Phrasing - My current main focus whilst practising is embellishments. I try to find new ways of approaching notes that stand out against basic picking. This includes slides, bends, vibrato etc. I have developed a strong vibrato however I have got into a bad habit of overusing it. Every time I play a sustained note, without thinking I automatically apply vibrato to it. It is always the same type of vibrato as well - fast and wide. More subtle vibrato or even none at all would suit some notes and different styles of music better than my current vibrato. In order to improve this I will need to consciously avoid overusing it and set myself limitations whilst improvising. If I am aware of it every time I practise, this habit will hopefully disappear.
Rhythm - One thing I focus on whilst practising is the rhythm of melodies I play. Rather than trying to fit as many notes as possible into a short passage, I experiment with a variety of rhythmic lines with the aim of making my melodies more exciting. I am much better at playing rhythmically than quickly.
Speed - When I play fast sections in my music, it tends to be with legato. I prefer the sound of legato in most cases rather than plucking each individual note. This could be considered a weakness in some areas of music because I can't shred. For example, whilst improvising solos, sections of shredding might be useful for powerful crescendos depending on the style of the music. At the moment I can only really play short bursts of speed. I have develop a fairly high level of precision with my legato technique however
Fretboard knowledge - My fretboard knowledge is very limited for the amount of time I have played guitar. Progression has always been fairly slow with learning and connecting new scales as I tend to develop other areas more. It would be beneficial if I spent time focusing mainly on developing this and filling in the gaps in my knowledge. This would lead to more diversity in my playing and would unlock new melodic and harmonic possibilities.
Chords - My ability to switch between different chord shapes and my ability to strum rhythmically are both good but my chordal knowledge is poor. I tend to learn chord shapes and names but rarely know how to apply them correctly. In a way this can be beneficial to my compositions because it means I am not restricted by theory. However, I find myself too often stuck for what chords to play whilst improvising. I understand the theory of chords when I have time to study it but when I am under pressure in a musical environment I become lost. As well as melodic fretboard knowledge, chordal knowledge is something I really wish to improve because I think it is currently the thing that is holding me back.
Tone - A big thing that detracts from the quality of my playing is my tone; this is mostly due to a lack of knowledge of sound. I have always been more interested in how to play guitar rather than what it sounds like. I have recently begun considering it more but it would definitely have been better if I'd spent more time developing it over time since I started. I consider my lack of technical knowledge to be the most detrimental to my tone. I am fairly good at applying dynamics to my playing through picking, but have never really understood what makes up sound. I have started focusing more on the tones used in different settings rather than overlooking them and I think I have improved at choosing the right tone in different circumstances over the past year. This is not only helpful for live settings but also for composition; the inspiration and association from a good guitar tone is far greater than from an unconsidered one.
Improvisation - My old method of improvisation would be to play as many complicated lines as possible, thinking that that was the most fun thing to do. However, recently I tend to focus more on producing interesting melodies that fit within the context of the piece. My main weakness when improvising is communicating with other musicians; especially if I don't know them. It is much easier improvising with someone you are used to playing with than someone you have just met. This includes establishing my own ideas for others to build upon but also noticing when an idea or phrase is being put forward by another musician.
Solutions:
In terms of becoming better at melody, I think improving my ability to hear intervals and applying them on the neck would be the most beneficial. Rather than using theory, I tend to use my ear to improvise and to hear intervals in my head and knowing how to execute them would be ideal for my style of playing. In order to approach this goal I will train my ear to hear intervals up to an octave. I aim to learn where each interval from each string is located on the fretboard, including compound intervals, across strings and on single strings.
I think the most beneficial way to improve chords for me would be to learn chord shapes and compose chord structures in my spare time. Whilst improvising, being able to hear intervals in my head would be ideal for choosing what chords to play. If I knew a selection of different chords to pick from then hearing intervals would allow me to choose the right chord. Knowing what different types of chords sound like will also help.
Whilst improvising in ensembles I need to focus more on what others are playing around me and try to lock in with melodies and rhythm they play. This tightness tends to sound much better than everybody playing unrelated phrases.
To help with interval knowledge, I have drawn out two fretboard diagrams with colour coordinated intervals using G minor and G major as examples. To help improve my chordal knowledge, I have drawn another fretboard diagram with colour coordinated 7th chords.
I have only included Ionian, Dorian, Phrygian, Mixolydian and Aeolian because that is how I see the fretboard shapes in my head. I imagine Lydian to be the same shape as Phrygian but starting on the second note and Locrian as the same shape as Ionian but starting a semitone down. The stars above Aeolian and Phrygian are there because those are the two areas of the fretboard I am most familiar with. When I use this sheet to practise improvisation, I will refer to these two positions if I get lost.
I have also drawn a table showing the corresponding 7th chords for major, minor, harmonic minor and melodic minor. I aim to familiarise myself with the chords in the major and minor scales before practising the other two.
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