I just got done practicing some new material for tomorrow night’s gig and was about to put my guitar on a stand and call it a night when I started playing a chord progression – just a couple of simple chords. Then I added a bit more to it, and my creativity sort of took on a life of its own. Once I had the full progression down, I immediately recorded it so I wouldn’t forget it, then I layered a lead to explore various melody ideas. Here’s the result of my noodling:
Frankly, it’s nothing special, but it occurred to me that it’s important to noodle because it sometimes takes you to places – a musical dreamland, you might say – that you’d normally not explore, and you discover musical phrasing that your normal alpha-wave, mind on work, mind on life waking mind wouldn’t allow you to think about.
I may never turn that “idea” into a song, but just from that little noodling session, other ideas have surfaced, and I’ll definitely be doing some exploration of those ideas.
Bear in mind that when you’re noodling, you should detach yourself from self-judgment about what you’re playing and especially how you’re playing. It doesn’t matter. The point is to explore. You never know what may turn up.
Guitar Gear 
Nice piece. It’s wierd how we can think of something great in the middle of the night and then it gone in the morning…
An important part of all this is having the discipline and patience to record it. Well done!
Thanks! š I got in the habit of doing that a few years ago after having too many of those “the-one-that-got-away” experiences.
That’s a really beautiful riff! What guitar? I’ve written many of my best songs off of momentary inspirations like that.
Gotta revise my last comment: that’s a REALLY beautiful riff!!! I’ve played it three times and am about to push the play button again. You should do an album of instrumental guitar!
Thanks, guitarboy! That is my Yamaha APX900. I used a Sennheiser e609 about 4 inches away from the sound hole. Funny you mention an instrumental album. My good buddy Jeff Aragaki of Aracom Amps created a CD of my demos and listens to it in his shop. He’s been bugging me to do this same thing for a few years. I just get caught up in other musical projects. But eventually I’ll get around to doing one.
You should do it, Dawg!
awesome, nice and chilled.
[…] architectural marvel. With my music, this is rare because (apart from the guitarist habit of noodling, which I do loads, in amongst serious practice) in order to do a sketch even, I need to put […]