Guitar Challenge (Improv) - 3, 2, 1 improvisations

@DavidP @TheMadman_tobyjenner Thanks David and Toby, at the moment I use my Blackstar ID CORE V3, my guitar and a Tablet or an LG Phone. The aux in of the amp provides the possibility of playing the backing track through the amp, thanks to a trrs cable, I should be able to record BT and guitar right through the amp. Takes some time to get settings, especially the matching of volume of BT and guitar, but I hadn’t enough time to finally check that out yet.
Recordings with my phone on the music stand and the accoustic guitar tend to be unsatisfying, as it sounds different to what I hear while playing. For now, I use recording only for self assessment, but it’s a big, big rabbit hole. Half the time of playing on the electric goes for tone chasing, to get familiar with the amp, but it’s paying off, as meanwhile some really nice tones are coming out.
Don’t need additional challenges with professional recording in the near future… :wink: If that changes, I’ll ask you for help :rofl:

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That was great! :clap:t2: :clap:t2: I understood almost zilch of the tech talk I think I may have to read some more of the technical threads to gain a bit more understanding :grin:

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@adi_mrok Glad you liked it Adi, quite a nice but different BT and fun to mess around with. And thanks for the comments. Only 3 notes ? Yeah who needs scales anyway :rofl:

@skinnyt Hi Trevor and thanks for listening. What can I say I have an eclectic taste but there are some areas I won’t venture ! Glad you enjoyed it. :sunglasses:

@Nancy15 Nancy if you have ears to listen that’s good enough for me, ignore all the tech talk and leave that for use sados ! Appreciate the comments, so thanks for listening. :sunglasses:

@tony and anyone interested in having a go, here is a link to the backing tracks I shared with David and Gordon. Each folder shows the BPM in the title but don’t let that put you off. Most of the original YouTube tracks are on the long side 10-11 minutes, so I have created some shorter version of each to record over. Today I added the 85, 90 and 11 BPM folders and tracks but as these are all around 4:45 minutes I have not trimmed them further. Enjoy :sunglasses:

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Great vibe in that playing Toby, sounded good to me. Good use of pauses and relaxed vibe.

Thanks JK, it really is a fun experiment. I also see it as a good springboard to improvising for anyone starting or not long into it. As you can see from Shane’s post, even using the same BT you can get a wider variety of styles and expressions. :sunglasses:

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Kick back and swagger around in a lounge suit :wink: . Sounded fantastic Toby! Those slow bends are so moody, lovely volume changes and the gaps add so much to the improv.

I look forward to the day I know enough to experiment like this!

Be patient Grasshopper, your time will come. :cricket:
:sunglasses:

:rofl: Yes Sir Mr. Miyagi… I’ll go back to sanding the floor, painting the fence and waxing the cars :wink:

Ha I was thinking more Master Po and Kwai Chang Caine but I’d expect you may have to google that one ! :rofl:

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A little before my time yes, I’ll go into no more on that though!
Now if you’d referenced Monkey Magic… :rofl:

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The beginning of wisdom The Beginning of Wisdom - YouTube

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Thought I’d have a crack at this 321 exercise - 321 Project using the same Am7-D7 progression. Great idea and one I’ll be definitely adding to my improv practice.

Cheers, Shane

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Pretty cool Shane. Same kind of chord progression but quite a different vibe. The repeating licks were great.

Welcome to the party Shane. :wave:

Really enjoyed that. What I like about this exercise, is despite us all being limited to the same 3/4 notes, you still get a wide variety of expressions and phrases. And I think in that way we can all learn more by experimenting with what can be done but also from each other at the same time. Hoping to do another this weekend but pondering which of the BT styles to use.

Great job ! :clap:

:sunglasses:

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Another 321 project. Very cool, Shane. Great sound. Very interesting for a beginner to see how many different themes you can get out with just a few tones. Wow. Have to bookmark this project for later, when I hopefully reach your level. :+1:

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These are becoming addictive posts to look out for, when are you guys going to open up the JC Lizard Lounge?

Nice work Shane :+1:

Great to see another joining in, Shane. Lovely tone and enjoyed your phrasing. Beyond me to comment on bend accuracy, my ears are under-schooled. You were nailing the use of repeated hammer-on/flick-off in a phrase.

Now I am inspired for another round over a BT this arvie.

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@Helen0609 and you’ll reach the level where you can get into this sooner than you think, Andrea, without jumping ahead. Justin teaches the E minor pentatonic in the open position. Once you’ve done that lesson then you can join this party. And it can be done without getting into bends and other lead techniques.

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I would say sooner than that. Knowing the minor pent is useful but you only need to find those 3 notes (see diagram on my thread) and away you go. If you can’t bend just slide up from the 4th interval to the 5th for the same effect, in this case from 7th to 9th fret on the G string. @Helen0609 Just have a go Andrea, see what you can do and have some fun, no need to post or share, just experiment. :sunglasses:

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Great job Shane I really enjoyed the motif you came up with here it really made it quite an enjoyable listen :wink: