Duration: 3:30 · 1080p Stream
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From vamps to progressions. Now that the backing chords change, the skill becomes landing on the right note at the right time. This lesson explains chord-tone soloing — targeting the root, third, fifth, and seventh as each chord arrives so your lines sound purposeful and connected to the harmony instead of like running scales — and the two foundations it rests on: knowing the chords and the scales that fit them, and always knowing where you are in the progression.
What follows is this lesson’s section of the Course Guide — you can read it here or in the full guide →
A chord progression is a series of chords arranged over time, creating a sense of motion and structure in the music. Our challenge as improvisers is to target the right notes at the right times in our improvised lines. Chord tone soloing is the ability to land on a note of a chord just as that chord is (or is about to be) played. When a solo targets chord tones, it sounds purposeful and connected to the harmony. It isn’t necessary to target a chord tone for every chord change, but it is incredibly valuable to develop the ability to do so on demand.
To do this, you will need to know all the chords in the progression and which scales will work with them. Sometimes a single scale will suffice, but sometimes you’ll need to change scales on the fly.
You will need to learn to keep track of where you are in the progression at all times and know when the next chord change is coming.
And you will need some strategies for finding chord tones under your fingers, no matter where your fingers happen to be on the fretboard. The rest of the course is dedicated to making these topics understandable and manageable.
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