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

Thanks for all the feedback everyone. A truly great exercise that contains alot of hidden treasure. Helps you discover alot of little licks too which is pretty cool.

Will be stating the obvious here for some, but for those just getting into triads, chord construction etc, notice those 3 notes, ( effectively 4 with the bend) - A,C,D,E - form the partial triads of both the Am7 and D7 chords in the progression.

Am7 - A C (1, b3) + E ( bent note) , the 5
D7 - D A ( 1,5) + C , the b7.

So chord tones everywhere, with shared notes, but different sounds over the 2 chords.

Cheers, Shane

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@TheMadman_tobyjenner @DavidP thank you both for the hint, have to try it when I’m done with the Power Chords (at the moment, I’m really enjoying to make some noise :sunglasses: :cowboy_hat_face: :cowboy_hat_face:). Don’t know, if this 321 is an excercise Justin mentions in a certain video, so we’ll all pass it while following the lessons, otherwise, wouldn’t it be worth being fixed somewhere? Thanks again for your effort keeping the beginners informed, very appreciated!
Edit: Just saw the Active Melody link on David’s post.

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Andrea
I think if more people take the exercise up it could well become one of our guitar challenges so all the relevant information would appear in that thread. Probably too early for that happen at the moment but certainly a possibility. Although not a specific exercise in Justin’s curriculum he does talk about limiting yourself when learning to improvise. But hey absolutely no problem with you sticking to the program. Enjoy the power calls and get rocking.
:metal::sunglasses:

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I’ll do that, after all that Hallelujah fingerstyle stuff, that I liked too) it’s a relief to wake up now and get a little loud. SO much fun! Chug, chug :sunglasses:

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Super phrasing Shane, sounded great!

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OK I had a go - this time with a higher gain sound than most have used.

I only did ‘proper’ bends in the one position, but I interpreted the rules to mean that microbending anywhere was allowed. At the end just for a laugh I put the extra note from Dorian in there just to feel the sheer relief :joy:

Edit: weird - It’s not playing for me when I click the link from this forum page, but fine from youtube itself. Can anyone else play it?

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Works for me Phil and that was a great up tempo rock work out for 321. Cool sounded great, some may argue a little busy and in need of space here and there but I thought it worked with the BT for sure.

Welcome to the 321 Club :wave: :+1:

Been sided lined by another couple of things I am working on, so not decided which BT to use for my next attempt. Maybe this evening but not sure !

@DavidP @Richard_close2u are heading into Guitar Challenge territory yet ?

:sunglasses:

Thanks Toby! I was just getting a spinning circle with my Firefox for some reason.
“3-2-1 You’re back in the room” (for those who remember ‘Little Britain’)

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Epic! What was that thing you did when you moved the pick real fast around 1:52?

Going to rock till you drop there, Phil. Some epic playing with a whole bunch of different ideas being explored, what with whammy bar and is it ‘pinch harmonics’ (not sure, may have the wrong term for the higher pitched squeal made with pick technique on the same fret, that I associate most strongly with Billy Gibbons). And loved the grittier tone.

Thanks JK - that’s what I think they call “tremolo picking” - you just alternate-pick as fast as you can!

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Thank you David. Listening back the rhythm seems a bit “same-y”, I didn’t vary it enough. The pinch harmonics are sometimes accidental :rofl:

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@Richard_close2u I see you decided we had sufficient engagement for this to become a new Challenge, Richard. Thanks for taking on the creation and porting.

And here’s a second attempt. This time I have played over one of the BTs that @TheMadman_tobyjenner provided … thanks for that Toby. It’s a double win. Firstly a good exercise to try and play to the vibe of the BT rather than repeating what I did last time. And secondly picking the short BT ensure this is an 800m rather than a full mile production :grin:

For this one I did dial the gain up but nowhere near as gritty as Phil’s post. I shall blame the BT … I kept dialing up the gain and then rolling it back as it just didn’t seem to fit. And then I think that BT inspired me to be a little lighter with the right hand, as the grit was on tap if digging in.

Let the good times roll, even if nothing to do with cars :grin:

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@DavidP @TheMadman_tobyjenner @sclay @twistor59

Some great playing on show with just those 3 fretted notes, 2 chord backing and 1 bend. It’s amazing watching the variety of the performances based on the vibe of the backing track, your ideas and personality that you put into them. Inspirational to this little grasshopper.

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David

Had to take a second listen after going off to see which of the BTs you used, 2-48 Simple Bluesy ? After splitting them all up I pretty much forgot what was what. Plus I have a Solo Blues earworm after an afternoon of RBS and failed recordings.

Good to see you trying a different track. This seemed a little busier than the last one. There were some nice phrases but a few you extended them a little more than was maybe needed. Just mho but at times my ear were anticipating a breath but you kept talking but lots of space in spite of that. I would say bends and pre-bends still need a little work to get that full tone but getting there for sure. But hey great fun !

Might go for that “smooth” track in a while but I’m going to trim some fat first as it 4:45. Most likely do that with the two other new ones but in two minds about the II V Rock track, there is a melody line being repeated which could be distracting. I’ll see what others think on that one, as it may need extracting, not sure though.

Anyway good to see this has become a Challenge and that its a bit of a honey trap at the moment. Looking forward to see what folk come up with !

:sunglasses:

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Sounding good, David, and pretty relaxed with your new guitar. I like the idea of limiting the number of notes, there’s less to think about when making music :slightly_smiling_face:

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Happy belated birthday to your wife, Toby, I hope you both managed at least a wee celebration for that milestone! :birthday:

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Really enjoyed that @TheMadman_tobyjenner , groovy and relaxed, good vibes to you!

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It’s interesting how the same few notes can have such a different feel depending on how they’re played. Very nice Shane.

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Really enjoyed that, Phil, rock on! You’ve got some very cool techniques going on, and those few notes are blazing their own trail with you :guitar: