25 thoughts on “You Should Hear Frank Zappa's Surprising Thoughts On Improvisation”
An artist doesn't ever paint what he see's, he only ever see's what he can paint.
You say you improvise, but you repeat the same licks a lot, semi tonal slides, your runs follow the same structure and sound the same.. this is why most of us scroll past you improvising.
Frank in contrast really went at it. He had such music going on in his brain, it was like a explosion of complete originality and ideas happenning all the time, that couldn't be contained to a fretboard.
Excellent and thought provoking insights. The best band I ever played in had a great lead guitarist, with whom I co-wrote some of the music I'm proudest of being involved in. When we were rehearsing his impro work was wonderful and I think the rest of us were happy to see what he was make of his solos (and indeed fills) that week. When it came to playing live, however and maybe it was nerves, the licks just weren't anywhere near as good and I'd sometimes wish he'd just remember at least parts of his previous impros and start from them….arrgh! When it comes to the likes of Slash or Satriani et al they're maybe caught in the trap of a lot of their live audience wanting them to play it exactly as on the record……I guess it's the trap of creating anthemic riffs? I'm pretty sure I've heard Mark Knopfler comment on "having" to play the "correct" solo to Sultans of Swing…. Interesting.
I can't play anything note for note. Even my own solos I have played Improv everything (badly). I really admire players that can learn things note for note and perform them well every time. A good thing I like doing is picking an Elevated jams track I've never heard and just improv over it.
Yep. Zappa’s method has been my own for years. Now, I find myself actually writing solo frameworks for songs. It’s actually kind of fun to give myself boundaries and then see how far I can push it before I break the framework. The journey for each of us is the most fascinating thing to me.
Excellent. Interesting comments too. Seems like a really deep and solid knowledge of theory applied on the guitar that you can call upon is helpful too. I have to say that I won't feel like a musician unless I someday develop at least some ability to improvise.
The core of his comments about soloing is his choice of the word "imagination"… Frank was always reaching using a fresh approach to modes, odd phrasing, and unpredictable rhythmic structures.
When improvisations are sourced from vocabulary and skills, the results can sound good in the moment, but ultimately become a noodle-fest, fun for the player, but boring for the listener. High level improvisation is very different, because it is sourced from the imagination and realization of IDEAS, and not limited to muscle memory or vocabulary. This type of improvisation is actually beyond control, like LIFE itself. When we improvise in this way, we open the music to the energy, spirit, and influence of everyone and everything in the universe. When it's working, all things are united, and the truly harmonious integrity of the wonderful ONE is expressed. It is FAR beyond our power alone, as LIFE is, it becomes THE REAL DEAL !
I’m always surprised when I hear David Gilmour play the solo for Comfortably Numb for the umpteenth million time basically note for not yet the passion is always still there. I couldn’t do that. That is impressive as well I think. To be able to keep the passion in it after playing it for so many years.
I like to improvise at church every time that there is a chance, they send me a song a few days prior to the event, then I load it into a DAW and select the solo part to make it loop endlessly, I end up improvising over it all day long and that helps me build confidence and discover new sounds either by forcing myself to be creative by not hitting notes that I did before or through happy accidents. It feels like learning to ride a bicycle, every time you try, you go longer, makes different turns and rides more stable. I have no theory knowledge (just basic chord names) and learned to improvise by doing that, after a while I learned safe places to go based on the different chord positions of the current key.
I have many thoughts about the Zappa clip (which also came up in my YT feed) and your reaction to it, more than I can (or should!) write in the comments section. I love Zappa, been a big fan of his since the early '70s. But I think he's exaggerating a little by suggesting he's the only guitarist dedicated to improvisation, who won't repeat solos note for note as on a recording when playing live. Sure, there were and are many pop and pop-rock acts that do that, but there have always been guitarists very dedicated to improv and to not just repeating their recordings every night on tour. Anyway, I really enjoyed your thoughts and suggestions about improvising vs written solos. I consider myself a good improviser and someone who usually tries to be in the moment. But I know there are songs I've written and performed with bands in which, after playing them for a while, some structure begins to emerge in the solo section, and I've come up with specific licks or sequences that fit the song well and are worth repeating. And for covers, there are some solos one wants to be faithful to the recording and others where you feel free to do your own thing (and gradations between these extremes). As you suggest, the best of both worlds may be to have sections (start, ending) of solos that are pretty well set, and to cut loose and stretch one's limits a bit in other sections. Or sometimes to do a written solo, and other times just completely wing it! Great video!
Hey John,,This is a AWESOME topic,,,BUT I think improvisation gives the Real player more and more places to go musicly. This is great for songwriting ideas.(Pure improvisation is an art form all its own like those jazz players its paving your own road),,,Players that just learn songs (copy tunes)will not really connect with the instrument like someone who KNOWS the guitar and plays with an IDENTITY,,, a signature or style that ONLY that player can do ,And build on it. NO TWO TREES ARE THE SAME. / completely agree -thanks for the topic and showing Frank Zappa . – RJ
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An artist doesn't ever paint what he see's, he only ever see's what he can paint.
You say you improvise, but you repeat the same licks a lot, semi tonal slides, your runs follow the same structure and sound the same.. this is why most of us scroll past you improvising.
Frank in contrast really went at it. He had such music going on in his brain, it was like a explosion of complete originality and ideas happenning all the time, that couldn't be contained to a fretboard.
Excellent and thought provoking insights.
The best band I ever played in had a great lead guitarist, with whom I co-wrote some of the music I'm proudest of being involved in. When we were rehearsing his impro work was wonderful and I think the rest of us were happy to see what he was make of his solos (and indeed fills) that week. When it came to playing live, however and maybe it was nerves, the licks just weren't anywhere near as good and I'd sometimes wish he'd just remember at least parts of his previous impros and start from them….arrgh!
When it comes to the likes of Slash or Satriani et al they're maybe caught in the trap of a lot of their live audience wanting them to play it exactly as on the record……I guess it's the trap of creating anthemic riffs? I'm pretty sure I've heard Mark Knopfler comment on "having" to play the "correct" solo to Sultans of Swing….
Interesting.
I can't play anything note for note. Even my own solos I have played Improv everything (badly). I really admire players that can learn things note for note and perform them well every time. A good thing I like doing is picking an Elevated jams track I've never heard and just improv over it.
Yep. Zappa’s method has been my own for years. Now, I find myself actually writing solo frameworks for songs. It’s actually kind of fun to give myself boundaries and then see how far I can push it before I break the framework.
The journey for each of us is the most fascinating thing to me.
Is there any good 3NPS major scale course with backing tracks on TrueFire that you could recommend?
LOVE!!!! frank,, he was amazing.. what a guy
Excellent. Interesting comments too. Seems like a really deep and solid knowledge of theory applied on the guitar that you can call upon is helpful too. I have to say that I won't feel like a musician unless I someday develop at least some ability to improvise.
Every solo should have at least some improv in it i think…
The core of his comments about soloing is his choice of the word "imagination"… Frank was always reaching using a fresh approach to modes, odd phrasing, and unpredictable rhythmic structures.
I was just reading about Frank to my kids last night! Nothing puts them to sleep sleep like reading aloud about guitar legends 😂
Aside from Zappa , Dude those fingers..nice opening solo AND Love that gold top. BUT Now we know your secret:
Tone isn’t in the hands…it’s in leaving the pickup cellophane on. 😉
Steve Vai does improvise….. He learned under Zappa.
Actually, I'm pretty sure Slash does too. Not as often, because he has a lot of hits to play.
He said all that?
His "basic knowledge" is 10000 times the knowledge the señf thought average guitarist has. That's why he was a wizard! Knowledge+creativity+art!
When improvisations are sourced from vocabulary and skills, the results can sound good in the moment, but ultimately become a noodle-fest, fun for the player, but boring for the listener. High level improvisation is very different, because it is sourced from the imagination and realization of IDEAS, and not limited to muscle memory or vocabulary. This type of improvisation is actually beyond control, like LIFE itself. When we improvise in this way, we open the music to the energy, spirit, and influence of everyone and everything in the universe. When it's working, all things are united, and the truly harmonious integrity of the wonderful ONE is expressed. It is FAR beyond our power alone, as LIFE is, it becomes THE REAL DEAL !
really liked this intro, Les Paul's seem to do something to you playing!
I’m always surprised when I hear David Gilmour play the solo for Comfortably Numb for the umpteenth million time basically note for not yet the passion is always still there. I couldn’t do that. That is impressive as well I think. To be able to keep the passion in it after playing it for so many years.
I like to improvise at church every time that there is a chance, they send me a song a few days prior to the event, then I load it into a DAW and select the solo part to make it loop endlessly, I end up improvising over it all day long and that helps me build confidence and discover new sounds either by forcing myself to be creative by not hitting notes that I did before or through happy accidents. It feels like learning to ride a bicycle, every time you try, you go longer, makes different turns and rides more stable. I have no theory knowledge (just basic chord names) and learned to improvise by doing that, after a while I learned safe places to go based on the different chord positions of the current key.
I have many thoughts about the Zappa clip (which also came up in my YT feed) and your reaction to it, more than I can (or should!) write in the comments section. I love Zappa, been a big fan of his since the early '70s. But I think he's exaggerating a little by suggesting he's the only guitarist dedicated to improvisation, who won't repeat solos note for note as on a recording when playing live. Sure, there were and are many pop and pop-rock acts that do that, but there have always been guitarists very dedicated to improv and to not just repeating their recordings every night on tour. Anyway, I really enjoyed your thoughts and suggestions about improvising vs written solos. I consider myself a good improviser and someone who usually tries to be in the moment. But I know there are songs I've written and performed with bands in which, after playing them for a while, some structure begins to emerge in the solo section, and I've come up with specific licks or sequences that fit the song well and are worth repeating. And for covers, there are some solos one wants to be faithful to the recording and others where you feel free to do your own thing (and gradations between these extremes). As you suggest, the best of both worlds may be to have sections (start, ending) of solos that are pretty well set, and to cut loose and stretch one's limits a bit in other sections. Or sometimes to do a written solo, and other times just completely wing it! Great video!
Does improvisation improve composition?
Hey John,,This is a AWESOME topic,,,BUT I think improvisation gives the Real player more and more places to go musicly. This is great for songwriting ideas.(Pure improvisation is an art form all its own like those jazz players its paving your own road),,,Players that just learn songs (copy tunes)will not really connect with the instrument like someone who KNOWS the guitar and plays with an IDENTITY,,, a signature or style that ONLY that player can do ,And build on it. NO TWO TREES ARE THE SAME. / completely agree -thanks for the topic and showing Frank Zappa . – RJ
Vai improvising @ 0:33
https://youtu.be/TEnzdp71U78
Duuude I think “you have a piece of time, and you get to decorate it” just became my new philosophy for life as a whole, not just guitar! 😄🤘
i feel as so my whole life is one big "iimprvisation"….within the "rules" of life…or music as in this case…..😅
If you want to watch brilliant, melodic improvisation, watch anything by Pat Metheny.