These are all great ideas, and they highlight one important aspect of music, harmony. Since the Dead were much, much deeper
harmonically than most anyone else considered a 'rock' band, this aspect tends to get the most attention. But even if all you know is a basic pentatonic scale, there's a ton you can do to build the tension in your improvisations.
Dynamics: Build toward a big loud, crescendo, cut back to a whisper, etc, etc. How many slow blues have you heard that get pin-drop quiet in the middle and come back in screaming? Any good symphony recording of the classics is a seminar in dynamics.
Rhythmic. Start out floaty, build to faster, denser rhythms, or resolve a flurry of notes to a long sustained one
Sequences :play something, then 'answer' it higher or lower with something similar. Keep it going for as long as musical taste or length of fretboard allow.....
Timbre, change up the tone w/ your hands(pick closer to bridge, snap strings, etc) or feet(dist+,mutron, etc)
Be mindful of things you listen to that successfully build tension, and keep track of what devices they use to pull it off.
Best of luck in your improvisations,
PK
harmonically than most anyone else considered a 'rock' band, this aspect tends to get the most attention. But even if all you know is a basic pentatonic scale, there's a ton you can do to build the tension in your improvisations.
Dynamics: Build toward a big loud, crescendo, cut back to a whisper, etc, etc. How many slow blues have you heard that get pin-drop quiet in the middle and come back in screaming? Any good symphony recording of the classics is a seminar in dynamics.
Rhythmic. Start out floaty, build to faster, denser rhythms, or resolve a flurry of notes to a long sustained one
Sequences :play something, then 'answer' it higher or lower with something similar. Keep it going for as long as musical taste or length of fretboard allow.....
Timbre, change up the tone w/ your hands(pick closer to bridge, snap strings, etc) or feet(dist+,mutron, etc)
Be mindful of things you listen to that successfully build tension, and keep track of what devices they use to pull it off.
Best of luck in your improvisations,
PK