When I was about 14 my dad took me to NYC to see his favorite guitar player of all time: jazz guitarist Pat Martino.
I liked Pat's playing a lot at that point in my life and was learning a lot of his solos. I was trying to emulate his style.
We were seated pretty close to the front and it was a mind-blowing experience — truly one of the most meaningful live performances I've ever seen. I even got to meet Pat afterwards.
When we left, I remember feeling like Pat's unbroken 16th notes were latched onto my brain like a virus. Walking back to the car, I couldn't stop singing his lines, the phrasing. I felt like I had unlocked the secret to his playing — like I had actually absorbed the attack, the rhythmic thesis, the swing, the attitude. I could feel it.
Why Internalizing Music Matters
That moment made me realize how important it is to really internalize and feel music, especially when it comes to improvising. Since then, I've tried to push myself to "feel" things and literally enunciate them in practice.
I think it's a crucial aspect of being able to hear something before you play it. You've got to have some sense of what it's going to sound like — rhythmically — before you play a note.
The Exercise: Sing Your Solo
Here's a practice tool that has helped me a lot.
Whatever genre you're playing — bluegrass, jazz, fusion, rock — find either a track you really like or a backing track, and sing a solo all the way through. Create variation, rhythmic and melodic. Even if you aren't a good singer, that doesn't matter in the slightest.
Take it further by trying to emulate a player you like. For instance, if you like Tony Rice, find a backing track for something like Gold Rush and sing it as if you were Tony Rice's guitar. Focus on rhythm over melody.
Why This Works (and When to Do It)
This kind of practice can be done in the car, on a walk, or anywhere without your instrument. It's highly effective work if you can make a habit of doing it regularly.
It can even generate ideas for your next solo — and it will test your musical vocabulary, forcing you to hear something in your head before you sing it.
Trust me on this one. Do it.
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