If you hit the wrong note, then make (it) right by what you play afterwards.
-Joe Pass
This concept is a great follow up to Paul Willis’ (our Featured Artist of the Week’s) post: Life is Full of Surprises-Make the Most of it!.
You know sometimes making a mistake can result in death. If you are pretending to shoot your friends head off with a shotgun and it is loaded, that’s a pretty big mistake. But in the guitar world, making mistakes doesn’t come with severe consequences. Hell, it might even sound like something amazing, unique, and original.
Do you know that there is one scale that fits every key, arpeggio, mode, and all other scales?
It’s true. It’s called the Chromatic Scale. For those not familiar with the chromatic scale, it includes every note possible.
So if you play a bad note, try playing the same note again like you really meant to hit it. Embrace it and sound confident. Then just move it around to a note that releases the tension.
A lot of my favorite guitar players probably do this a lot. I know I use this technique when I am improvising, especially to something on the jazzy, funky side, where tension and release sound sooooo good. I’ll play lots of chromatic stuff, not really thinking about what I am doing, but feeling it. The end result usually sounds pretty colorful and unique.
Try not to make mistakes, but if you do, learn from them or use them as opportunities to experiment with your playing and expand upon it. Accidents often hold the key to innovation and inspiration.
Try this little mistake experiment:
1. Get a friend to play a groove, or if you have a loop station
2. Purposefully start off your improv with a note that you know isn’t “correct” or one that might sound “bad” to you.
3. See what you can do to make it sound “right.” Experiment with different phrases and techniques. Maybe you can whammy bar it down to a diatonic note. Maybe you can bend it up to one. Or maybe you might just embrace it for a while.
4. Repeat with other grooves, keys, styles of music. Practice making mistakes and “wrong” notes “right”
5. Enjoy how your playing reaches a new level!
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2 responses so far ↓
1 PaulWillisProject // Oct 7, 2007 at 8:29 am
Great article, I really enjoyed it.
No question notes that are played by “mistake”, which I prefer to label as “unexpected”, often lead to wonderful things. When they do, stop and analyze what you have done and under what circumstances. Did you just throw in a #4 and thus progress into Lydian Mode? In the right scenario, Lydian sounds fantastic (just listen to Steve Vai, he has made a career out of Lydian mode- not to say that he doesn’t do much more than that, because he does). Maybe it doesn’t sound so hot where you landed that #4. Analyze the chords over which you were playing, and figure out why. In the future, this unexpected note may become your best friend in the development of your signature sound. If you listen to my song Influence, there are times when I am playing in Locrian mode. For those who may not know, that is Maj with a flat 2,3,5,6,and 7. In a 7 note major scale, these flats represent every “wrong” not that one can play in a given key. Well, I think they sound great (hopefully you do too.) Of course in this instance they were very intentional, but don’t be scared of making mistakes, turn them into opportunities to learn, expand your knowledge, and come up with some cool ideas- Once again theory is the key to breaking you out of a rut. Learn it, and use it.
Paul
2 Ulrich // Jan 21, 2011 at 9:52 pm
I don’t agree with the article. While it can be cool to let go and try something unfamiliar, sounding intentional comes from being intentional. That means, hear every note you play. That’s what expert improvisers do – they play what they hear. They don’t randomly go for some note and then correct it to make it sound intentional. Transcribing can be a great way to discover new approaches and ideas of other players.
Peace,
UE
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