Don't Let the Scale Play YOU

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[@MusicisWin]

This concept of "home riffs" is something I use to teach improvisation in Guitar Super System (bit.ly/G1SS50), and I've gotten a lot of feedback from people saying it really helped. I hope it helps you!

[@dynamicenglishmed8603]

thank you

[@RanetaCroak]

I'm not sure if you'll see this comment but I want you to know that you help me a lot on improving my guitar playing. Every time I see one of your videos I want to take my axe and shred because your melodic sense is inspiring. Also as a non-english speaker, I find your accent very clear to understand. Keep making videos :)

[@robbiewilliams2234]

Music is Win u good man try g magor a minor 7th b Spanish c sub dominate c magor d domamite 7 and then e minor its all in the key of g

[@williamadrianodesouzamoren3533]

Well explained man , you just unlocked my mind about playing scales

[@bleromafia]

They helped. definitly. it is the one of the things that i liked in super system but when i improvise i tend to make my own home riffs because i want to sound more like myself

[@joshualessore7652]

This is *the* ultimate video to whack someone out of their beginner habits. This is probably your most important video that guitar world should make an article about

[@MusicisWin]

Done: www.guitarworld.com/lesson-videos-rock/play-scale-dont-let-it-play-you/30934

[@joshualessore7652]

Rotten Tomatoes 97% certified fresh. Meta-critic 103% with 3% margin for error

[@Marteeeeeeen]

I add myself to this comment! Really Tyler! Great lessons that you give us, contributing to equalize our musical creation! Thank you so much!

[@TRose-hc9pv]

Joshua Lessore So true! This is where I'm stuck and it's so annoying.

[@metalmusicfoundry5391]

+1 where I'm always getting stuck, particularly as I'm learning modes etc

[@RickGraham]

i love this man

[@toad15fan]

Rick Graham rick, y u no likes?

[@iosephantonivs4262]

His head looks like a potato.

[@MsDavo123]

Wow maestro rick himself🤗

[@Its.Ruze.]

This is one of the most important lessons in the history of music lessons. Period.

[@alldud13]

Wadsmitter it's more than just a guitar lesson. You can make scales with pretty much every instrument

[@andrewgtr24]

Wadsmitter Make a pattern of beats on the drums to come back to if you get lost.

[@olafvanrijnsbergen1177]

I felt really guilty of that first solo....

[@gun4014]

tell me about it LOL

[@VisualGuy]

I think he went and watched my videos and facebook live stuff and decided to make a video addressing me only. haha

[@Godspeed961]

I can play worse ! \m/

[@Juan_Teppa]

I think Tyler is just omnipresent watching us all while practicing.

[@akshaykumar_r]

You're probably the only one who teaches guitar with respect to how we feel, and this isn't bound to or enforced by shapes or scales xD Great video sensei!

[@jimjambananaslam3596]

It's all bound by shapes and scales IMO. Unless you just play notes randomly and have just learned to combine the right notes over time, but even then, someone who learned via music theory might come up with the exact same riff (and probably would take a lot less time and effort to do it). I think improvising and writing music is a skill on it's own, and you need to practice it like every other aspect of playing an instrument. There are many different approaches to learning guitar, and a good teacher knows that and isn't totally rigid in the way they teach, but that doesn't mean learning the traditional way is less creative somehow. Learning music theory will never hurt your playing, people sometimes just have a hard time applying it properly.

[@bangersandmashism]

@@jimjambananaslam3596 to some degree yes. But also I think ultimately as a musician the goal is to just be playing the notes which come to you out of an internal feeling for where the melody should go, as well as understanding that there are not really any right or wrong intervals , just a scale of rightness to wrongness. Gurthrie Govan did a really great talk about this and he reccomends he practise of singing your melodies (can be in your head) before you play them, and eventually as you get better at accurately translating that melody to the fretboard and it gets quicker over time, the melody which you are singing in your mind and the melody which you are playing will become one and the same. Potentially meaning that your choice of notes will be coming from your sensibilities as a musician and your feeling for the melody, rather than through muscle memory or just the ergonomics of patterns on a fretboard.

[@nickmurray9193]

When I learned how to do this by studying the style of John Frusciante it improved my soloing and overall writing a ton. I like to use Dani California as an example, John always goes back to that memorable lick he opens the solo with, and uses blues licks along the way to move it forward, using the opening lick as home base. I like to think of it as writing a story. Every good story has a memorable beginning that is very significant to the overall outcome of the main character's journey, so I use a melodic lick to open, and like any good story there is filler. Use the scale as filler by targeting specific intervals and patterns that drive the story forward, and along the way in any story there are small action events that keep it interesting, so throw in some cool little licks in between the filler and home base. End it off with a badass finale that will leave the listener wanting to come back for more.

[@hanomag251]

I'm exactly at this point in my musical journey. Learning to play small solos. I'm always feeling lost in solos cause I never know where I'm going. As you have mentioned, I think this is gonna help me to keep track where I want to go. This is by far one of the best free small lesson that I ever had. You are a very good teacher. Thanks for sharing your knowledge to all of us!!!

[@MusicisWin]

Glad to help you on your journey, friend!

[@silent-trouble]

Thats very true. The way I think of scales is as a learning tool to know where the "right" notes are. Once you got them down you really should "forget" about these boxes and just go whereever you want your sound to go on the fretboard. Actively thinking more in motives and melodies when you improvise helps that too.

[@DineshSahu-go8jo]

"You play the scale, don't let the scale play you." Exact words of Guthrie Govan in his tutorial, Professor Shred. Great video, nonetheless. :-)

[@ribertorbet5304]

Well, this guy is known for stealing other people's lesson material.

[@LeMuffinLP]

Riber Torbet elaborate please

[@DineshSahu-go8jo]

Eh? I enjoy all his content, mister. Teaching the same thing as some other teacher is hardly 'stealing'. His videos have always helped me a lot and are super entertaining. He is definitely one of my most favourite KZbinrs. You should try giving a little respect to people. People will treat you with respect too, then. Have a good day.

[@ThiagoIndioAraujo]

there is no such thing in music learning. when you learn something, its yours.

[@babetteleblanc7620]

Guthrie must have stolen it from my 75 year old music teacher decades ago.

[@tomburge8209]

I could listen to you improvise all day 😍😍 damn sounds so good

[@mrmuscle4815]

sometimes when I'm improvising, I play as if the guitar is a voice and think of each note as a syllable. this only works for me sometimes if I'm really inspired

[@luisgpr1]

Yea I do the same because I easily find melodies but I struggle to inject interesting rhythm so I sometimes keep this lyrics in my head and make the guitar follow them.

[@hailhydrazine4938]

new studio looks sick

[@guimarques013]

6:18 - this little bends to the previous and closest note are so easy, yet so beautiful!

[@sannelepolder4599]

Thanks! I'd say i'm an intermediate guitar player, though I definitely "let the scale play me" often. it's easy to be unaware of such things and to not know why it is your solo's sound so static and boring. very helpful :)

[@TheRealMutttastic]

In classical music, these "home riffs" are called motifs, which are also common in a lot of jazz solos. Studying how the greats use motifs and manipulate and change them as the piece goes on is some of the best musical training there is.

[@123ubuntu666]

I've never ever improvised in my life. Every 20 minute lead solo I have ever done was from memory from a book called: the best 20 minute guitars solos you will ever need. Nope, no improvisation here. No way. Thank you for showing me the light. ;-)

[@HYUGE]

I always apply this kinda thing in my solos... So i nver get lost.... Very much appreciated that you are doing a tremendous work for lost guitar players who wanna be a soulful musician....great fan of your knowledge and sense of humour.... YOU ARE FUN TOO WATCH. love from India..... And yes one more thing. .. Congratd for new studio man... But colors suit you more thn just black... You are a rainbow sitting over a barcode

[@jessiej1746]

The first example of the melody you played is what haunts so many guitarist the world over. Then you gave a specific way to start to combat the problem. Such a simple solution. Bravo!

[@alfredoguerrero1208]

I've been looking for this information for years. Being stuck in my lame robotic improv has made me doubt my playing abilities time after time. Thank you so much. This sold me on buying guitar super system now.

[@JacobH93]

This is a really great lesson. It always helps to have some sort of motif ("home riff") to work off of in a solo. What's nice is that it not only gives you something to fall back on, it also gives your listeners something to follow and take away from it as well.

[@seantaylor6334]

Thank you for existing and taking the time to help us, its great what you do

[@babetteleblanc7620]

I bought your Guitar Super System Pt 1 course, I've been looking at it but this video forced me to hit the "Buy now" button. And thank you for the awesome 50% discount...I see what other teachers are charging and you're practically giving this away. Thank you Tyler!

[@ScorpioDeal]

I love the concept of home riffs. It really makes it easier to use the scales in a more musical way. Thanks for sharing it.

[@shellshocktm]

This is definitely one of the most important lessons one needs to learn when trying to improve their soloing. It's easy to get suck in the scale rut and you've already addressed it by actually making a video about it and pointing out that it's a thing which is something beginner guitarists disregard. Great video as always and really helpful as well​. Thanks.

[@jackmcgregor6954]

Don't let the scale play you. Please god don't let it. Habeeb it

[@loganmatthews1160]

Twinkie house

[@thomasdrew6115]

Home Riffs....brilliant. Thank you!

[@shashankram6563]

Such beautiful music

[@scottrose2098]

I was improvising yesterday evening with a good friend of mine and we were trading off on rhythm and lead and it was so beautiful. It wasn't robotic it was a free flow. I'm beginning to get out of my beginner habits.

[@chrislynch1235]

Great explanation! To which I would add only one necessary thing: the home riff has to work with the current chord. If it doesn't, then the home riff doesn't help you--it's like the person in the room who laughs at the wrong time. "Work" can mean different things, but it's something that should be "on purpose" rather than by accident. Your home "riff" could even BE the current chord, but just played with enough sonic contrast to stand out from the rest of the instruments. I like that you referenced being "lost" or "stuck" during a solo--it's good for improvisers to accept that this will happen to them and to not let it frustrate them. Sometimes "it's just not happening" all that well. Having the Home Riff as a touchstone to come back to falls under the heading of a coping strategy or Plan B-- always helpful!

[@cmartinjr2]

This is the best guitar advice ever, thank you, you've opened up a new world.

[@miljann98]

That upper-left corner of your carpet keeps me awake at night Please glue that down Great video :D

[@Burrning]

Well shit now you made me notice it...

[@todbadman]

Great. Now I'm looking at it.

[@miljananisavic6998]

Goddamit... Btw my name is Miljana 👊

[@CarpeDiem23]

@@miljananisavic6998 You two should marry each other, you already live in the same country...

[@Richie7788]

That second solo was awesome! So simple but the notes were on point.

[@benjaminvoss7987]

Keep hearing those little Satch-isms in your playing. Keep up the good work! Love watching these. Also congrats on the new house!

[@BradColemanisHere]

I'm going to do this all day today. This is great advice for intermediate guys like me who have learned modes, know some songs, but are trying to sound musical with improvisation. It's easy to mimic someone who is already musical, but to know how to do it yourself is different. Like you said, the melody is in my head, I just need to get my fingers to play it! Thanks.

[@arthurcallahan1551]

Best teacher for intermediate to advanced players on KZbin!

[@drewboy7319]

Sensei Tyler says "you play the scale, don't let the scale play you"... GREAT ADVICE!

[@ErostheEpic]

I would like to add to your "Home Base" riff idea, and that it works really well during covers of original solos in songs. Finding the most "recognizable" riff in a solo such as a sweet bend or a repeated phrase and then transitioning with improvising to the next "recognizable" riff in the solo, not only helps make your improvising practical but also makes the solo spoken through your own voice. Just makes sure that your improvising sounds as good or better than the original solo.

[@Smay0r]

After I bought Guitar Super System, I was hoping to find more lessons like this in it. I know most of the theorie stuff, but I don't know how to use it properly. I would love to see more videos like this. Great video, Taylor!

[@Superjet113]

Yes, great lesson, Thank you, and your new home studio looks MAGnificent! Congrats! :)

[@lukerangdan8557]

Thanks Sir, love from NE.

[@muh2k4]

Thanks for the lesson! Important stuff. A little additional note: Use the power of pauses/letting a note ring. In my opinion playing nothing during a melody is as important as playing itself. For me, this is the second most important aspect after repetition.

[@abawiking]

Can we get the backing track pls?

[@CTL5150]

Probably one of the ( if not the best) videos you've ever made.

[@LuisOrt325]

the studio looks amazing and i genuinely love the new environment so much for the videos. by the way great vid full of smart content.

[@stefanospanagiotidis7489]

Seriously the title itself can already teach you something important! Great video as always!

[@cirick1696]

Man, sometimes it's like you read my mind. I was just thinking yesterday that I wish I had a way to ask how to break out of a linear scale pattern and actually start playing. Thanks once again, impeccable as always.

[@DaOGProd]

thanks! I found this very helpful. I've been playing for a little bit (6 months) and this really simplified improvisation and soloing for me.

[@loopie007]

Excellent food for thought. Thanks.

[@Henu99]

That studio is awesome!

[@dancort7739]

This video alone has been more helpful than all the other similar videos I've ever watched put together. I'm still not good at improvising, but I'm not as bad as I was a few minutes ago. I even came up with a melody that I think is good enough to put in a song, which has always been difficult for me.

[@Larryco1]

Well done ! And very useful .Thank you for showing ways for musicians.

[@Larryco1]

You're a great teacher, man. Go on !

[@MsDavo123]

Excellent lesson i was improving today on A mixolydian and i came up with few home riffs all targeting major 3d or minor 7th🤗but now i watched your video and i really loved how you managed to look from a side what you do to identify it and to deliver soooo nicely you are a gifted teacher👌

[@estebanh.3683]

Excellent concept. I´ll put it in practice right away!

[@ezer0923]

I think your home riff concept will be one of my primary tools from now on

[@VictorTarela]

WOOOOOOOOOW, your new room is amazing!!!

[@brandbird]

Nice video! Loving the Prince-style little lick at 1:30.

[@babetteleblanc7620]

I thought I heard Prince too. Thanks, I'm not crazy.

[@sohumbasu8810]

@@babetteleblanc7620 purple rain

[@alexlanza79]

I'm exactly in that zone of just playing notes up and down the scale and not knowing what to do! I so get it what you're saying, thanks so very much, I like your concept and I'll try to learn it!

[@allusanchez4206]

thank you sir! one of the most important lesson for everyone who plays.

[@zakknslash]

I needed this video! Thank you! Also the new room is amazing!

[@aarons5846]

Some other issues I've been exploring that I'd love you to cover in more "how to solo/scale" videos: 1. Any good tips/exercises to help break out of playing notes perfectly on beat or at mathematically "clean" intervals between beat? I hear particularly good examples of what I'm trying to get to in the old blues masters' phrasing where they go off on their own then bring it back to the beat eventually. 2. How to approach chord changes during a solo (do I switch to the scale that corresponds to the new chord or stay on the root chord and just emphasize the notes I want with modes?). 3. How to approach playing lead using short licks or scale fragments to accent the rhythm player without being too musically pushy and overpowering during vocals or other more dominant melodic parts of the song. Great videos, looking forward to checking out your full courses after I finish moving!

[@babetteleblanc7620]

I'm a little stuck on your #2) also...

[@HellcatCustoms]

Great advice. I've been trying to do this during practice and it's really helping.

[@harrisonhutton]

Love the new setup

[@jamesvasey6091]

Ace new setup looks ace! Good job!

[@cwkulp1976]

Very helpful. I look forward to practicing these ideas!

[@joaquinodriozola4963]

i had a really bad concept of you after watching your Top 7 best metal riffs period. I hated it. Now after going through a couple of your videos I realise you are a good teacher and very well intended. Cheers and thanks for the vids!

[@Rickydason]

This video feels like it was made exactly for me and my current state. Great video!!

[@djonakachopper]

Good concept, helpful! Wish I'd heard it 50 years ago, but now is good!

[@TheVanders]

I love the new setup!

[@bluesyace9564]

That home riff technique was SUPER EFFECTIVE

[@ikram4597]

keep rocking the GOOD way dude!!!!

[@bambostarla6259]

Thanks tyler. I know a few scales and I'm a very melodic player but I never use them. This will hopefully make me use them more!

[@victoriagrace5134]

Dat sharp four doe. Seriously though, I play piano for jazz ensemble at school (I also play guitar, I'm not a lost piano player) and we had to solo over lydian modes for one song. It was really difficult because it switched from the ionian mode, then it went to the lydian. It was a hard change to hear because the scale tones remained the same, the song was quick, and you really had to listen to the bass player. Having a few "home riffs" even on piano would've made that song SO much easier to solo over. So, like, thanks man.

[@luisgpr1]

What a gorgeous axe

[@colbybeltz7875]

Awesome setup, looks so clean

[@hofftipus4132]

Thanks Tyler, I really struggle with this. My guitar teacher has me learning all kinds of scales and I just feel like I am meandering around without playing something coherent. Great video.

[@michaelgreiner1665]

You da real MVP Tyler !

[@nadeemramli8550]

what a beautiful room

[@cameronnorman291]

The new place looks awesome

[@bestboy897]

The room looks beautiful

[@JohnnyGuitarRocks]

Love this tip, thanks Tyler!

[@koriscoggin2728]

Love it! This is my main issue right at the moment

[@ezequielbordone1805]

That studio is amazing man!

[@martyrosser3451]

Very awesome advice man, never thought to create a "crutch" lick to help make things easier, way cool idea! Thanks man, always digging your lessons and tips!

[@Indarow]

This is fantastic, thank you so so much. Lately I feel like I've gotten stuck with playing the same stuff I've been familiar with. This gave me a lot of good ideas.

[@Chingu-nm6wp]

I just started playing again and these srgments are very helpful im posting my progress on my chanel thank you

[@reniljohn1996]

Love this video . Make a video on how to use various pedals . Each pedal in detail . And then combination of pedals

[@Ryan_Perrin]

the first example without letting the scale play you made me choke on my coffee. good job, it made me breathe too much

[@lukaswati9662]

awesome video! Thank you for your tipps and the great examples!

[@anti_gravity8446]

Awesome concept Tyler!

[@cjtimlick969]

this is beautiful dude. Thanks for teaching me this

[@tahmidashraf9498]

that backing track is awesome

[@mason7364]

Jesus can walk on water pickles are 97% water i can walk on pickles therefore i am 97% Jesus

[@diamondctball913]

Jesus can walk on water Ice is 100% water I can walk on ice Therefore im 100% jesus

[@brunosouza2303]

DiamondCT Ball BEST ANSWER EVER

[@jimjambananaslam3596]

Jesus can walk on water Lizards can walk on water Jesus is a shape-shifting lizard

[@marcoferrao]

@@masla990 Jesus is a made and you would probably all drown .....

[@greenandblue3809]

man! I love your tone!

[@aaronbergAPB]

Excellent post. Kudos from Phili'

[@BACzero]

THIS!!! This is exactly my problem! It always just sounds like I'm playing a scale when I try to improvise. This is a really cool idea, I'm going to try it. Thank you!

[@jtsingha6737]

Thankyou.

[@ozman6602]

That's awesome!!

[@AmzeehFTW]

best video at any level