How to Solo Melodically Using Motifs

You may have heard, or read, somebody giving advice to new improvisers that goes something like this, “just play melodically” or “sing what you play”. While these vague suggestions do indeed constitute good advice, they aren’t exactly helpful if you don’t know HOW to “just play melodically”. Also not helpful if you don’t know how to create melodic ideas when you sing.

The good news? There is a practical and simple way that you can practice these things. You can learn to solo melodically by using what are called “motifs”.

In this lesson I define this concept, and show some examples of how you can apply it immediately. It doesn’t matter what level of playing you are at. By using Motifs you can create interesting melodic phrases that connect you to your audience and to fellow musicians, and increase your enjoyment in the process.

If you know any scale at all you can start practicing this concept, so this is a great way to begin learning to solo as a beginner. For more advanced players, you can take this concept and use it to add more interest and cohesion to your solos. By using motifs to play melodically, you’ll create a more interesting ideas and will more naturally be able to pace your solos in a musical way.