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Just starting to dabble with Rumba and practicing with a friend.
We have managed to get the rythm bit down easy but neither of us can figure out how to play lead (improvise).
When he plays rythm I have tried several times to try to play a little lead melody over the chords and it sounds like I am practicing scales!
So some questions: 1. tried watching some Youtube videos and found nothing on flamenco improvisation but a bunch of stuff on classical or blues guitar, it seems to be all about "pentatonic", does flamenco improv follow this "pentatonic model" too?
2. How does one make the leap from practicing scales to making the same scales sound like a nice riff? A the moment if I try any improv it sounds so bad. It feels a bit impossible to do!
I your case, you need to first adapt some lines....either copy a maestro that you like, or create (compose) your own. Practice it as a "falseta" as with normal flamenco palos, and apply it to the chord progression in rhythm. Play it over and over for a while and then try to make variations on it. Change the octave, or try a different neck position etc., easy stuff.
Eventually you need to avoid the scale thing and try focusing on arpegitated chordal melodies. Later the scales can come back in to connect those as fluid phrases. Finally you need to do this rhythmic exercise where you take a good rhythm you know works for your rumba (start with the accent pattern that fits the rhythm guitar, but change it up later as that gets boring real quick), and apply notes to that rhythm randomly.
And why I say randomly I really mean like chromatic nonsense all over the neck. Sounds crazy but ironically your phrasing starts taking shape. Then you can start to target chord tones, mixing in some chromatic nonsense little by little. And eventually you start deliberately targeting only good choice notes with that same rhythm. Eventually you can start really messing with tricky rhythms and your scales and arpeggios will limit your note choices to only the good ones.
Ok so I understand the first paragraph you wrote and will start with that. But in this case its a memorized pattern.
But the 2nd paragraph, what are "arpeggiated chord melodies"?
And when you say "apply notes" to the rhythm are you saying that if the rumba is E-Phrygian then I randomly start to play notes, not from that scale, and then slowly start to move towards playing notes from that scale and make a melody of it?
If I understood you correctly then why play random notes? Why not just start focusing on playing the correct notes?
And can I safely ingore all the youtube videos about pentatonic being the key to solos?
The pentatonic scale for rumba? It can of course be used but it's not the primary one for this style.
A great jazz player said "Don't play scales, play phrases" IOW, play something you can sing in your head or better, out loud. Listen to the backing track and sing something, then figure out how to play it. The goal is to think of a melody, and then play it. Start wih simple melodies.
As far as scales learn the major scale, melodic minor, whole tone, diminished. Then the modes.....it's a large subject but at the end of the day the idea is to play what's in your head. Learning all those different sounding scales will help expand what you hear in your head.
quote:
ORIGINAL: sol512
Thanks for the reply Ricardo,
Ok so I understand the first paragraph you wrote and will start with that. But in this case its a memorized pattern.
But the 2nd paragraph, what are "arpeggiated chord melodies"?
And when you say "apply notes" to the rhythm are you saying that if the rumba is E-Phrygian then I randomly start to play notes, not from that scale, and then slowly start to move towards playing notes from that scale and make a melody of it?
If I understood you correctly then why play random notes? Why not just start focusing on playing the correct notes?
And can I safely ingore all the youtube videos about pentatonic being the key to solos?
Penta has only 5 notes. Try scales with more notes. You will have more options. First, chord notes should be played. For example over a V7 chord in C maj, you play notes 1 3 5 b7. Second, you add tensions (9 11 13) coming from the scale for V7 which is G mixo. G mixo shares same notes with C maj. 11 is usually an avoid note here. You can choose from 4 altered tension notes as well (b9, #9, b5=#11, #5=b13).
This is theory. In practice, depending on the situation your ear will tell which note to add. As long as chord and melody runs sound nice together, play whatever note you like over a chord progression.
Only the three or 4 notes of a given chord in the moment. Example: Entre dos Aguas: 1.Am7, 2.Bm7, 3.Am7, 4.B7.
1. only play A,C,E on the first measures. Anywhere you can find them but ONLY this notes, until the chord changes. If you get good at this you can add G.
2. Only play B,D and F#, while that chord is being played. You can add A eventually.
3. Same as no. 1.
4. Same as no. 2 but now you have to change your D note to a D#. Again, anywhere you can find that note on the neck.
quote:
"apply notes" to the rhythm are you saying that if the rumba is E-Phrygian then I randomly start to play notes, not from that scale, and then slowly start to move towards playing notes from that scale and make a melody of it?
Basically yes... but you are underestimating the importance of adhering to the RHYTHM you are using. I don't mean "in rhythm" I mean a darn specific rhythmic phrase you repeat. Here is a goofy example to give the idea, and maybe it is also good to alternate rhythms guitar chord strumming every 4 bars or something, but this idea of pure rhythm (43:30 and 48:11):
So you apply that concept to rhythm and then explore the notes on the neck randomly. Of course you will hit good notes by pure statistics but the point is to explore the neck while controlling the rhythm totally. Over time you can start to target chord specific notes, or do arpegios as mentioned above, and specific tension notes etc. But a controlled and deliberate rhythm as a start will shape your phrases.
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