Improvisation – simplified explanation of the theory behind.
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As an example, let us take the chord progression A-D-E7-F#m, found in the "Backing tracks" section. This progression is, harmonically speaking, very simple. When improvising over it, one could stay in the key of A, playing either A major/Ionian scale or F# minor pentatonic (the relative minor key to A). To determine which key a certain progression belongs to, all you have to do is try the pentatonic scale in different keys until it sounds right. Don't worry if you don't understand/know the theory, just use your ears.
The above mentioned approach is okay to use as a starting point, but if your goal is to become a skilled soloist, you won't get away with it. However, a more advanced approach doesn't necessarily have to be very complicated. Here is one way to look at the theory behind improvisation:
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1) The first step is just being able to find the chord tones (arpeggios) all over the fret board. If you don’t know which notes the chord A contains, all you have to do is to play the chord and check the name of every note (some notes will be doubled depending on which “voicing” you are using, that is which version of A chord). Here are the notes of every chord in the progression:
A: A -C#- D
D: D-F#-A
E7: E-G#-B-D
F#m: F#-A-C#
Notice that simple major and minor chords only contain three notes (this is a rule without exceptions).
Okay, now spend a year or two just practicing finding the chord notes of different chord progressions all over the fret board (who said becoming a good guitarist was painless?). Then move on:
2) Add all the notes in between the chord tones, you can either take common scales or make up your own. Depending on your choice of scale and technique you can make it sound jazz, rock, blues, country (etc.), pretty simple, right? Add another ten year period to your practice schedule and you will have reached your goal, then begins the fun and you will get all the chicks (freelicks!).
Remember: you are safe in any context if you can improvise with the chord tones (arpeggios), this is true for everything from a simple blues to complex jazz arrangements.
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