Improvising on the guitar – free guitar course

Improvising means composing in real time with a vocabulary you know. On the guitar that vocabulary is visual: shapes (boxes, arpeggios) that you connect together.

A five-step method

One string: improvise on string 1 only, using pentatonic notes. The constraint forces you to care about rhythm.
Three notes: limit yourself to three notes of box 1 and tell a story with rhythm, silence and repetition.
Call and response: play a two-bar phrase, leave two bars of silence, then answer by changing the ending.
Target notes: on each chord, end your phrases on a chord tone (root, third or fifth).
Connecting positions: slide from box 1 to box 2 in the middle of a phrase.

Which scale over which backing?

Backing track	Suggested scale
Blues in A	A minor pentatonic / blues scale (box 1 at fret 5)
Pop in C	C major pentatonic = A minor pentatonic
Modal (Dorian) in D	D Dorian: the notes of C major, centred on D
Andalusian in A	A Phrygian / E Phrygian dominant around the E chord

M:4/4
L:1/8
Q:1/4=84
K:Am clef=treble-8
"Am"e2 g e d2 c2 | A4 z4 | "Am"e2 g e d c A2 | G4 z4 |]

Sing what you play (or play what you sing): the voice naturally finds phrases that breathe.