Creative Guitar Practice: The Art of Embracing the Unknown

This is for you if you feel stuck playing the same things on your guitar. There are common ways to get unstuck, like learning new things. A new guitar composition, a new technique, a new music theory idea, etc. I want to show you a new creative guitar practice: embracing the unknown. This approach helps you be more creative on the guitar and more present and attentive.

Here are three ways you can explore this approach.

Creative guitar practice #1: Expand your fretboard knowledge

If you feel comfortable playing a scale, like the C major scale, you can use it as a basis for new knowledge. Let’s say you know this C major scale pattern:

What you can do is transpose it to another key. For example, C# major – a key that guitarists rarely play. All the notes are sharp! C#, D#, E#, F#, G#, A#, B#.

A straightforward option is to move the shape half a step up and play the pattern by muscle memory. But that’s just a shortcut, and you won’t understand this scale on a deeper level. Instead, name and acknowledge the notes you play.

After playing them up and down, create something with them. Why? Because “What I cannot create, I do not understand” (-Richard Feynman).

After improvising around the scale, the next step is to play the chord C# and connect it to the notes. Follow my demonstration in the video below.

Creative guitar practice #2: Break old habits

How do you usually play with your fretting hand? Do you begin with your 1st finger (index finger)? You can easily break that habit by being aware of it and changing it completely.

For example, restrict yourself from playing with that finger. Yes, you now have only three fingers to play with. That game changer will likely revolutionise how you sound, even when playing the same old minor pentatonic scale.

You’ll experience a learning curve, adapting to a new way to finger this scale. You might want to do more slides and use your 4th finger (the little finger) more often. This can also strengthen all three other fingers and lead to new lead guitar ideas.

Here’s a demonstration.

Creative guitar practice #3: Create the unknown

Here’s a top-level type of embracing the unknown approach: play something you never played before. Don’t use any shape, scale or chord you played before. It has to be something fresh that you feel uncomfortable with.

You don’t even have to know what notes you’re playing. What you do need is your ears. Listen to every note you play and the relationships between them. To turn this from feeling strange into familiar, build it step by step, organically. One note, another note, and another.

If one note doesn’t sound fitting, you can change it. But like a memory game (which it is), you want to build a sequence of notes you can repeat. Otherwise, it’ll be meaningless. The more times you play it, the more familiar it’ll sound and therefore, more likeable to you and anyone who listens to it.

Here’s a demonstration.

• Get feedback on your music and guitar playing by joining my free FB guitar composition group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/guitar.composition
• If you wish to share it with me privately, send me a message on Messenger: https://m.me/udiglaser

Also, I’d love to know what you think about this creative guitar practice! Comment in the videos or here below!

Want to learn more ways to be creative on the guitar? How about learning how you can play the 12-bar blues as a solo guitar composition?