I’ve been working on my guitar playing for a while now, and I find myself in a bit of a philosophical debate. Often, I’ll practice scales (like the pentatonic or other modes) with backing tracks. Sometimes, it feels like I’m creating something musical, and it’s enjoyable to the point where I think, “Wow, maybe I have some natural talent!” But then I wonder: Am I just overestimating myself?
My playing often feels like it’s more about running scales than actually making music. So, I wanted to ask:
What’s the difference between “playing scales” and “making music” on the guitar?
How do you transition from practicing scales to creating something more expressive or emotional?
Have you ever had moments where you felt you were better than you actually are? Is this common?
Do you think this feeling of confidence and enjoyment is part of the natural learning process, or should I be more self-critical?
I’d love to hear your thoughts and any advice on how to break out of the habit of just “playing scales” and start truly “making music.”
Well I’m nowhere near advanced enough to just make music off the top of my head, but it does seem to me that there is a huge amount of scale playing in making good music.
Justin has some lessons on playing in thirds etc. which does vary things a bit, but there’s even more to it than that when making music.
I recently started learning to play the melody to a few Christmas songs including ‘Silver Bells’ and ‘Have yourself a Merry Little Christmas’ and started to wonder what the scales were behind them - and there are certainly scales there, but stepping into modes, then borrowing notes from other scales sometimes.
Playing Gary Moore’s ‘So Far Away’ (intro to Empty Rooms’) shows even more scales. It is one of the simplest tunes, but follows the scales. Justin’s lesson on Reactive Listening will help reveal the nuances of picking out the notes and recognizing the scales in a song.
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The easiest way to play music and not scales is to copy someone who plays music you like. Learn songs, licks and play them a lot and hopefully they will evolve into something original that you like. I am still waiting for that to happen.
I felt both ways, that I am better and worse that I could play. It is not always objective and linked to something tangible. it is rather connected to motivation, state of mind, or in general energy that I have at certain moments.
I think that confidence and self critique are not mutually exclusive. Both are welcome and will help you improve.
Enjoyment to me is the most important thing. If you truly enjoy the ride, everything else will come in place.
In my case the answer is very simple: phrasing… The selection of notes from a given scale + their sequence + timing + places in the solo when you don’t play any. This, altogether, gives almost infinite possibilities. Besides, don’t let us forget that arpeggios are not exactly scales but they can play a major role in soloing.
That’s how I see it; of course your mileage may vary…
I think those are some really good and interesting questions!
What’s the difference between playing scales and playing music? Well, if the music you intend to create IS the sound of a scale being played up and down… then there is no difference. But chances are it is not…
Some of the other guys have given great advice on the mechanical aspects that would likely go into creating actual music - more interesting phrasing (which could translate to: rhythm, bends and which intervals you go for - the sequence of notes from the scale versus arpeggios… or other intervals). Learning other peoples music is also a great way to progress, although that will very likely not (fully) solve the problem you talk about here… creating your own interesting pieces of music.
But one advice I often give to people starting out with improvisation is to start by putting the guitar down - and start humming a melody, riff or solo over the backing track. That’ll free you from patterns built into muscle memory and limitations in your ability to find notes or execute them on the guitar. And it’ll show you if you even have any ideas about the music you wish to create. If you have no creative ideas in your head, then you have zero chance of making your own music on the instrument…
I often tell people I’d rather have them turning 1 shape inside out and use it to its full extend IN SONGS than waste weekd of mindless repetitions and not use it. Running scales tells no story. Stories consists of a language of phtrases and words.
You tell a literal story by chaining some licks (words) into phrases. the art of …exactly…phrasing
You steal licks from the famous blues guys, you get inspiration from them to create your own, based of their ideas. You apply them to some basic chord progressions. You search for that extra dynamic. You said the words but now you’ve got to MEAN it. You apply some techniques that put emphasis on certain ‘intonations’ of your words. You take it higher and lower to give your pitch more flavour, just as you would do with words.
You would practice your message;often you say the same things but with different words. You bring it to a conclusion, a cliffhanger or a bold statement to kmake people think and anticipate what’s to come. A story draws people in, make them curious. A story has a beginning a middle and an end. So does a song or a sub-section of a song like lyrics or a solo, no matter how short, long, easy or complex. If the story is compelling, brings joy or compassion, the story is valid and you are making MUSIC
Apply what you practice to the songs you are practicing.
I my sessions I try to guide students to combining the technical exercises with the songs they do. This creates a double link:
you practice a technical aspect by repetitions, at par with the requirements of real usage: in combination of timing, a passage before and after it and within a context where you are doing more than 1 thing at once.
You have fun with the song and feel more accomplished about you being able to deliver a nice version of its story. The fact that you practice the technical aspect together with it, is the extra benefit.
I can’t imagine somebody turning scales into music without the context of a real song. That is the aim all along, finding freedom and skill to express yourself. Part of the expression is the aknowledgement of people listening to it. In best case they respond to it and feed back that energy to you. That’s where you get the energy to keep going as well. You need aknowledgement; “I understood”; I like this part where you". “This puts me in a nostalgic mood”. etc You want to take people to places. The FEELING you get from the confirmation of your goal is gold! You will never achieve that over a metronome of a looping set of chords. But you do your dry swimming there to focus on a atomic bits in your techniques.
Yes and it is wonderful. sometimes I surprise myself with some notes I can reach or add that tiny subtle wobble of vibrato that gave a passage an extra touch and “more of myself”. An instinctive linking of licks that happened without you rationalising it feels great too.
“common” is duch a bland word. It is precious. Rare enough to be precious but not too uncommon to be unrealistic.
Confidence and enjoyment are your rewards. If they are missing over longer periods of time, you should review your methods. If THESE are common, your doing “having a passion” right
For me, ‘making music’ or being ‘creative’ is a purely a personal/subjective experience
Learning how to sing and play a song and simply performing it, feels more like a craft.
However, if I convince myself that I feel it, linger slightly longer on that note or put some extra ‘emotion’ into a vocal, I tell myself I’m making music. That includes scales, or even just finding a nice tone for a single drone note
There’s always the tension between: Everything has been done before and nothing a beginner does is original, and everything is original because you are doing something that has never been done before (because it’s you).
For what others will think about your music making… It’s what @LievenDV says
The important thing is that you enjoy yourself
Thank you all for the amazing insights and advice! It’s really given me a lot to think about regarding the journey from playing scales to truly making music. Your perspectives on phrasing, storytelling, and the balance between confidence and critique are incredibly valuable.
I do have a couple of questions for you all:
When will you be confident enough to share your improvisations over a backing track on YouTube for others to hear? I’ve been wondering about this myself because I feel like improvising with a backing track is so personal—it feels great in the moment, but I wonder if it would sound as good to others as it does in my head.
Is there something wrong with me, or am I just overly excited about the electric guitar? I’ve played nylon-string and acoustic guitars my entire life, but since picking up the electric guitar, I feel a new kind of joy. Improvising with backing tracks has brought me so much happiness that I almost feel like I’ve gone a little insane—and it’s been this way for the past two years!
Has anyone else experienced this kind of excitement or transformation when switching instruments? Would love to hear your thoughts!
Thanks again for all your replies. This community is awesome.
You are playing many different sorts of scales and asking questions about how to use a scale to make music.
My unwavering response has been and continues to be, reduce things to their simplest form, get rid of the multiple parameters that can cause confusion and musical paralysis. Focus on one scale only, one scale and one scale pattern. If you want bluesy-influenced sounds go for the minor pentatonic. If you want melodic sounds go for the major scale. Pattern 1 (E-shape) of either.
Creating melodic lead guitar lines using the G major scale Pattern 1
Play this mp3 backing track. Limit your options initially. Keeping things tightly in focus will help - fewer options can force creativity out of you.
Play some short, improvised lines over the top, use free-play exploration on the notes available to you. Listen for the quality of each note over the
chord, and especially listen to the first and last notes of any phrase you play. Do they sound good / not so good? A good note is just one place above or below a ‘bad’ note so be prepared to move your finger one step away if your ears guide it.
Find the opportunities to pick / hammer-on / flick-off / slide.
1st string only – frets 2, 3 & 5
When comfortable, move onto the next string.
2nd string – frets 3 & 5
Pause here and explore what you can do with this pair of strings together.
Continue.
3rd string – frets 2, 4 & 5
When comfortable, explore what you can do with 2nd and 3rd strings together.
For inspiration, try starting with a short phrase, say the words rhythmically, clap the rhythm, play the rhythm on a muted guitar string to train your picking hand, turn that rhythm into an improvised melody using notes from the scale.
Use anything you want as a short statement or melodic line. Use repetition to make the statement several times, maybe using slightly different notes, altering the emphasis on certain syllables by making the note shorter or longer.
Look outside, sunshine is calling me
Look outsiiiide, sunshiiiiine is calling meeee
Then attempt the call-and-response technique – your statement, repeated a few times, is met with a reply that has a different rhythm feel and notes making up its melody.
Look outside, sunshine is calling me
Look outsiiiide, sunshiiiiine is calling meeee … Hey, hey, why don’t you come out to play?
Depends on how you approach your learning journey. If you want to hear opinions on technical, melodic en emotional aspects of your abilities, there is only a bit of bravery needed to share it. A good description of your context and the aim of the recording will make it less awkward.
I noticed that over the years, people experience less hurdles to record themselves and post it. If you would check around on the AVOYP section (“audio and video of yourself playing”), you will notice that people of all levels and styles come to post here.
Start with recording for yourself with the mindset that you record to INTENTIONALLY spot your mistakes to learn from them.
That doesn’t mean that it has to be perfect because that will never (seldom) happen.Even when you get better and better. You will remain as critical and that bar only goes higher as you grow. It evolves with you.
Do it for yourself first, share and add context and a bit of self-assessment. I found that, me my skill level, these things went good and the recording shows these and these things need work. People can agree, disagree, add relevant tips etc.
Hold on to that almost naive kind of joy. it is the purest and the one we miss most about not being a child anymore. Cherish it and NEVER be ashamed of it. Be proud of it and channel it in expressing music, putting energy in exploring, learning and practicing. USE it in music to express yourself again.
You feel there is so much for you to discover and you feel the combination of opportunities and threats. So much to do but so much places to get lost. It must give you a sense of freedom and it makes you happy. surf that wave and make people envy your joy
Richard knows what he is talking about when it comes to guitar and music. You’d do well to treasure his pearls…
If however, you’re thinking of dancing down the blue-bricked road, you might consider a less ‘cheerful’ phrase? Look inside, the darkness is calling Look insiiiide, the daaarkness is killing meeee. Hey hey hey, it’s the price you paaaay
Haha, this reminds me so much of when I picked up my first electric over four years ago
I was so enthused at the sounds it could make, and when I discovered this thing called the pentatonic scale pattern that all the notes sounded ‘good’ on whatever you played, I couldn’t help my enthusiasm and recorded the crappiest ‘impro’ in the history of axe-wielding.
I believe The Dead Flag Blues still lies buried somewhere in my learning log, but even I am too embarrassed to resurrect it
