Lead Improvisation Spanish Style 9

More about Sequences

In this style there are many different sequences that can be used while staying within the key structure.

If you have the facility to record a backing track, or have other players that can accompany you, I recommend having a go at putting some chords together to improvise over.

This can help with understanding the relationship between chords and melody.

A good starting point, in constructing your own sequence , is to use the " 3 chord trick " ( Am - Dm - E ) as in the last lesson.

Try an eight bar format maybe starting and finishing on Am then maybe add another eight bars starting on Dm and finishing on E.

You could then try substituting a Bm7b5 for D minor or add another chord from the list ( see lesson 7 ) to see what effect this may have on melodic possibilities.

Faster tunes in this style often use a "pushed" effect - This is where the first beat of each bar actually comes in a bit early to give a more driven sound to the rhythm. Bear this in mind when playing lead - you can't be lazy and wait for the beat in this style.

I have put a more complicated sequence together for you to improvise over - This one uses a cycle of fifths/ fourths to start with which is not unusual in this style .
The sequence is ;

| Am / / / | ~ | Dm / / / | ~ | G / / / | ~ | Cmaj7 / / / | ~ |


| Fmaj7 / / / | ~ | Dm / / / | ~ | E / / / | ~ | Am / / / | Am stop|


| ~ | = repeat previous bar

As in the last lesson try to find one strong note for each chord to build your improvisation around.

Try to create a melody rather than "noodling" Remember the strong notes are the ones which make up the actual chord - knowing your chords is obviously useful in finding these notes.

On some chords there are additional strong notes ( such as the B on an A minor in the last lesson = a 9th which will often work as a strong note).

Experience and your ears will tell you what these are - "If in doubt leave it out" is a good maxim to remember.

I have tabbed out a bit of improvisation to demonstrate a lead technique of repeating slides down the neck - this goes over the G to C maj7 part of the sequence and can be heard on the first soundfile - observe that the first note of each bar is a strong note -
Once you've got this try the same trick on another part of the sequence using different notes.

The second soundfile has just the chords as written above.

Play along and practice your skills - The only way to get good at improvising is to do lots of it.

The Tab





The chords to play along with