Hey guys,

Recently, my friends asked me to improvise with them...One of them is a drummer and one a guitar player. I'm not really sure what style you could call it, since it was pretty much just making stuff up randomly. I guess it was sort of like an upbeat Rolling Stones song or something...
But on the piano, how would one improvise in a band situation like this? Is there a 'method' to it, or do you need to think up a melody on the spot? Also, what kind of chords would you use if the piece was say in C major?

Diatonic stuff mostly:


Bdim
Em
Am
Dm
G
C
F


then if everyone seemed to be catching on

B half-dim
Em7
Am7
Dm7
G7
Cmaj7
Fmaj7


then

B7
E7
A7
D7
G7
C7
F lydian

... and keep going as long as everyone seemed to be following along.

Stones in C =
||: C | F :||

Try noodling in the pool of the
C Major Blues Scale:
C D D# E G A

Over F you can dabble in the
F Major Blues Scale
F G G# A C D

You can also sparingly get greasy with the
C Minor Blues Scale:
C Eb F F# G Bb

and play up inthe keyboard as the guitar is a middle gange instrument

demosthenes,

The operative word is "noodle." Then noodle some more. Then develop your your mistakes. When it becomes fun, come back and tidy things by using the suggestions above.

First the noodle;-)

DavidH