July 2024 Challenge – Alan L

[Alan L]

I did take a listen to the track when the Challenge was announced; but resisted the temptation to noodle along, and shelved the lesson for the 3 weeks to keep it relatively “surprising.” 😀

I immediately recognized the progression from EP 495 (Limitation can set you free) so I had a good idea about positions and shapes I could use. Keeping with the KISS philosophy, I basically stick to minor pentatonic, with a little natural minor in there.

Cheers!

[donmati]

Not bad at all, it sounds good, the scales are right, good job.

[Catherine Arsenault]

Very nice playing nice and smooth 😊

[JoeD1]

Very nice playing indeed Alan. Pretty guitar too.

Joe

The sight of a touch, or the scent of a sound,
Or the strength of an Oak with roots deep in the ground.
--Graeme Edge

[Juxi]

KISS is not a bad idea, Alan. Especially, when the concept is so well implemented as you did. Well done! 👍🏽Rather abrupt ending, though 😉

Bluesige Grüße
Juxi

[AndréM]

Nice rendition.
Well done.

AndréM

AndréM

[Paul S.]

So you didn’t noodle, per se, but pre-noodled. In any event you produced a nice vibe with the slightly muted notes and an occasional chord. Nice tone on the guitar, too.

[Nick M]

Great playing Alan! You got some nice chords in there which sounded really good. I liked your ideas!

Nick

[JoLa]

Great improv, Alan, the KISS method is definitely my favorite approach as well 😉 Thanks for mentioning EP495, wish I had thought of looking through Brian’s lessons for more ideas, the progression is, in fact, similar except for F7 and E7. Your playing was really nice but you forgot to make some mistakes 😉 😉

🎸JoLa

[Guido]

The KISS is a good philosophy and usually produces good results and your rendition is an example of this, Alan! Loved the relaxed and melodic vibe, with the very nice combination of triads and pentatonic phrases along the fret board! Very well played and enjoyable to listen to!

Guido

[Jennifer D]

Some nice phrases in there Alan, I liked it!

[Serena C]

Well done Alan! your EP 495 inspiration is very interesting, I’ll try to mix the EPs, thanks for the inspiration!

If I wasn't making mistakes I wouldn't be the kind of player I want to be. Perfection is dangerous.
It's all about taking risks, sometimes you get to some place, sometimes you get to a different place. (Brian May)

[Mike W]

Nice one Alan – I thought it pleasingly melodic considering its minor key. Well played with a great tone.

[Don Patton jr]

Hi Alan !
You had a nice laid back sound and vibe going in your leaf play ! Great tone from your Telecaster also… well done 👍🎶🙂

Don P

[Andy N]

Echoing Don, you’ve created a great laid back vibe and the pentatonic with those occasional minor scale sweeteners has given your improv a lovely gentle and melodic feel. Great job👍

[Dieter]

Sounds really good.

Dieter

[charjo]

Nice simple approach and it worked well, Alan. I like that little double stop move from the Dm to the E7.
John

[Bill]

KISS is a great approach when going in blind. You did a nice job!

[Martyn in France]

Very well played Alan. I like your use of the fretboard.

[Manfred M]

This sounded really good and interesting, Alan. You came up with some interesting ideas in your improvisation. Doesn’t KISS mean : Keep It Simple Smooth. Because that was by no means Stupid

Take the chance to meet your AM friends on Zoom
The next Meetup is expected to take place in November 2025

There will be a detailed announcement here in the forum in good time.

I look forward to meet you.
Manfred

[Livio M]

Hi Alan
I totally agree with you, it’s important when approaching improvisation to do things simply and then play slowly, being aware of what you’re doing, not how it will come. When walking the labyrinth becomes more familiar to us, we will be able to worry more about the outcome and predict it. Naturally, this is someone who is not very familiar with improvisation, but the little experience I have had makes me think so and I think yours is a good job.

Livio

[John H]

Alan,
Well done… simple and tasty with some nice phrasing.

JH

[Tremelow]

Very nice, Alan. I think you did a great job. You may have kept it simple, but it still sounds interesting with the arpeggios and walk ups and so on. Great job!

[Gary W]

Well played Alan, you did keep it relatively simple, but your playing is still very expressive. I don’t know if this will make sense, but I felt as if you were making a basic statement, then emphasising it – elaborating it – repeating it in slightly different ways, and so on. It was very engaging.

Gary

[Denise]

Very nice use of triads! It was a good idea to use the KISS method. That’s much better than noodling the pentatonics.
Well done!
Denise

More Blues!

[Bob Utberg]

Nicely done Alan! Loved the Jimi H style hammer ons. Well done on leaving some space between ideas, too.

Bob U. (aka Bobby Ut)

[Tom D]

I enjoyed your “reaction video” Alan. It’s very cool that you can improvise and come up so many ideas while anlso integrating them into a coherent piece. Great tone, feel, and ending chord strums! Tom

[Martin W]

Nice work Alan you stuck to the simple path and in more ways than most it’s the best way ,you followed the progression well and made every note count.

Martin

[Alan O]

Hi Alan! Great job and use of the minor pentatonic scale. Using the KISS method definitely worked for you!

Alan

[David H]

It is amazing what the good old pentatonic scale can do. Well done on this hearing and recording on the first go round.

[Michael L]

Hi Alan, nicely done! I followed a similar “simple” approach with Am pent and A natural minor. It works well for this track. You put together some nice lines with good timing.

[Scott M]

Great feel for the groove, tasty licks and phrases all came together for an entertaining improv. I went with Kiss approach as well.
Well done Alan!

[Richard G]

You proved the simple melody route was the best for you Alan, and I think it suited the backing track extremely well. Good challenge submission.

Richard

[Mark T]

That was a calm and relaxing listen, Alan, with some pretty melodic licks – nicely done 👍🎶😎

[Author]

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