Posted on

Rock Practice Track – A

Here is a rock practice track in the key of A. The chords are A, C, D and E – all power chords comprising the root and fifth.  It is done at a slowish 100bpm, so you should have plenty of time to pick up what’s happening. See if you can work out which chords are where using your ear! The note G on the bottom string is used as a bend in between A  chords and E chords – a standard rock and roll move!

Am Pentatonic Rock Practice Track

Practice your improvising using the A minor pentatonic scale, with the addition of a B on the E chords!

Enjoy,

Rob

Posted on

Practice Track: Am D9 Funk

Here is a practice track for those wanting to polish up their soloing over a funk style A minor groove. The place to start with soloing over this groove, which alternates between Am7 and D9 is the A minor pentatonic scale. There are six fingerings of the A minor pentatonic scale which cover the entire fretboard. Practice in each of the fingerings until you know them all well, then practice going between pairs of fingerings, until you can play anywhere on the neck of the guitar!

Here are the six fingering patterns – notice that the first is identical to the sixth after making adjustment for the open strings.

The minor pentatonic approach is however just the beginning of what you can do. You can also try A natural and Dorian minor scales. Since Am and D7 are the ii and V chords of the G major scale, you can also use the G major scale.  Try working off  the A minor seventh and D7 or D9 arpeggios. You might also like to experiment with the B minor pentatonic scale and the E minor pentatonic scale, as both of these scales contain only notes from the G major scale. As always, let your ear be the judge!

Here is the practice track:

Practice track Am7-D9 funk groove

Enjoy!

Posted on

Practice Track: C major I-vi-II7-V7

This practice track is done in an Indie Rock style. The rhythm section is composed of drums, bass, and rhythm guitar, with a tenor guitar line that is similar to the bass part, but an octave higher, and playing on all the beats.

The progression replaces the diatonic D minor chord which fits with the C major scale, with a dominant seventh chord, the D7. This substitution is a common one in Jazz and swing tunes, and gives the progression a stronger blues flavour than would otherwise be the case.

(1) The simplest approach to soloing is to play in C major throughout, being careful to avoid F over the D7, which would clash with its F#.

(2) A more sophisticated approach  is to play in C major, changing to D mixolydian (G major) for the D7 chord. One can then outline the chromatic decent from F# in the D7 chord, to F in the G7 chord, then E in the C major chord, to effectively emphasise the changing harmony.

(3) Another approach is to play exclusively in the A minor pentatonic scale (C major pentatonic), using bends to reach chord tones. E.g. over the D7 chord bend from E (in the A minor pentatonic scale) up one tone to F# (chord tone in D7); also bend from G up a tone to A (chord tone in D7, and also in A minor pentatonic scale). Likewise over the G7 chord, bend from A (A minor pentatonic) up a tone to B (chord tone in G7), bend from E (A minor pentatonic) up a semitone to F (chord tone in G7). There are four such bends for each of the four tones in each chord, however some of them will finish on chord tones outside the A minor pentatonic, others will  end on chord tones included in the A minor pentatonic.

It turns out that the melody for the children’s nursery rhyme “Have you seen the Muffin Man” can be played over this progression, an example of approach (1). Below are examples of the three approaches outlined above:

Lead approach (1)

Lead approach (2)

Lead approach (3)

Now, try your own:

Practice track with no lead

Have fun!