Learn To Create Great Melodies and Solos

So, you've learned a scale. Now what? How can you take a scale you've been practicing and actually create musicwith it? How do you turn 'boring old scales' into exciting melodies, riff, licks and solos? It's not as challenging as you may think it is. All you need is a new perspective, some specific practice strategies and a willingness to try some fun ideas that will help you become a more confident and capable musician.

Join multi-instrumentalist and Practice Warrior Christopher Maloney as he guides you through these simple but effective practice tips. Although Christopher demonstrates these concepts on guitar, bass and piano, this course is designed to help any musician, regardless of what instrument you play!

1. Start Making Sense - So you want to improvise with your scales?  How do you do it in a way that makes sense?  How do you do it in a way that creates interest for your listener...and for yourself?  The answers await in this first video in the Melodic Phrasing Course. (10:23)

2. Ludwig Was Right! - Da Da Da Duhhhhh.  The open melody to Beethoven's 5th Symphony is a simple, yet epic melody that has lasted over 200 years in the public consciousness.  This video will help you understand how to be inspired by these types of simple, melodic ideas and how you can incorporate them into your playing. (6:38)

3. Solo Means ONE - When people hear the word "solo", it strikes fear in their hearts.  They thinking soloing means to play fast, be impressive, or show off.  No, the word solo means "one" or "alone", meaning you are now the only one to play a melody in a song.  So you need to learn how to RELAX into your moment to shine. I'll give you some historical examples of people/bands that chose their own way of playing.  I hope you enjoy this chat! (13:28)

4. It’s REALLY That Easy! - In this video, Christopher talks about the very moment that he got over his fear of creating an improvised solo.  It just so happens that it happened on stage in front of one of his musical idols!  Hopefully, this quick talk will inspire you to realize that soloing REALLY is that easy!! (11:13)

5. What are Licks? - In this video, Christopher attempts to differentiate the terms Motif, Riff and Lick.  All of these are melodic phrases, but have different meanings.  As a result, we do a deep dive into the concept of “LICKS"! (20:50)

6. Writing Riffs - How do you go about writing an iconic riff?  What is a riff, anyway?  We'll talk about how you should start using your scales to create simple, but memorable riffs for your next big hit song! (7:57)

7. One Note Symphony - When we solo or create melodies, we're always thinking of the NOTES we play.  But what if we were only able to play one note? How can you make that sound interesting?  Being able to manipulate a single note will supercharge your playing.  If you can play one note and make it cool, imagine what you can do with many notes.  It's time to create your own One Note Symphony! (12:41)

8. Developing Ideas - In this lesson, we actually get away from thinking about scales and think more about how to develop ideas.  What interesting concepts can we use to change up our way of thinking about playing scales or creating cool melodies?  That's what this video is all about! (13:43)

9. Developing Melodic Ideas (Sax Perspective) - With Christopher using guitar, bass and piano to demonstrate creating melodic ideas, it's time to get another instrument's perspective on the topic.  Saxophonist, singer and educator Chris Moore talks about how he uses scales to create fun and cool melodies. (6:57)

10. Pivot Note - Playing your scale using a single note to "pivot" off of can really open your mind to create very interesting melodic ideas.  Pivot notes RULE!! (14:51)

11. Passing/Leading Tones - Since most scales contain 7 notes, that means you'll have 5 'bad' notes to stay away from.  However, you can actually use that 'bad' notes to create a little tension in your melodies. These 'bad' notes become 'good' notes when you use them to pass between your scale tones.  Figure out how all this works in this fun video lesson. (10:00)

12. All Together Now! - In this final video lesson, we focus on all the ways to manipulate a single note, so that we can use these devices to create interesting and engaging melodies. (21:16)