[distressed_romeo]

When you're writing pieces for yourself to improvise over, what's your preference for, modal vamps or chord sequences?

Personally I like the challenge of both. Obviously, playing through complex changes is a lifetime's pursuit, and one of the most fascinating aspects of improvised music, but at the same time, modal vamps offer some interesting opportunities to develop ideas with modal interchange (faux-Indian improv over a drone note is great fun!), and in a lot of ways makes it more challenging to develop a coherent solo, as you don't have the roadmap a set of changes provides, and so it's really easy to fall back on just blazing away with your favourite shred licks.

[DDDorian]

I usually tend to improvise over drone notes for a few reasons, firstly because it sounds cool, secondly, because it's challenging to keep it interesting for any length of time, and thirdly, because I'm not quite good enough to improvise anything interesting chord-melody style just yet. I'm trying to develop my skills in pure solo guitar so I don't jam with backing tracks much anymore, but when I do it's usually just drums/bass or just drums, I'm not really into the two-guitar thing.

[All_¥our_Bass]

I know what a chord progression is, but what are vamps?

[distressed_romeo]

Originally Posted by All_¥our_Bass

I know what a chord progression is, but what are vamps?

One or two-chord riffs that imply a particular scale or mode.

[ElRay]

Funny, Zappa came-up in the "Post you tunings" thread, and here he comes again.

Frank Zappa had said on a number occasions when he was young he liked to solo over complex chord changes for the technical challenge, but as time went on, he really preferred soloing over essentially a drone because of the creative challenge. From his point of view, if you've got competent musicians playing complex backing, it will be interesting no matter what you do.

Ray

{ Still bummed I wasn't able to catch any of the Zappa Plays Zappa shows.}

[distressed_romeo]

Originally Posted by ElRay

Funny, Zappa came-up in the "Post you tunings" thread, and here he comes again.

Frank Zappa had said on a number occasions when he was young he liked to solo over complex chord changes for the technical challenge, but as time went on, he really preferred soloing over essentially a drone because of the creative challenge. From his point of view, if you've got competent musicians playing complex backing, it will be interesting no matter what you do.

Ray

{ Still bummed I wasn't able to catch any of the Zappa Plays Zappa shows.}

Apparently he was heavily influenced by Indian music as well, which is largely based on melodic improvisation over drones.

[ElRay]

Originally Posted by distressed_romeo

Apparently he was heavily influenced by Indian music as well, which is largely based on melodic improvisation over drones.

His influences were from all over the place. He was in a number of Doo-Wop bands when that was a "new" style. He actually got thrown in jail because he was in a racially integrated band (a could pass for Middle-Eastern looking Italian with a "Negro" (to use the vernacular of the time) and Hispanic) singing and playing Doo-Wop.

Add to that classical (Varese, Stravinsky), dada-esque "modern", blues, jazz, R&B, what's now labeled 'electronica' (he was a pioneer with the Synclavia), heavy percussion only (Varese-like), etc.. Pretty much everything except twangy-Texas-style Country.

Ray

[distressed_romeo]

It's interesting how few of his influences were particularly gutiar-orientated.

[Nidolf]

I think Zappa was actually thrown in jail for supplying pornography. Some guy asked him if he could supply som moaning for a party they were having so Zappa and a female friend joked made a small record as a joke and then the "Some guy" turned out to be an undercover police who busted him.
But that's hardly relevant!

Going on topic: I totally prefer to solo over drones. It's because that's were I feel most comfortable creating expressful solos. But I guess that's because it's the way I've played the most. If I played any other type lots I guess I could feel equally comfortable in that way.

[ElRay]

Originally Posted by distressed_romeo

It's interesting how few of his influences were particularly gutiar-orientated.

True. That's why he always referred to himself as a composer who happened to play guitar. Jazz from Hell is almost all Synclavia, then of course there's the classical stuff (Yellow Shark, etc.) too.

Originally Posted by Nidolf

Some guy asked him if he could supply som moaning for a party they were having so Zappa and a female friend joked made a small record as a joke and then the "Some guy" turned out to be an undercover police who busted him.

The entrapment case was the second time -- down in Rancho Cucamonga (IIRC). I think he was part owner of the recording studio at that time. The "ethnically mixed" band incident was back around his High School days up in Antelope Valley.