No, just because you do or don't have “natural talent” doesn’t mean you are more or less creative at improvising than anyone else.
Creative lead guitarists are able to take phrases they already know and use their awesome phrasing and phrase adaptation skills to quickly modify any lick to use in any musical context.
This allows them to create awesome phrasing ideas in their solos by often reusing old ideas, patterns or notes within a certain context without the limitation of having to constantly create new licks every single second in a solo.
Here are some of the ways great guitar players create awesome phrases in their solos:
Using Sequencing To Make Scales Sound Like Music
Your scales sound dull and robotic when you play them up and down like exercises and not like musical phrases. Scales become creative when you use sequencing to create musical patterns and sing-able phrases that stick out to a listener.
Excellent guitar players master sequences to create memorable guitar licks, solos and improvisations.
Adding Musical Ornaments
Any guitar phrase can be made to sound more interesting when you use various guitar techniques to ornament it.
Guitarists with excellent improvising skills are able to spice up the most bland lick by adding a trill, slide, bend or double stop to the end of a phrase.
Focusing On The Rhythm Of The Notes
You do not have to constantly play different pitches while soloing. Great guitar players know this and do not get stuck thinking about what notes to play (as most guitarists do). Focusing on how you play the notes you have available to you is a massive factor for the quality of your phrasing.
Changing the rhythm of the notes you are playing during a solo allows you to repeat the exact same series of notes and make it sound musical and interesting.
These are just a few ways great guitar players improvise amazing solos. Your improvisation skills go to a new level when you understand how to apply these concepts into your guitar playing.
Learn how to make your improvising sound more creative with these ideas by reading this article about creating guitar licks.
About The Author:
Tom Hess is a highly successful guitar teacher, recording artist and composer. He teaches guitar players from all over the world in his online guitar lessons. Learn more on the Tom Hess Wikipedia page.