This has been brewing in my mind for a few months now. Basically 2 related trains of thought. Thought I’d seek some advice from some more experienced folk here who have trodden the path. Not sure how it’ll all come out, and hopefully I won’t ramble on too much, but here goes.
1.I find myself more and more gravitating towards improvisation, and doing my own thing, either over backing tracks, or utilising chords, scales, triads, arpeggios etc to try to create some interesting music. I continue to learn songs/ solos etc, both for enjoyment, and the obvious skill development it provides. I particularly like those with lots of cool triads in them. Given the choice though, I’d nearly always go to the improv etc, doing my own thing.
I still follow a very structured practice routine, and have pretty much stuck to it over the last 2 ½ years. This is important to me as it provides accountability and focus, covers the foundational bases, and allows me to see more clearly those areas that need more work than others. I have noticed however, that my practice structure has become increasingly slanted towards scales, triads, arpeggios, improv.
I’m still relatively early on in my journey, and I suppose I’m starting to get a bit ‘fuzzy’ on my path forward. I’m 53, not looking to become a rock star, or join a band etc; just enjoy the guitar and become better at doing it.
My gut tells me " Just keep doin what you’re doin. You’re having fun, and you 're learning alot as well". The rational mind pipes up though " That’s all well and good Shane, but if you spend a disproportionate amount of time and effort on one general area, then your development will naturally be retarded in other areas". I suppose I really know the answer, as my gut has rarely been wrong in my life, whereas my mind has often lead me astray.
Still the angst persists.
Anyone have any experience or thoughts on this?
2. My other, closely related question is about scales, triads, arpeggios themselves.
I’m at the point where I’m becoming reasonably familiar, at a foundational level, with all the CAGED shaped major, major/ minor pentatonic scales, many of the basic major/ minor/7th arpeggio shapes, and all the major/ minor triads across the fretboard. I’ve also been working on linking these together, moving between them, and practicing different scale highways across the fretboard. I can generally put on a backing track and use them in relative isolation to create some OK music across different keys. I try to mix up the rhythm and phrasing to create some variation etc. Of course, I realise there’s a lifetime of learning and development right there, but feel I’m going along OK.
My question here is how do I best move towards the next level where I can ‘see’ the scale, the triad, and the arpeggio all light up on the fretboard simultaneously, in real time; so I can more readily utilise any of these in a particular moment? I’m getting OK at,say for example, moving around between different triads shapes on different stringsets and following a chord progression. I then might move to a scale run across the neck for a few notes. It’s from here where I seem to often go astray, ie. dropping back to a position where I can perhaps play some appropriate notes from a triad/ arpeggio, then move again to a few surrounding scale notes. I seem to lose my orientation at times.
As part of my practice routine, I practice interval/ ear training across the neck, finding various intervals from a starting note etc, so I’m not so readily locked into just this shape based mentality. I also run little drills like ‘ascend up the scale, descend down the arpeggio’, or ’ ascend the major pentatonic, descend the minor pentatonic’, and lots of variations on these drill types, using bits and pieces of these.I figure these will help me to gradually start to see it more and more as one big framework, without thinking too much about it. It’s hard work though, and very frustrating at times. Am I getting ahead of myself here? What sorts of drills, exercises etc have some of you used? Other methods? Or should I just take a chill pill, enjoy, and keep doing what I’m doing; knowing, from listening to some others’ experience, that it’ll just gradually develop over the coming years if I keep at it?
If you’ve got this far, you are a champion. Thanks very much for listening.
Cheers, Shane
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