I know I've probably said this before in different contexts, but yet again, I'm learning the fact that LEARNING TAKES TIME. There ain't no magic book. (Though Robert Conti's "The Assembly Line" is an exception!)There ain't no way of learning a musical instrument easily (for me, anyway). What I'm really talking about it that there is no real easy method out there that teaches inprovisation for me.
So what I ended up doing is getting a bunch of books that teach guitar inprovisation. I have a hunch that dedicating one's self to any one of these books can lead someone to improvise. But it ain't easy! These books are not easy.
So this is one tactic that I used:
I got my improv method books and listened to the accompanying CDs or downloads to hear what I might sound like as a result of using the method in question.
I kept coming back to Garrisin Fewell's "Jazz Improvisation for Guitar: A Melodic Approach." So this is the book I remain committed to. Now I may gain some knowledge from other stuff, but this is the book for me.
Not to say this book is easy. For someone at my level, it is quite a challenge. But my habit is usually to quit one method and go to another when the going gets tough. I don't think I'll use that escape this time.
If I want to learn to improvise jazz, this is the method for me. The solos sound musical and not like just a series of notes. So it's time to stay committed, knowing that it will take a long time to get through this book, and there will be times of frustration, but the rewards might just include helping me to do what I want to do: express my spirit and soul using the language of melody and improvisation.
So thank you, Garrison Fewell!
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