JAM TRACK – Cmaj7 to Am  mellow two chord progression

Be sure to check out the coinciding video lesson series using this track in the master classes intermediate lead rock section titles “Melodic rock soloing techniques learn improv jamming pt1 – 21:43 min”

There is also parts 2,3,and 4 – be sure and check those out and use this jam track with those video lessons. This track is a simple two chord progression in the key of Cmajor using a Cmaj7-Am change.  

JAM TRACK – Dsus2 -Dsus2/Bb Progressive Rock Jam

Here we have a fun jam track that is very wide open. The progression is a Dsus2 – Dsus2/Bb – just two chords with very little movement betweenthe two. Basically it goes from a D suspended 2nd chord, XX0230, to a D suspended 2nd with Bb in the bass, X10230. Its a pretty cool progression and since there is so little movement you have lots of possibilities for soloing avenues and as always many ways to look at analyzing the progression. Plus remember that suspended 2nd chords are not really major or minor as they have no 3rd in them. A sus2 chord is a root or 1, 2nd, and 5th. No 3rd – rememeber that you can usually tell a major from minor chord by looking at that 3rd degree. A major chord has a major 3rd and a formula of 1,3,5 while a minor chord has a flat 3rd (b3) and a formula of 1,b3,5. So with suspended 2nd or suspended 4th chords you have a lot of room for interpretation as there is no 3rd.

Since this is a rock jam I suggest staying more with a minor tonality and jam with some minor type options. Try D minor pentatonic and blues over both chords and also D Natural Minor scales (D Aeolian) over both chords. You will probably want to play what relates to all as the chords are so closely related. Although you can try and land on a Bb note over the Bb bass note in the 2nd chord.

Remember that you can play your major scales also if you like to look at things from that angle. Remember that F major relative minor is D minor. The notes of an F major scale and D minor scale are the same. So you can play F major scales but just emphasize the D notes and it will be D natural minor.

Experiment have fun and keep honing your skills over jam tracks – rock oN!  

JAM TRACK – Bm7 – Cmaj7 Phrygian Jamtrack

Here we have a very cool jam track in the key of B minor. Please check out the video lesson that goes with this jam track – it is in the master classes>>advanced lessons>>modal playing section of the site and its titled:

“Modal playing lesson how to apply the PHRYGIAN MODE – 15:43 min”

In this lesson david teaches modal playing for lead guitar with emphasis on using the Phrygian Mode. Phrygian is the 3rd mode in any major key and its more of a minor type mode. Its a very dark and exotic sounding mode and has that very identifiable flat 2nd in its intervalic structure – 1,b2,b3,4,5,b6,b7. Its similar to the Aeolian mode, (Natural Minor), except it has a flat 2nd where Aeolian has a natural 2nd. The jam track and video lesson is in the key of Bminor and the progression we are playing over is a Bm7 – Cmaj7 – just a two chord vamp. In the video lesson David then teaches what avenues to try when improvising over these changes. When you see a minor key progression going to a flat 2nd – then you know you can use Phrygian mode and it sounds great – give it a try. David then teaches how to get to Phrygian by going through the major scales – remember that the modes are just variations of the major scale. David also teaches some licks, scales, and arpeggios that you can try over the progression. So practice Phrygian as well as playing over each chord independently. Use this jam track and keep honing your guitar skills to a sharp edge.  

KEY POINTS: 

-this jam track is in the key of B Minor so you can also use B minor Pentatonic over both chords – but try to add in Phrygian also 

-Phrygian Mode – Phrygian is the 3rd mode in any major key and its more of a minor type mode

-Its a very dark and exotic sounding mode

-It has that very identifiable flat 2nd in its intervalic structure – 1,b2,b3,4,5,b6,b7

-can be used over minor type chords but very exotic sounding

-can be used also in minor key over a I minor to a b2nd chord – usually a major7th 

Jam Track – Bluesy Box groove in A Jamtrack with written lesson

-Play A Major Pentatonic over the A9 chord, then switch to A Minor Pentatonic & Blues over the D9 chord, then try A Major Pentatonic again when you get to the E9 chord. Listen to how well this technique outlines and implies the chord changes. Mix this up a bit, maybe the next time around the progression try A Minor Pentatonic & Blues over the E9 chord instead of the Major, or maybe Dorian – get creative! 

HAVE FUN AND GET CREATIVE – remember that the above suggestions are only a rough outline – find what sounds best to your ears while developing your own style – and have fun! 

JAM TRACK – Bluesy Shuffle in C Jamtrack with written lesson

Shuffle in C    C9-F9-G9    I-IV-V 12-Bar Blues slow change     118 BPM     Key of C     4:10min

-Play C Mixolydian, (= Fmajor), over the C9 chord -Play F Mixolydian, (= Bb major), over the F9 chord -Play G Mixolydian, (= C major), over the G9 chord 

HAVE FUN AND EXPERIMENT – get creative and rock out! 

Jam Track E Heavy Rock with written lesson

E Heavy Rock   E5-F5-G5   122 BPM    Key of E   4:18 min 

By analyzing the chords we determine this is rock jam using 5th or power chords. 5th chords contain just two 

notes, a root and the 5th. There is no 3rds in power 5th chords so nothing to clash against the flat 3rd in minor 

pentatonic scales. That is why minor pentatonic sounds so awesome in rock jams. Because there are few notes in 

the chords this jam is wide open for a few different solo avenues to try. We are in the key of E and the chords in 

this jam are a I–b2–b3 or E-F-G and it is not real major sounding or a ballad jam so minor pentatonic works. 

There is a b2 chord in this progression. As soon as you see a flat 2, (b2), chord in a jam you want to examine 

Phrygian mode as a possibility. 

KEY POINT: Whenever you see a b2 chord in a progression you want to examine Phrygian mode as a 

possibility for soloing. 

*What Relates to all the chords: Fairly wide open jam to try a few things over all the chords. 

-Try E Minor Pentatonic & Blues over all the chords – minor pentatonic sounds awesome over rock jams. (Be 

sure to try and spice up that scale with all the extras as I teach in the lesson on spicing things up on page 29. 

-Try E Phrygian over all the chords. Phrygian would be the mode that would apply to all the chords in this jam. 

Phrygian is the 3rd mode of the major scale and E Phrygian is the same as C major. So play all your C major 

scales but start on and emphasize the E notes making it E Phrygian, (Learn the modes on pages 36-40). 

Phrygian mode is the same as Aeolian mode but it has a b2. If we examine all the notes in the chords of we have 

an E5, (E and B notes), an F5 (F and C notes), and a G5 (G and D notes). E Phrygian scale is E,F,G,A,B,C,D. It’s 

the same a C major, no sharps or flats – look how that will work over the chords in this jam – no rubs at all. Try it 

over all the chords as E Phrygian relates to all and sounds killer over all the chords. (E Phrygian=C Major) 

–E Aeolian can be played over all the chords but you have to be careful as in the scale there is an F# note and 

that will rub if you hit that note over the F5 chord. So E Phrygian is a better choice over all the chords. Remember 

the only difference between Phrygian and Aeolian is Phrygian has a flat 2nd while Aeolian has a natural 2nd. Now 

the F5 chord is going by fast so it will be minimal so that is why I list it E Aeolian as a possible here. That and 

most players are more familiar with Aeolian or natural minor than Phrygian. E Aeolian is the same as G major – 

so play G major scales starting and emphasizing the E notes and you have E Aeolian.   G major = E Aeolian 

-Try mixing both E Phrygian and E Minor Pentatonic & Blues over all the chords for some killer sounds. 

*Treat each chord like a separate event: In this jam the chords are moving very fast so there is not much time 

to solo independently over each chord. You are probably going to solo more with what relates to all as explained 

above. The F5 chord is way fast so very little time is spent on that chord. There is a little more time on the E5 and 

G5 chords to try a few different things independently over those chords.  

-Try E Aeolian (=G major), or E Dorian (=D major), over the E5 chord or some E arpeggios over the E5 chord. 

The minor arpeggios work best here and sound dark and cool like Em, Em7, or Em9 arpeggios over the E5 chord. 

-There is enough time to blast a G major arpeggio or G major lick over the G5 chord – give that a try. 

Jam Track E Walking Slow Blues with written lesson

E Walking Slow Blues   E5-A5-B5   80 BPM   Key of E   3:40min 

This jam is in the key of E and it’s a I-IV-V 12-Bar blues progression. E is the I chord, A is the IV chord, and B is 

the V chord. The turnaround is on the V chord, B, (if the chord numbering sounds foreign to you check out the 

lesson on chord construction on page 19). The first thing to note about this jam is that it is a major I-IV-V blues 

progression. Even though the chords used are 5th chords, which only have roots and fifths, they are still 

considered major in this progression as they are embellished with the 6th. Soon you will get used to hearing these 

I-IV-V blues type progression and will able to identify them immediately. This will point you toward very definite 

lead guitar avenues as major key I-IV-V progressions are wide open for many different soloing options. 

*What Relates to all the chords: There are many have avenues here so a lot will depend on your playing style 

and what type of mood or sound you want to create. Try some of these: 

-For that minor bluesy sound try E Minor Pentatonic & Blues over all the chords. Be sure to try and spice up 

those scales with all the extras as I teach in the lesson on spicing up Minor Pentatonic on page 33. 

-For that sweet major sound try E Major Pentatonic over all the chords. This will give you that sweet major 

bluesy sound that is quite different than the above minor sound. Remember that for any major key jam you can 

use Major Pentatonic over all the chords. Major Pentatonic relates to all in this jam. E Major Pentatonic is the 

same as C# Minor Pentatonic. E Major and C# Minor are relative major and minor. If you think more in terms of 

Minor Pentatonic or just know those shapes then play all your C# Minor Pentatonic scales, but start on and 

emphasize the E notes and it will be E Major Pentatonic and have that real major happy sweet sound.  

–Try E Dorian – Because we know that both Major Pentatonic & Minor Pentatonic & Blues will work we then know 

that the Dorian mode will also work. Dorian is considered more of a minor mode, (1,2,b3,4,5,6,b7), but works 

great over major key I-IV-V blues, swing, and shuffle progressions. Dorian has the minor elements in it (b3, b7) 

but also has some major elements, (2nd, 6th). So in these blues progressions the Dorian mode will give you that 

hybrid kind of minor/major sounds as it combines the elements of both minor and major. So try E Dorian over all 

the chords. As I will explain in the lessons on modes later in this book Dorian is the 2nd mode in any major key 

and E Dorian is the same as D major, (E Dorian=D major). So play all your D major scales but emphasize and 

start on the E notes – really resolve to and focus on those D notes. (Check out the lessons on modal playing later 

in this book for in depth modal lessons starting on page 40). 

-Try mixing both E Minor Pentatonic & Blues and E Major Pentatonic as well as E Dorian over all the chords 

for some killer sounds. 

*Treat each chord like a separate event: In this jam the chords are moving pretty slow so you have a lot of time 

on each chord, perfect for treating each chord separately. Remember to listen to the rhythm and time your 

changes so you change your scale or landing notes as the chords change. Here are a few avenues to try: 

-Try moving Minor Pentatonic & Blues over each chord: 

 -Play E Minor Pentatonic & Blues over the E chord 

 -Play A Minor Pentatonic & Blues over the A chord 

 -Play B Minor Pentatonic & Blues over the B chord 

-Try moving Major Pentatonic over each chord 

 -Play E Major Pentatonic over the E chord 

 -Play A Major Pentatonic over the A chord 

 -Play B Major Pentatonic over the B chord 

-Try mixing up the above Minor Pentatonic and Major Pentatonic over each chord – this is a very cool 

technique that many blues players like BB King utilize all the time. 

-Play E Major Pentatonic over the E chord or I chord – then switch to E Minor Pentatonic & Blues over the 

A chord or IV chord – then try Major Pentatonic over the B chord or V chord. Listen to how well this 

technique outlines and implies the chord changes. Mix this up a bit, maybe the next time around the 

progression try Minor Pentatonic & Blues over the B chord. Try it out! 

-Try moving the Dorian mode over each chord – because the rhythm of this jam is embellished with the 6th and 

b7th off the E and A chords, Dorian again is a perfect choice as those intervals are in the mode (1,2,b3,4,5,6,b7)  

 -Play E Dorian, (=D major), over the E chord 

 -Play A Dorian, (=G major), over the A chord 

 -Play B Dorian, (=A major), over the B chord 

JAM TRACK – D Slow Blues Dm-Gm-Am 65 BPM Key of D minor 3:05 min

Here we have a 12-bar blues I-IV-V progression. This one is very slow tempo wise and is in the key of D minor. We have the 12-bar pattern, but this one is in minor key, or leans toward minor key as the chords do not have 3rds in them. Each chord here is played with the root or 1, 5th, and b7th. But put all together in this progression there is more of a minor sound than major. So this is an interesting jam as we really have to analyze and study the chords to get the complete solo picture. We have to go by sound and use our discretion here as the chords do not have that tell tale 3rd in them. Often that is how we tell the difference between a minor chord and major chord – look at the third. Major chords will have major 3rds, and minor chords will have b3rds. A major chord is made of the intervals 1,3,5 – while a minor chord is made of the intervals 1,b3,5 – look at the 3rd.

What Relates to all the chords:
As stated above we lean more toward minor key in this jam and in fact if you try some Major Pentatonic or Mixolydian mode you will hear a few notes clash as those solo avenues are just too “sweet” sounding over these chord changes. Again, at times you must use your discretion. Try these below:

Try D Minor Pentatonic & Blues over all the chords
Since this is a I-IV-V blues progression Minor Pentatonic & Blues gives that killer bluesy sounds and is often the first choice for soloing over all the chords. Plus this jam leans more toward minor key so you know Minor Pentatonic & Blues scales will be one option for sure.

Try D Dorian over all the chords
I like the Dorian mode here more than the Aeolian mode because each chord slides up a whole step to the 6th of each chord. For example on the D chord when it slides up, the high note slides up to a B note, and it is very prominent. The B note is in the D Dorian scale as it is the 6th while the note in the D Aeolian would be a Bb or flat 6th. Because it is a prominent note, you could use Aeolian and steer around it, but I suggest to go with Dorian here to be safe. Like I said above you really need to analyze what is going on chord wise and use your discretion. D Dorian is the same as C major, (D Dorian=C major). So play C major scales but emphasize and start on the D notes, really focus on those D notes resolve wise.

Try mixing D Minor Pentatonic & Blues as well as D Dorian over all the chords for some cool tones
*Treat each chord like a separate event: Slow tempo jams like this one are excellent to play over each chord as you have a lot of time on each chord before the change comes up.

Try some of these suggestions:
Try moving Minor Pentatonic & Blues over each chord:
-Play D Minor Pentatonic & Blues over the D chord
-Play G Minor Pentatonic & Blues over the G chord
-Play A Minor Pentatonic & Blues over the A chord

Try moving the Dorian mode over each chord
Because the rhythm of this jam is embellished with slides to the 6th of each chord, Dorian again is a perfect choice as that interval is in the mode (1,2,b3,4,5,6,b7)
-Play D Dorian, (=C major), over the D chord
-Play G Dorian, (=F major), over the G chord
-Play A Dorian, (=G major), over the A chord

NOTE: this is one of the jam tracks featured on our BLUES JAM TRACKS PLUS package.
To get more info on this package click the link below:
http://www.nextlevelguitar.com/pages/blues_jam_pack/