Forum - Banjo Ben Clark

Thought Process while Improvising

#1

thinking around your internal thought process while playing, trying to figure out what my goal should be. When you are taking a solo, when the song is moving to a different chord, are you thinking “C-Chord” , or “4 - Chord” or do you just hear the sound in the mind of what that will sound like?

I find that I play better when I don’t “Think” but more just listen and let my fingers play if that makes sense. Of course learning new songs is something I have to think about, but as I can commit them to heart, the quality of my playing increases when I just listen. A lot of times watching pickers play, they will often look like they are “zoned out” but I think they are just listening to themselves intently.

I hope that question makes sense.

5 Likes
#2

Last October, at the banjo only camp, I asked Kristin Benson what she thinks about when going from one chord to the next, is it “I now need to move to the 4 chord, or the c chord?” She replied “I’m thinking about distance and how far I need to go to get to the next chord” I found that really interesting.

7 Likes
#3

Great question @jgb2008!

Sometimes I do think “4 chord” as I’m approaching it, and often begin playing in that direction. That’s more with banjo. When I’m on mando or guitar (soloing), I’m thinking more about the melody and not too terribly concerned with the chords behind it, unless they are chords that are outside of the diatonic chords (for example: 2, flat 7, major 3rd chords). In those instances, I’ll usually want to include some descriptive scale notes from that chord, either leading into it or during it or both.

When I lose the melody, or approaching the end of a solo where the melody might not be as important, I begin thinking more about chords and playing with or at or toward them.

I’m going to assume that what you mean by “listening to yourself” can also be referred to as improvisation. And, the answer to your question depends much on the ability/talent of the player. There are some folks who just naturally improv better. The good news is that improv absolutely is a skill that can be grown to various degrees, depending on talent level and the stewarding of that talent.

7 Likes