According to Uli Jon Roth, one of the first electric guitar shredders, there aren’t many guitar players out there who can actually jam. As he said during his recent appearance on the “Academy of Tone” podcast, “most guitar players are not very good at jamming or improvising,” apart from a handful of big names, like Steve Morse.
Asked to explain how he approaches jamming and improv on his instrument, Uli explained (transcribed by Killer Guitar Rigs):
“The first thing is, it’s completely free. I don’t think about what comes next. It’s like you’re catching butterflies in midair, but you’re building something at the same time.”
“So it’s very spontaneous,” Roth added. “But it’s also important that you’re jamming in such a way, that you’re improvising in such a way that it could be like a composition.”
“I’m not one of these people who will play licks”
On top of that, he added that playing a bunch of pre-learned licks that you’ve prepared isn’t exactly real improvisation.
“So I’m not one of these people who will play licks,” Uli explains. “It’s bollocks. I refuse to do that. My mind works differently. I hear a melody in my mind, and then I play it.”
When improvising, the main idea is to come up with fresh new stuff right there on the spot. As he said, it’s about making it sound like a whole new original composition, something that you’d enjoy listening to. And yes, that’s far from a simple task. With that said, Uli also explains that, in his opinion, rarely anyone can really do that.
“Most guitar players, in my experience, are not good at jamming,” Roth said. “There are some who are fantastic, like when I’m playing with Steve Morse, it’s always like two brothers — I play a melody, he immediately plays the harmony, etc.”
“They always try to show off”
According to Uli, one of the reasons why this happens is because guitar players often tend to show off their skills rather than serve the song:
“But I find that most guitar players are not very good at jamming or improvising. They always try to show off, and they’re destroying the music, they’re too concerned with themselves.”
With that in mind, Roth had some important advice to share with anyone who’s planning to jam:
“So that’s the next thing when you’re improvising: don’t think about yourself. Just let the music flow through you. Take a backseat, wait for the moment, and the inspiration will come.”
“Then, if you hear something in your mind, then you do it. But you have to do it at the right moment. And you also, of course, have to interact with the other people. It’s like, when you have other people on stage, you have to listen to them. It’s like a dialogue.”
“I’ve jammed with some famous players who cannot do that”
Although he didn’t mention any names, Uli recalled jamming with some other big figures in the world of guitar who weren’t that good at it:
“I’ve jammed with some famous players who cannot do that. You’re saying something, and it’s like they don’t hear what you’re saying now. Literally like robots projecting just their one thing, and that, of course, is no fun.”
On the other hand, another guitar legend he believes is Michael Schenker, who was in Scorpions before and after Uli was a member back in the 1970s. On the other hand, Schenker isn’t all that fond of jamming.
“But there are some people who are really good at it,” he said. “Take Michael Schenker. He’s really good at jamming. But he hates it. He never does it. He likes to be prepared. But when he is on the spot and has to play stuff, even though it’s not suited for him, he is always musical, and he will never play rubbish. That’s what I mean.”
“A lot of people fall into that trap,” Uli continued. “And then they suddenly do this and this, and it’s like, give me a break. It has nothing to do with the music and the song. It’s just someone trying to show off, and this is boring and pathetic.”
“A real artistic musician will never let that get in the way of the substance”
And although he has nothing against showing off, Uli argues that moderation is the key to this. He offered:
“Sometimes you build up, and then yeah, you show off a little bit, you play a little faster. No problem with that, but a real artistic musician will never let that get in the way of the substance.”
“So very often when jamming, I would just play one note, and two notes, and three notes and build it up from there and tell the story. Some people immediately go [playing fast].
“Give me a break. Who likes that? It’s like verbal or mental diarrhea. Every note needs to have meaning. I really don’t like it when people do that, but so many people fall into that trap.”
Photo: Markus Felix (20180520 Gelsenkirchen RockHard Uli Jon Roth 0134)
