Re: Getting to the Next Level aka the best laid plans...
I think it's helpful to alternate two different approaches to improvisation: one that focuses on the melody, and another that focuses on harmony. Both are time-honored approaches to learning improvisation. Melodic variation has been well-covered here, but playing from the "changes" can also be helpful. This approach has been popular learning approach in the jazz world, but can be challenging even if you're playing a simple I-IV-V progression.
Niles pointed out in the thread linked above: harmony can lead you to improvising a new "melody." I think this is because the ear can perceive lines suggested by chord changes. For example, play these notes one at a time:
E-F-F-E
G-A-G-G
C-C-B-C
Vertically, these melodic lines outline a C-F-G7-C progression. Internalizing these horizontal lines helps to get the changes in your ear, and into your improvisational language. At my school this idea is called "guide tones" and has been taught for decades as a way of getting inside the chord changes.
Another way of saying this is that harmony suggests melody -- so practicing devices from the chord progression is a way of finding those new melodies for improvisation.
Exploring Classical Mandolin (Berklee Press, 2015)
Progressive Melodies for Mandocello (KDP, 2019) (2nd ed. 2022)
New Solos for Classical Mandolin (Hal Leonard Press, 2020)
2021 guest artist, mandocello: Classical Mandolin Society of America
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