If you’re a musician like me you will occasionally find yourself hitting a wall when it comes to practicing. You feel like you’ve just run out of things to go over. And like so many other musicians I’ve wondered how do you improve your practice time and improvisational skills over chords and riffs when there’s no one around to jam with. Well, recently I’ve found a way to not only improve my practice time but sharpen my improvisation skills as well by using a looper pedal.
In the video that follows I’ll discuss what a looper pedal does, how to implement it into your practice time, and how to use it to improve your improvisation skills.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve grown sick of practicing the same old scale runs and techniques over and over again. It gets to the point where I think there is nothing new out there. I get burned out and it’s no longer fun. I’ve gone over so many instructional DVDs, online videos, lessons in magazines, and it sometimes feels like I’ve learned all I can learn and now it’s just time to sharpen my skills. But I know that’s not the case. I know there’s more to learn and go over.
Well, the T.C. Electronic Flashback is probably one of the best pieces of gear I’ve ever bought to not only revitalize my practice time but to help me sharpen my improvisation skills. The first night I got it I immediately drained the battery down because I couldn’t stop using it. I now use it plugged into the wall because I’ll go hours and hours working on implementing all the techniques I’ve developed over the years into the context of chord changes and song structures.
I can record a loop, layer stuff on top of that loop, then play over it for as long as I want. Not only that but I can kind of “check my work.” Let’s say I’m practicing a certain pattern that’s supposed to be played fast. I know it sounds right to me as I play it but when I record it into the looper and listen back to it I can hear the problem areas and know what I need to work on.
Check out video below as I demonstrate how to 1) create loops, 2) layer chords over the loop, 3) add keyboard-like effects using a fretless bass and an Ebow, 4) how to make drum-like sounds on your bass, and 5) how to take your improvisation skills to a new level.
I hope you enjoy the video and feel free to pass it along.
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J. Lamm
