Exploring Melody Embellishments

Okay, then. The next approach I want to talk about is taking a melody. We're going to use the same melody over and over again and start thinking about ways to embellish that melody.

What is Embellishment?

An embellishment could be something as simple as:

• Adding vibrato
• Approaching a specific note in different ways:
  • Sliding into it
  • Picking it
  • Playing legato with hammer-ons and pull-offs
  • Tapping the note
  • Bending up to the note

There are lots of different ways to approach just one single note on the guitar.

Example: Sweet Child of Mine

What I thought would be a good idea is if we take a melody that I imagine a lot of you will know. We're going to use the vocal melody, just one bar of it, from Sweet Child of Mine by Guns N' Roses.

Hopefully, this melody is familiar to you. If you're not familiar with that song, go and check it out. Just listen to the opening vocal phrase, instantly, you'll recognize that melody.

The Melody in D Major

• We're in the key of D major here.
• Starting on the B string with your little finger and picking it three times.
• Then, we're descending down and across the G string for the last two notes.

It's a really simple melody to play at the moment.

It sounds a little flat because I'm not adding any articulation or embellishment to those notes whatsoever.

So, it sounds a bit stale. What I'd like you to work on is playing that same melody but thinking about different ways to approach various notes within it.

Ways to Embellish the Melody

• Bend up to that third note that you're repeating
• Add some slides in there
• Incorporate a little bit of vibrato

There are so many different ways we could try playing that melody.

Change in Position

You might change the position of it to get a different tone. For instance, you might play it up higher for a warmer sound.

Restrict Yourself Initially

To start, restrict yourself and just apply one technique at a time. For example, if we were just to go for slides:

"Yeah, it's kind of overdoing the slides a bit, but it just gives you an idea."

Perhaps a little more musical there. We don't want to use it on every single note, that would be overkill. You've got to find the spots where it suits a specific technique, particularly on any sustained notes, those that have a reasonable duration.

Adding Vibrato

Let's add some vibrato:

• It's one of the most expressive things you can do to a note to make it work.
• Focus on the third note and certainly on the final note of that phrase to get some nice vibrato.

Combining Techniques

Let's look at combining a few different techniques:

• Some slides and bends, perhaps.
• Throw in a few pre-bends and get some vibrato on that way.

"There are almost infinite possibilities just by sticking with that melody and changing the way you approach playing it."

Think Like a Vocalist

I think it's a nice example using that particular melody because it's a vocal phrase. Try to think a little more like a vocalist in terms of your phrasing.

• As a guitar player, we can keep going up and down shapes all day without needing to take a physical breath.
• A vocalist needs to physically breathe, have a gap, and then start again.

When you're doing your phrasing, consider this approach:

• Play a little, breathe, and let it sit.
• Next phrase, play a bit, let it breathe.

Combining these elements will help your improvisations sound more musical, rather than just playing up and down shapes that you may be familiar with from scales.

Experimentation

Do give that a try and experiment with your own melodies as well. Not just melodies from songs you like, although that's a great thing to practice, but also create your own melodies using the methods we've talked about previously.

Keep those melodies the same, but vary how you embellish them. Think about:

• Bending up to notes
• Sliding into notes
• Adding vibrato

Consider all these details rather than the note choice, since you've already settled on a melody that you like and think works. It's a fantastic thing to experiment with, and good luck with that!