Comments

• vanmalmsteen Diamond Springs ,CANew Latch Drom F, Eastman DM2v, Altamira m30d , Altimira Mod M

  September 2018 Posts: 337

  Learn some solos by other players, that appeal to your ears. Even better if you can find transcriptions that have analysis
• jonpowl Hercules, CA✭✭✭ Dupont MD-100, Altamira M01F

  September 2018 edited September 2018 Posts: 713

  Here is a nice solo for All of Me, courtesy of Samy Daussat.

  
• jeffmatz ChicagoNew

  September 2018 Posts: 97

  Arpeggios, enclosures, and listen, listen listen! Hear something you like, try to learn to sing it, then find it on the guitar.
  
  There's a 1001 "licks videos" out there as well...keep in mind, the best players don't play ONLY licks, but everybody's got a bag of licks they like.
  
  Try to think of licks as something that can be tweaked on the fly rather than something set in stone that needs to be performed "as is." You'll get a lot more mileage that way.
• Jim Kaznosky Prodigy Bumgarner Derecho;AJL XO

  September 2018 edited September 2018 Posts: 1,241

  This is an open question that most of the folks here have grappled with. I say its open because you aren't stating what you want to do. I could direct you to courses that are around that are really good. Maybe you can start with picking one solo you like and working on one phrase that you really love in that solo. If you need help learning or mastering that phrase, come back here and ask. That, for me, is the best way to start.
  You can learn licks that other people tell you are good. There's nothing wrong with that. But it's probably more interesting to hear about what you think is good as a starting point.
  
  
• Petrov ✭✭

  September 2018 Posts: 125

  This is a wide open question that is probably impossible to answer in a forum post, but I know how you feel. I think we've all been there at some point.
  
  You will get a bunch of advice on here, youtube, books etc. Some will work, some may not.
  
  I believe the most important thing is find something that works for you and learn to teach yourself. Use youtube, books, teachers as guides to help figure things out.
  
  The thing is, we all learn differently. We visualise and conceptualise the fretboard differently. Our hands are unique. Some fingerings may work for you but not for others etc. Our experiences and influences are all different.
  
  This is why I feel you need to see what works for you.
  
  All that in consideration, here is what worked the best for me
  - learn by ear and figure out the fingerings that works for you. Don't base yourself only on tabs. You need to figure it out.
  - spend as much time you can listening and playing
  - absorb everything you can from youtube, books, online courses etc. Use them as a guide
  - Start learning something simple. Don't overwhelm yourself with entire solos, unless doing a whole solo is a motivator for you, then by all means.
  
  
  Considering you live in the Netherlands and there seems to be a good GJ community there, probably the best advice would be to find other people to play with.
  
  
• jonpowl Hercules, CA✭✭✭ Dupont MD-100, Altamira M01F

  September 2018 Posts: 713

  TrueFire has a new Reinier Voet Gypsy Jazz Melodic Soloing Guidebook coming out soon. This is one of three by Reinier, and they are all pretty well done.
• Chiefbigeasy New Orleans, LA✭✭✭ Dupont MDC 50; The Loar LH6, JWC Catania Swing; Ibanez AFC151-SRR Contemporary Archtop

  September 2018 Posts: 372

  Can’t tell you how to learn to be a great improviser, but I can tell where to start and how to have fun with it. Start with the melody of the tune, then start little variations of the melody. Listen to early improvisers like Louis Armstrong, Fats Waller. When they improvise, you can always hear the melody of the tune whispering behind the improv.
  
  Robin Nolan and Martin Taylor made a few videos about this very topic and it really freed my head. The rest of the stuff—arpeggios, enclosures, bends, diminished runs, etc—are there to be explored gradually. I wish I’d known this when I started out.

  
• jeffmatz ChicagoNew

  September 2018 Posts: 97

  Re: melody...think about how a good singer phrases a melody.
  
  And then, then about how Christina Aguilera or Mariah Carey add all those runs and enclosures...now personally, I find it irritating to hear during the MELODY of the song, but for a solo, it can be a great jumping off point...