Different strategies for learning

[indirac]

Hi everyone, I'm new to this forum and am seeking some advice in learning to improvise better. I am primarily a classical guitarist, though I've always played steel strings (mostly electric) in the plectrum style. I'm entirely self-taught in this area, starting out with simple rock songs, then hendrix/srv and blues, then shred (vai/malmsteen/etc), then finally maturing (in my mind) into fusion & jazz (incidentally, this seems to be a common order of musical interests in other young guitarists I've met). My favorite jazz guitarists are, in no particular order, Pass, McLaughlin, Metheny, Django, and Wes. As a classical snob I am more than bit biased and so I feel like Joe Pass' more pianistic/orchestral approach is more technically advanced than people who do mostly single note stuff, but I'd kill to be able to play a single note solo like Metheny or McLaughlin (or Gambale, or Scott Henderson, etc).

Ok, enough boring background, here is my problem.

I've always improvised "by ear;" that is, by just sort of feeling my way around the fretboard in intervals. I have a good enough ear to realize more or less what I hear in my head this way, and I've memorized enough scale patterns that I can always be "safe" when improvising (though at the cost of creativity, I think). This method of improv works well enough for rock songs and easier jazz pieces, but falls on its face with modulations, non-diatonic progressions, etc. More importantly, I see no way to extend this kind of approach to improvising more harmonically a la Joe Pass, which is a direction I'd eventually like to take.

So, I'd like to formalize my approach more. I've been thinking about this a lot and it seems to me like the most formal way to improvise would be the following:
1) Memorize each note on the fretboard
2) Memorize which notes are in each chord in all keys
3) Memorize which modes/scales fit well over each chord

now, this is an awful lot to keep in mind in realtime. Aside from the commonly heard advice to "forget your theory when it's time to actually play" and just hope you've internalized it well enough, I wonder how many of these steps one is justified in skipping? For instance, instead of memorizing that CM7 has is spelled CEGB, it seems a lot easier to memorize the intervals of a M7 chord and apply that shape for different keys. However, then one runs into the problem of memorizing shapes; memorizing every inversion of all 15 or so common jazz chords is a monumental task.

Then there is also the issue of forgetting about chords and working out ahead of time which modes will work for a song. This seems infinitely easier and maybe more practical for songs built on simple vamp type progressions, but of course limits the possibility for improvising chordally. Is it a good idea to develop this as a seperate methodology for soloing over more modal jazz? It seems to be a valid approach for indian music, so why not?

So in any case, sorry for the rambling first post but I really feel like I have no idea what I should be working on. My technique is more or less fine for the time being, and I pretty much know all the notes on the fretboard (up to 12th fret) and most root position voicings for most of the common jazz chords. I have a good abstract grasp of theory (how chords/progressions are built, guide tones and chord connection, substitutions) but generally don't implement it while soloing. Should I be memorizing chord voicings and related modes? If so, should I memorize root voicings and leave notes out for inversions? If I'm learning a mode to play over a chord, should I memorize a shape for the chord that's easy to use (but abstracted from the theory), or memorize the notes in the mode and make up shapes as I go (though this would be more difficult to do fluidly in practice)?

I hope someone can help clear this up for me; I'm not sure which direction I should be going and don't want to waste time practicing incorrectly.

Thanks!
~Jeremy

[mahayana]

Welcome, Jeremy. I'm probably the last person who should offer advice, sounds like you are doing fine.. I like simple stuff for solos, the kind of lines you really could sing.

That said, working out chord-melody versions of songs you are playing will teach you all the inversions you need, which little two and three note chords to land on.

It's not bad to work out stuff ahead of time, so the people you're playing with know what to expect in places. I always like it when the bass slides in to harmonize, or when the guitar answers other instruments instead of just taking a turn for a whole verse. Be creative, hah!

All your favorite jazz guitarists are great to play along with, I like to set the CD player so it keeps repeating the same track when I do that.

[Professor1]

Improvisation is supposed to be just that - improvised. If you plan out every tiny feature of it beforehand, then it's not improv.
One way would be...
Learn the tunes to the pieces you will be playing, then elaborate on those...play with the tune. Change it up, rhythm, speed, etc.
Or you could try...
Think about what you would like to hear. It may be totally different than the traditional tune. This has to do with connecting what you know technically about scales and chords, and combining that with what you want to hear as a musician. It just might not have anything to do with the current chord being played at all.

I think the biggest part of learning to improvise is to do it with a group. Playing with guys that will let you experiment and learn, and just have the time in a playing situation will be the most productive time spent. Some of your solos will be OK. Some will be just horrid, and some will be MAGICAL. Remember what that felt like while you were doing it. Do it as much as you can.

[allblues]

My personal experience: I've spent a lot of time to study scales, patterns, voicing, modes, ect. But the result was sterile...
In the sense that any time I was approaching a solo, I have had in mind just informations, a lot of informations, too much informations!!! So I have decided to hear the Masters and play along with them just using my hears even if there are scores and tabs with melodies and chords of what I was studing.
For me the results have been excellent, now in my mind there are melodies and no more "informations" about a scales or modes.
I've been starting with 12 bar blues or the most known blues (All blues, D natural blues, The thumb, No blues, ect.); in particular I have started to study Wes Montgomery, in my opinion the most important jazz guitar player for his capability to create melodic lines.
When you will be able to sing in your mind the Montgomery's melodies, than you will be on the right way to play what do you like. I take Montgomery as an example, of course. But he is the right player to start with this method; Metheny is a great player but his melodic lines are a little bit difficult to start with.
A hint: there are software (I use "Transcribe!") that give you the possibility to slow down the track with the same pitch. It is extremely important when you have to learn a fast passage.
Good sound!