Improvisation
Improvisation means creating your own melodies by ear. You now know more than enough to begin improvising. Although some licks and melodies are derived entirely from one scale, it is also common that notes from a combination of scales are used.
Most musicians create new melodies totally by ear, drawing on all the sounds they are familiar with. When you are learning, the best approach is to learn all the sounds and scales but also to experiment with making up your own licks totally by ear. Composing is usually done by intuition based on subconscious knowledge and then rounded off with fine tuning based on conscious knowledge, i.e., the creating is done by ear and the theoretical analysis comes later.
A good way to start is to improvise with rhythm on one note only. Once you are comfortable doing this, try using the same rhythms and move between different notes. The following example demonstrates this technique.
This example uses a two bar rhythm played on the note G and then moved between three notes. If you are playing in the key of G and you improvise using the note G, you can’t go wrong. If you are in the key of C, you could use the note C to begin with.
This one uses a repetition and variation approach which is a common improvising technique. One of the most important things to remember when using the repetition and variation technique is to keep your basic idea fairly simple. This makes it easy to develop and easy for the listener to follow what you are doing.
This final example is a Blues solo using many of the techniques you have learned in the book. By now you should have a good grasp of the basics of harmonica playing.
The best way to develop your playing further is to listen to your favorite recordings and play along with them and also to begin playing with other musicians. Guitar and harmonica sound particularly good together, as do piano and harmonica. If you are serious about music it may also be worth taking some lessons, particularly in the area of understanding music. Having said that, the most important thing is to just keep on playing!
If you like the Blues sounds presented in this book – bends, slides, trills, train rhythms etc, the book Progressive Beginner Blues Harmonica covers these subjects in more detail along with lots of other great Blues sounds.
For more Harmonica instructional books, visit: www.learntoplaymusic.com
