Stretching your Improvising Skills

[Paul Wolfe]

So, I was working on guitar lessons for my son over the Christmas holidays and came upon an idea to help with improvising skills.

I was reading about chord progressions - about how most songs are based on a few common progressions. It struck me that rather than applying this knowledge to songs I know, I should try to figure out the progressions to songs I don't know - specifically songs in a genre I don't listen to. So I chose bubblegum pop!

I downloaded some "music" by Britney Spears and Jessica Simpson and started trying to work out the chord progressions to their songs. Since guitar isn't a big part of that music, I had to follow keyboards and basslines. So I got a couple down and started playing along with a RR style tone. Then I started working out different arrangements for the songs. When I feel comfortable with what I come up with, I figure I could throw the song into Adobe Audition and record my guitar part over the track, mix it in and have a new version of a pop song.

One way to work on this is to use a small digital recorder and sing a part over the song and then work it out on guitar from the recording of what you sang. That way you can improvise without having to worry about what scale to use, etc.

For anyone with kids, this is a way to apply what you like to the music your kids like. It may help you look cool to them as well... for you guys in school, this may help you look a bit better to the girls - you won't be so much a "guitar geek" as you will be a "musician" when you play stuff the girls like

[RR-ElectricAngel]

I've actually started reading a book that shows you how to write hit songs. My biggest reason for reading such a book is to learn more about chord progressions. You could learn a thousand songs but its the chord progressions that make you into a musician. There are literally hundreds of songs one can play by just knowing the I-IV-V progression alone. That to me is cool. How many chord progressions do any of us really know?

[frank]

that sounds interesting. i can pick up almost anything by ear. what i'd like to do is understand progressions. that would be methodical, which i'm not. what's the book called?

[RR-ElectricAngel]

Frank, It is called The Guitar Three Chord Songbook. Here are some of the songs that use pretty much the same progressions and chords:

"Play 50 top tunes after learning only 3 chords on the guitar: G, C and D. Includes favorites such as: All Apologies * All Shook Up * Barbara Ann * Can't You See * Chantilly Lace * Donna * Get Back * Give Me One Reason * Gloria * Great Balls of Fire * Hang On Sloopy * Hound Dog * I Fought the Law * Kansas City * La Bamba * Lay Down Sally * Mellow Yellow * Mony, Mony * Rain * Rock Around the Clock * Rock This Town * Rockin' Robin * Stir It Up * Surfin' U.S.A. * Twist and Shout * Werewolves of London * and more."

[frank]

that's unreal. i'm gonna have to find that book or a similar one.