Improvise: How to?

[h3r3tic]

hello again ;)

Any tips on this one?

[jiltednut]

Just play a straight 4/4 beat, then add parts, change time, extend fills, do whatever just pops into your head, make space and add grooves based on exercises you've been doing, what I do is start with a single stroke roll, add various accents, go between singles/doubles/paradiddles or whatever, and then use them as a platform to move to something else,

as far as i'm concerned, its important to practice improv, so just play around and see what works with what.....

hope that helped.

[tamadrummer132]

feel a groove in your head, and rock out to it. simple x)

[da cheese walks]

you cant learn how to improvise...what happens is you get a band together...and then you JAM!!Jam jam and more jamming...keep it goin man...yeah now start to go a bit weird...start to bend it all a tad....your improvising!!its about feeling the music....seeing it as it comes...you cant premeditate improvisation!

thats my biggest problem...im great at improvising but cant learn a full song like i should....ahh well....gotta get that grooooove....

[Wavelength]

Get a teacher and start studying jazz.

[drummerchick435]

LISTEN to the music! Feel the tempo and let your mind and body wander.

[jonescrusher]

You're ability to improvise will be formed by you're musicality, which may be improved by what you listen to, and who you play with. Your ability to express your musicality will be constrained by your technical facility - improve this by working on your reading skills which should increase your rhythmic vocabulary; work on as many styles as possible, making sure you listen to genuine examples of that style; keep working on technical exercises.

[ledzepjb]

you cant learn how to improvise...what happens is you get a band together...and then you JAM!!Jam jam and more jamming...keep it goin man...yeah now start to go a bit weird...start to bend it all a tad....your improvising!!its about feeling the music....seeing it as it comes...you cant premeditate improvisation!

thats my biggest problem...im great at improvising but cant learn a full song like i should....ahh well....gotta get that grooooove....

I second every that you just said

[KCDrummer]

You're ability to improvise will be formed by you're musicality, which may be improved by what you listen to, and who you play with. Your ability to express your musicality will be constrained by your technical facility - improve this by working on your reading skills which should increase your rhythmic vocabulary; work on as many styles as possible, making sure you listen to genuine examples of that style; keep working on technical exercises.

Yes, yes, yes and yes. Perfectly put, JC.

I would add something a bass player friend of mine told one of his students who asked him the same question.

Step One: Get a copy of Miles Davis' "Kind of Blue".
Step Two: Get a half-gallon of gin.
Step Three: Don't listen to anything else until the gin is gone.

[h3r3tic]

Thank you so much!
Completly good advices!;)