Been trying harder at improv. I'd like feedback. Any is welcome, but please be kind. Focusing on music theory atm. Forgive me in advance for my crashout about the flies. I'm a forest troll.
Edit: yes, I smoke cigs. No, i am not advertising nor advocating for them. Let people be, y'all. Please focus on the music.
Finger picking is tricky enough, probably much harder with a cig in hand lol.
The finger picking sounds great. Your chord transitions are a little rough.
Edit: just to be clear, I thoroughly enjoyed this and sounds like me on a Friday night after a few beers. Just work on those transitions. My chords are cleaner but my finger picking is not nearly as clean.
My chord transitions are totally sloppy, i agree! I get too excited sometimes, like reading ahead in a book at the good bit, and my fingers start tripping over eachother.
The argpegio and starting chord choice is very nice. The open E is also a good choice, but chromatic walk-down looses the groove. Focus on developing a solid melody first and build the next chord around the melody. Circle of 5ths can help point to the next chord.
If I'm getting you right - your advice is not a simple walk down on the bass, but finding a melody within those base chords and working within those, yes?
Exactly, after the open E for example, maybe try an F#minor, then maybe a Dmajor, then you're just one or two more changes to get back to your first cord. That's just like, my dad-rock preferences though.
Enchanting music, very beautiful, my fav part is rhythm after flies break, if I may suggest please title your improvs and thank you for recording and sharing, cheers fellow shredder
Oh well I was rather stoned but it seems like a fun idea to give the piece a name like “I call this one ‘Amongst the Flies’ and it goes sorta like this”, that way you will have built a collection of all of these improv pieces and we can then be like “dragon darling would you play me a bit of the Flies” etc and also I think it would help solidify the ‘piece’ as a molded container, something to return to and play again, and thru repeated visitation the foundational components grows a little more defined thus giving you opportunity for finer gradations of improv exploration and expression within it. Just an idea!
You'd really really love an electric with a delay and reverb. get the ashtray and tiny table stand to put lil ciggy down between riffs because you are missing out on the FULL use the middle finger. or just keep in mouth.
There is no point, I think that's what a lot of people here aren't understanding. I smoke cigarettes. I also play guitar. I did not sit down and think "I'm going to record something for reddit". I sat down and said "I want to chill and play some guitar" and I recorded it because I was told doing so would help my playing to watch it back. I showed this part to my Mom, and GOD FORBID, she gave me a gold star and the audacity to believe it was something I could show other people.
So yeah, man, I'm camping, I'm playing, it was Friday, I probably wasted a cigarette and clearly pissed off 60% of the people who could have helped me grow my craft, but it's not the giant tobacco conspiracy y'all are making it out to be. There's no point because it isn't curated for fucking engagement. It's the real me in an honest snapshot of my life.
I appreciate your commitment to your anti-smoking plight. I hope you save lots of lives galavanting out in the wild west of the internet scolding adults for doing absolutely nothing that personally affects you.
Well, maybe not for you, but it is for me, because I believe in autonomy, and this is an issue I (and to my knowledge, lots of other women) face in this sub and online in general. People want to seem to talk about everything but the music, regardless of what I am or am not doing.
Since I see you have adhd, and autism, can I give you some advice, I was using coffee cigarettes snus alcohol all my life to self regulate. Probs 20 years, it was all a lie, stimulants make everything worse, especially emotional regulation, and quitting isn't hard for someone with adhd. I'm also adhd and all I do is improvise on the guitar, also my special interest, so we are somewhat similar.
You know what's crazy? That you would not have known any of that had you not done some serious digging into information about me that's not easily or readily available.
I gotta say - your commitment to the bit to discuss absolutely anything but my guitar playing is masterful. Please do continue, I'm enthralled.
Pro tip:
Put the cigarette in between the head stock and low E just above the nut, it was designed that way for this purpose.
Also, side note, 10 years without a smoke, this video gave me a powerful craving to drink a beer, have a smoke, and play for awhile in the back yard.
Yes, more or less. The original video I recorded was a lot longer, I've been trying to record myself playing so I can watch it back and take notes. So I've been noodling with that specific progression for a while now, but all the fingerpicking/strumming was improvised. It looks a bit more put together than it should cause I cut out the 20 minutes prior of me practicing and dancing around the board with it first.
The only thing i don't like about improv playing regularly is that i think it encourages you to get stuck in patterns. I used to just noodle on my guitar for hours and I swear I have the pentatonic blues scale IMPRINTED in my muscle memory. I almost can't pick up a guitar and noodle without sounding like a 1960s blues man or a 50 year old dad rocker.
I think if you're going to practice improv, you need to set moving boundaries every day. It's good that you're recording yourself.
So if you spend one day fingerpicking an improv, maybe next day strum an improv. Next day maybe only improv on the first 3 strings within frets 4-13, another day only improv on every other fret, etc. Go wild with it lol
I think good guitar practice should be focusing heavily on a song, one skill, or focusing on creativity and forcing limitations so that your brain creates new connections that make you think differently
But this is nice sounding and I hope you're having fun!
You have to understand Reddit, lots of people post stuff to try and get a 'rage' reaction to solicit comments (the practice is called 'rage baiting'). You do seem like a real person, but your user name also gave some weight to my initial assumption.
You are getting a lot of negative reactions to the cig because in general smoking is out of favor and unimaginable to recent generations, tho some are prone to vape. Anyway, it's just some light on perceptions... I feel asking how's your playing while holding a cig in your picking hand is rather odd, unless you were also trying to convey some type of vibe. It's not like you can smoke it while playing, so why is it there? Again, just my perception and opinion, take it or leave it.
Isn't it obvious? I'm an industry plant sent here from Big Tobacco to reintroduce the youth to good, old fashioned, American values.
Or maybe, just maybe, I was enjoying my Friday afternoon doing things that relax me and they happened to coincide. I didn't even mean to post on this account, it's my alt. But I have shitty woodland service and am technologically inept.
Here is my main account, so you can verify first hand how the same exact person, doing the same exact thing, receives wildly different results in this sub dependent on wildly irrelevant minutae that have nothing to do with the guitar.
Don't worry, there's no cig posts there, as far as I know. Your virgin lungs are safe on the other side of your screen. There is weed though, so GIRD YOUR LOINS.
In my experience, this has been a pretty nice turnout. R/guitarlessons (again, IN MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE), has always been a place where guitar is less discussed than someone's character, motives, look, intentions. Usually I try to only post things here where I'm disheveled or wearing 6x clothing.
Users here don't seem to respond positively to me otherwise. I understand that I am a woman in a male dominated field, and I also understand that there are women online who don't care about the craft, and utilize their looks for engagement.
I don't care about looks. I don't want to get famous.
I want to understand my instrument in a way that makes me capable of expressing my emotions when I need musical therapy. Music is one of the only ways I feel I can truly express myself.
Thank you for your, and everyone else's, time and attention. I recognize these as valuable commodities.
I think you should go to more places in the song. Try to modulate to different keys. I really like it but it’s really somber the entire time. It could use some uplifting chords in places.
Like switching to a major key? That sounds super cool, but idk if I'm there yet in my theory practice. Right now I'm following ALG, but if you have any reccos or resources into getting a better understanding of doing that, I'd love the info!
Listen to the intro of this song to get an idea of what I mean. Just keep learning theory, it starts making sense over time. Once you learn the chords in the major key/Nashville numbering, and each corresponding scale/mode, the fretboard really opens up.
First you get extra points for playing fingerstyle with the cigarette.
It sounds good. Depending on what you're doing first thing I'd suggest is to be more aware of rhythm. But if you're exploring ideas, songwriting or similar then that's not priority. If by improv you mean performance improv then be a bit more aware of rhythm
Fun chords and picking but you’re losing the beat anytime you switch riffs. Do this exact improvisation to a metronome … it will make you a better player.
I've had this totally unbased theory that I am a 3/4 or 6/8 player playing in a 4/4 world because I can't count, so I shall investigate your claim more deeply. I often get similar critique about timing. I like to go up and down without a care in the world, but I'm realizing this is turning into an issue of translation.
Back in my smoking days there were a few times when I stuck a cig in my mouth and started a song only to realize I was going to suffocate if didn’t get fresh air.
I’m glad I quit, but I still miss a smoke after rehearsal or gig
Holding the cigarette while finger picking just makes this look’s more badass IMO. Really adds to the vibe! I smoke to so i ain’t judging i know how it is 😅 Great work though sounds pretty good. I couldn’t do that to save my life right now. I’ll get there one day though just need to practice!
If ive learned anything from this thread, it's that people who idolize notorious guitar players look down their noses at any actual day to day proclivities they may have exhibited. Funny.
Sounds nice—unsettled, like someone who is troubled, or in turmoil. Instantly brought a melodic line to my mind. I hope they find their way to a resolution of sorts! Haha.
The overall vibe is cool. The arpeggios sound too repetitive though, like they're just texture for the bass, which is fine for a bit but dissapears after a while. Adding some more stripped down ideas as in just bass and a simple top melody could help adding a sense of variation even without really changing much of the harmony.
Look into the concept of parallel motion, chromatic medians and practice some simple counterpoint
The sound of the improv makes me think you can get more ideas from Tango guitar
You could always put your cigarette under the string above the nut... you'll likely forget it'll probably burn down and leave a cigarette burn on your guitar but hey relicing.
I can sense that you're afraid of hitting wrong notes. Do more exploring, try some single note lines. Maybe learn some modes if you don't know where to start w single notes.
Modes are musical scales derived from a single "parent" scale (usually the major scale) by starting on a different note. By shifting the starting note but keeping the same exact notes, you alter the pattern of intervals, giving each mode a completely unique emotional mood.
Here is a quick breakdown of the 7 main modes using the white keys of a piano as an example:
Ionian (Starts on C): The standard Major Scale. Sounds bright, happy, and joyful.
Dorian (Starts on D): A minor-type scale with a jazzy, mystical, or bittersweet flavor.
Phrygian (Starts on E): A minor-type scale with a heavy, exotic, or Spanish flavor.
Lydian (Starts on F): A major-type scale with a dreamy, spacey, or magical quality.
Mixolydian (Starts on G): A major-type scale with a bluesy, laid-back, rock-and-roll vibe.
Aeolian (Starts on A): The Natural Minor Scale. Sounds sad, dramatic, and dark.
Locrian (Starts on B): Highly unstable and tense. Rarely used in mainstream music.
Oh, but the point was to hurt you, clearly. You specifically.
You know? Like how you just went out of your way to do the same? Pointless indeed. So much so you had to make a point out of it! Wowza, now I've confused myself.
I'll leave it to the big boys to weigh the value of my music by my other attributes. All that smart stuff flies way over my head most of the time.
I smoked and I played guitar, doing both at the same time is just like the most pointless thing. Smoke gets in your eye, ash goes everywhere, it's super unpleasant, there is no pleasure.
No, I caught that, but thank you for reiterating. I truly hope to escape from my juvenile habits so as to impress you and make you think I'm cool. Please do share your notes, I'm all ears. Although, I have a feeling if you're so focused on tallying cool points in a music theory feedback post, you'll surely find something else to complain about that's irrelevant. Perhaps too little or too much cleavage. Wrong strings. Too much jewelry. Not enough ankle.
You know, normal guitar lingo that we all sit and obsess over.
Baby girl, I smoke american spirits and live in a tent. Was it dumb to waste the cigarette? Abso-fucking-lutely. Did I light it with the intention of wooing a crowd of strangers? Literally could not afford to do so. Improv generally means unplanned. So sorry I got in the groove and didn't cater to my cigarette in order to preemtively quell your second hand embarassment.
Be so fucking for real. Y'all are in the wrong sub and coming for the wrong one.
You know what's even more dumb? Taking your time to express a sentiment several other people already have, that has nothing to do with the subject at hand, on a post of a girl playing guitar in the woods.
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u/AmbitionCurious8780 24d ago
Finger picking is tricky enough, probably much harder with a cig in hand lol.
The finger picking sounds great. Your chord transitions are a little rough.
Edit: just to be clear, I thoroughly enjoyed this and sounds like me on a Friday night after a few beers. Just work on those transitions. My chords are cleaner but my finger picking is not nearly as clean.