Hi fam,
I'm very happy to share the first episode of a new series called "The Improv Loop" with you. If you are interested in learning how to improvise on the guitar, this is going to be fun for you.
Improvising over chord changes is something that I've always found a bit elusive and difficult. That's why I want to share some of the ideas that have helped me in the past and the new ideas that I will come across as I concentrate on improvising in my personal practice time.
This first episode is all about the most important tool for learning how to improvise over chord changes... a looper pedal! Okay, that's a bit of an overstatement. You don't have to have a looper pedal to get good at improvising. You can use a looper, jam tracks, or even get a friend to play some rhythm guitar for you. The important thing is that you have some kind of harmonic background (IE Chords) to give the notes you play some context.
Looping a simple chord progression or even a single chord can give you that context your fingers and ears need to pick notes that sound good to you. Using a looper will also help you sharpen your timing and rhythm guitar skills.
If you don't have a looper, I'd suggest picking one up. You can get started with a simple T.C. Electronic Ditto looper for about $100. Used ones go for even less. If you can't get a looper, don't worry. I'll be posting jam tracks based on the loops I use for each video.
One of my main goals with this series is to make things extremely progressive and step-by-satep. That way everyone can follow along regardless of skill level. I'm planning on putting new episode out ever 1-2 weeks. If you have any questions or video topic suggestions as we progress, you can leave a comment on this page or email us directly at support@guitarfam.com.
Have fun,
Nate
P.S. Don't forget that all Guitar Fam members get one complimentary private lesson with me. If you haven't taken advantage of that yet, you can book your 1st lesson here on the Guitar Fam site.