Az Jazz Guitar Lessons #13: Improvising on Stevie Wonder's Isn't Sh...

One of my students, Rushdi asked a question on how to practice improvisation.

He also mentioned that he's currently working on Stevie Wonder's Isn't She Lovely. This song is a pretty song that is often called at guitar jam sessions. In this post, I'll share my current process of learning songs in regards to developing melodic improvisation skills on the songs. Here are the steps!

[Step 1: Listening]
First is research so I will try to find the original version and maybe some covers.

Here's the original Stevie Wonder version:

Here's a cool cover by Martin Miller and Tom Quayle:

And this is one with me and Bumblefoot that I did last year:

As I listen to the songs, I'll sometimes write down any observations I have about the song, arrangement, improvisation etc.

[Step 2: Learn the Chords]

The next step is learning the chord progression. These are the basic chords:
[A section]
| C#min7 / / / | F#7 / / / | A/B / / / | E / / / |
| C#min7 / / / | F#7 / / / | A/B / / / | E / / / |
[B section]
| Amaj7 / / / | G#7 / / / | C#min7 / / / | F#7 / / / |
| A/B / / / / | A/B / / / / | E / / / | E / / / |

Here's a demo of me playing the chords:

If you can learn the chords by ear directly, that's very good. If that's too tricky for now, you can use the chords I've written as the basis. Remember to listen back to the recording to get a better feel for the groove and vibe of the song.

[Step 3: Learn the Melody]

You can do this by learning the melody by ear from the original recording:

You can also learn the melody from a lead sheet but it's best to learn by ear whenever possible. It's more difficult sometimes but it's more likely to remain in your long term memory if you learn by ear.

[Step 4: Create a Simple Solo Guitar Version]

Here's a simple version I made to learn the melody and chords together:

It's important to do this so that when you solo, you're aware of the melody-harmony relationship rather than just using a scale and guessing your way through the song.

[Step 5: Figure out Melodic Materials for Improvisation]

This involves either analysing the chord progression or deducing by ear what can sound good on the chords.

These are some that I would use:

C#min7 - C Aeolian
F#7 - F# Mixolydian
A/B - B Mixolydian or B7 arpeggios and A arpeggios
E major - E major scale, Emaj7 arpeggio, E Major Pentatonic scale
A major7 - A Lydian
G#7 - C# Harmonic Minor or G# Altered Scale (A Melodic Minor)

[Step 6: Jam and Experiment ]

Now it's time to try out the different materials on a backing track. You can create your own or find/buy one online. This is a nice one from the Guitare Improvisation YouTube channel that I've used:

Some things that I do while practicing ideas on a backing track:

Find strong motives that quote the melody in some way
Find ways to connect the chord progression
Use strong clear rhythms
Try lines using long sustained notes, 8th notes, 16th notes, triplets to see how different subdivisions feel on the song
Apply the same strategy on the same chords but try to find different licks or melodic ideas for variety
Focus on getting fluidity and flow over the chord changes

There's more to this of course so we'll discuss more ideas in a future post. For now, please do leave comments or questions below!

Good luck and hope this post is helpful!

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If you're interested to learn more in depth on this topic or level up your guitar playing ,music theory or songwriting or composing skills. get in touch with me for private lessons in Kuala Lumpur or worldwide via Skype/Zoom/Facetime etc.

Contact me here: http://www.azsamad.com/contact

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My new e-book, Jazz Guitar Licks and Etudes is now available:
http://www.azsamad.com/book2

My first e-book, Jazz Improvisation Uncovered is here:
http://www.azsamad.com/book