college I have seen and heard many great players. But the one that I have learned from the most (and still do) is Scott Henderson. Not only do I own most of his discography and have listened to the CD's and vinyl (!) albums till my ears bled but I saw him play live three times and during a clinic as well. Simply amazing.

Scott is originally a blues player that turned to jazz and incorporated many different genres in his playing. Lately, he returned to his blues roots only to enhance the music with some jazz and rock flavors. During his career that started out with gigs with Chick Corea, Steve Smith, Jeff Berlin and other greats from the jazz rock scene he was a founding member of Tribal Tech together with bass player Gary Willis. The development of Tribal Tech was interesting in a sense that the music started out extremely complicated and arranged (Scott studied composition as well) and turned to jamming on the final two albums. At first the musical structures were much defined and 15 years later the structures were almost gone bringing out the best of the players.

I don't own many instructional videos. I have seen some that completely turned me off because the instructors used them to make a quick buck without really teaching you anything. I do own the two videos that Scott has published quite a long time ago, Jazz Fusion Improvisation and Melodic Phrasing. Even though every aspiring guitar player is eager to learn all about the jazz fusion improvisation with the scales and the modality and all the "interesting" stuff it is the melodic phrasing video that captures my attention every time. I believe that every serious guitar player no matter what style or genre should watch this video at least once.

The video focuses on the similarity of language and music. The major musical element in the video is rhythm. Scott uses very easily understandable examples to support his theory and bring his point across. He takes solos and melodies and splits them up into paragraphs, phrases and words. In summary, the player becomes a storyteller to capture the audience. It's a very powerful message.

I would like to encourage everyone to take a fresh approach at improvising and playing solos. Check out examples from Scott's videos and sit down with the story in mind before you start playing. You don't have to play as many notes in as little time possible. That's impressive but neither interesting nor entertaining. You don't have to play scales as far out as the moon. Chances are your listeners won't be able to follow you. Put your heart and soul into your playing, don't forget to breathe, listen and play in full sentences. You will be amazed at how different and intriguing you sound.