Duration: 4:05 · 1080p Stream
Master video playlist mapped. Ready for batch offline download to media/videos/improv101-5-6.mp4.
Bring the shifts to life over a slow I–V–vi–IV backing track in D. You'll start with a limitation exercise — one shape only, rectangle or stack, shifted to follow the chords while you land a target note as each one arrives — then open up to all six strings, connecting phrases through the changes and even anticipating the next chord for forward momentum. A downloadable track lets you stop drilling and start making music.
What follows is this lesson’s section of the Course Guide — you can read it here or in the full guide →
The goal of this section is to get comfortable applying the scale-shifting approach introduced in this module to improvising over a common chord progression.
Exercise 1: Choose a single D major rectangle that falls on the middle four strings of the guitar. In time with the backing track, practice creating a brief phrase on each chord, shifting the rectangle up or down as required and emphasizing one appropriate major or minor triad target note in each phrase. Don’t forget that you can bend the highest note of the rectangle up a whole step to reach the missing fifth pentatonic note.
Exercise 2: Repeat Exercise 1 using the stack shape. Your starting D root should be on the B or G string so that the full stack is always available, even when you shift.
Exercise 3: Expand from using a single rectangle or stack to using full six-string pentatonic patterns, staying in one position and shifting them up and down as you create short phrases for each chord. As this becomes more comfortable, begin to create phrases that smoothly transition from one chord to another. While doing this, practice emphasizing a chord tone on each chord transition and experiment with anticipating the chord change slightly.
Exercise 4: Expand from Exercise 3 and allow yourself to move around the fretboard using diagonal pathways and single-string navigation. This is a big step, but you have all the necessary tools to accomplish it.
I - V - vi - IV in D
D · 88 BPM · 4 chords · 21.8s loop
Here, the fretboard shifts to each chord's pentatonic scale as it arrives — neutral for D and Bm (I and vi), down a string set for A (V), up one for G (IV) — so your hand stays in one position. Drag across two chords to loop just that change, and feel free to slow down the tempo when you're starting out.
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