Guthrie Govan Discussion

[mcgraham]

When playing along to and improvising over a piece (be it a backing track, an actual record, in a jam band or your own band), what is your approach to your improv and your note choices?

Generally I think in terms of 'what note(s) do I want to hear next', and very much in terms of the shape and feel of an improvised line, but that's ultimately down to my preference and what I'm digging the sound of at that time.

For example, (at least at the moment) I'm a big fan of chromaticism and the flavour and shape these impart. I'm also a fan of extended arpeggios, particularly unusual ones. I tend to splice arpeggios in as I like the more '3D' and dynamic shape they add to my improvs. I'm not a huge fan of pentatonics and prefer to use scale fragments instead. So, when improvising I'll tend have a liberal dose of approach notes, often moving chromatically between target notes, and getting some more 'movement' using arpeggios.

What is your approach to improv? I'd be interested to hear what you like to do with your playing.

Mark