Here you have a real cool minor key fusion esque progression going from Am7 to Bbmaj7b5. So in order to solo and improvise you want to take a second and analyze the chords as the CHORDS will give you the road map to what you can utilize lead playing and improv wise – just dont look at the key – that will only tell you a few things – you have to analyze the cluster of chords that you are playing over to really get the big picture of what you can utilize. Watch this video lesson as I play over this track in this arpeggio lesson starting at 1:56 into the lesson.

Click here for the lesson

This lesson is in the advanced section – or just cut and paste the url above into your browser. In this example I utilize A minor pentatonic and blues scales, A Dorian mode, A Phrygian mode, and A Aeolian mode.

Here are a few things to get you started soloing over this jam track. Remember to get creative as you have much room for exploration and creativity when playing modally. Let your ear guide you. So as always we first want to examine the chord changes. We are clearly in the key of A minor as A minor really sounds like home base. Then we go from that Am7 chord to a B flat major 7th flat 5 or Bbmaj7b5 chord. So we are going from a I minor chord, (Am7), to a flat II chord, (Bbmaj7b5). There is no IV chord to look at so we are pretty wide open in this jam – lets explore.

Immediately we know that since we are in a minor key we can utilize A minor pentatonic and blues over both chords. Try the expanded shapes as well as passing tones and the 9th as discussed in the other lessons.

Now we look for some modes to play over the chords. The chords are going by pretty quickly so I would suggestto play over both chords at first, or what relates to all. As per the rules for soloing in minor key we have to look if there is a IV major chord or II minor chord and there is not so we can utilize A Aeolian over both chords – same as C major. So play your C major scales all over the neck but shift to and emphasize the root of the mode – all the A notes.

For a very cool exotic sound I like playing A Phrygian over the changes. The Phrygian mode is the 3rd mode in any major key and works great when you have a I chord going to a flat II chord, (b2). Which is exactly what we have here in this jam – an Am7 going to the Bb chord – perfect example for Phrygian. So we have to convert and A Phrygian is the same as F major. So try playing all your F major scales over these changes but emphasize the A notes. Its a real cool sound. Hit that Bb flat note over the Bbmaj7b5 for some added punch.

I also like A Dorian mode over all the chords – that is the same as G major. So you can play all your G major scales up and down the neck but emphasize and focus on the A notes to make it Dorian – so it will sound more minor.

Now the chords are moving pretty fast so you dont have a lot of time to play over each one but you can squeeze some cool stuff in there over each chord.

HERE IS WHY THE ABOVE SCALES AND MODES WILL WORK OVER THIS PROGRESSION:

When soloing and improvising it is absolutely critical to thoroughly examine and analyze the chords and chord changes that you are playing over. Many guitarists make the mistake of just looking solely at the key – that won’t give you enough information. The chords will provide the “road map” for what lines, scales, modes, and arpeggios you will want to utilize as well as point to the strong notes to land on and emphasize. Too many guitarists don’t take the time to examine the chords and the chord changes – they just look at the key – big mistake. Without examining the cluster of chords you wont have all the needed information to know what you can fully utilize lead playing and improvisational wise.

There is a reason why certain notes and certain scales sound great over certain progressions and certain chord changes. Over time your ear will develop and eventually guide you to all the right notes and you will be doing it on the fly. But that takes time and practice, so you have to work on it – what do I always say and will keep stating as I feel it is one of the most important things to do as a guitarist – DEVELOP YOUR EAR, this is one of the reasons why. So write the notes out of each chord in a progression that you are playing over and then try to land on one of those notes when you change to that chord – try landing on those strong chord tomes like roots, 3rds, fifths, b7ths – make a real strong solo statement.

Remember when you are soloing or improvising, you have two choices:

1. Play the same scales or mode over all the chords – that is called “what relates to all” – no matter what chord you are playing over you use the same thing over each chord – you are playing what works over ALL the changes.

OR YOU CAN

2. Treat each chord change like a separate event and solo with a different scale, mode, or arpeggio over each chord. So you are changing your scale, mode, and arpeggio with each chord change. This gives you a more sophisticated sound and is much harder to apply, takes a little work getting used to. We will work on this technique extensively in coming lesson modules.

So first get proficient at the first choice – using the same scale, mode, or arpeggios over all the changes – playing what relates to all. Do this first to get good at analyzing the chords and playing scales, and modes over all the changes. Then move onto treating each chord like a separate event and playing over each chord independently.

Here is the big rule for when soloing over all the chords in a minor key progression or song:

When playing over all the chords in a minor key progression, as one option, you can pretty much always use the AEOLIAN mode, UNLESS the IV chord is major or the II chord is minor, then use the DORIAN mode over all the chords

That rule is absolutely critical and I strongly suggest that you burn that rule into your brain – you will be utilizing it all the time because so many jams, songs, and progressions are in minor key.

You want to add more weapons to your guitar arsenal in addition to minor pentatonic, so this rule is super important. When soloing in minor key, minor pentatonic and blues should be your default setting. In a minor key progression, (where the I chord is minor), you can always utilize Minor Pentatonic and Blues in that key. That are pretty much a given. If you have a song in G minor you can solo with G minor pent and blues. If you have a song in Am you can solo with A minor pent and blues, etc, etc. And in fact, depending on the chords, you may even be able to use three different minor pentatonic keys as discussed in a previous lesson. You can also add the 9th, and the other passing tones as per our previous lessons on spicing up the minor pentatonic and blues scales. As long as you don’t hang on the passing tones and you bookend them with strong scalar notes. So in this progression play all the A minor pentatonic and blues scales up and down the neck.

If there is not a change to the II or IV chords, then Aeolian mode, or natural minor, is implied and you can utilize the Aeolian mode as well as the default setting of using minor pentatonic and blues scales. So remember if you are soloing over all the chords in a minor key, and there is a major IV or minor II chord somewhere in that progression, whether that chord comes up 2nd, 4th, or 10th in the chord string – you don’t want to play Aeolian mode over that chord because you will hit a very out of key note – the b6. The reverse applies also, if you are soloing over all the chords and you have a IV minor chord come up 2nd or 5th or 10th – and you are mistakenly using the Dorian mode, – then you will hit a very out of key note – the major 6th. There is only one note difference in the Dorian and Aeolian modes – that sixth. Aeolian has the b6 while Dorian has the major 6th. If you hit the wrong one over that chord it will sound extremely out of key.

So its super important you play the right mode over all the chords. Minor pentatonic works regardless – no 6th in that scale – it’s a root, b3rd, 4th, 5th, and b7th. Remember we are talking about when playing over all the chords in a progression playing what relates to all. The way I think is that when I am soloing in minor key and I want to play over all the chords, I am pretty much thinking mostly Aeolian mode, unless I see a II minor chord or IV major chord, then I think Dorian mode or a b2 and I always think Phrygian.

Here you have a real cool jazzy progression in the key of D major. The progression is a Dmaj7 – Bm7 – Em7 – A7. Download the jam track by clicking on the top orange link above and then print out the written lesson that goes with this jam track by clicking on the PDF orange link above. The written lesson also has fingerings for some very cool arpeggios that you can learn and utilize over this jam track.

As always, you must analyze the chords and the progression to get the full picture on what you can utilize for soling and improvisational purposes. This is a I – VI – II – V progression in the key of D major. All the chords are common to the key of D major so you can utilize the D major scale over the whole progression as D major relates to all the chords. So practice all six major scales and the connecting links in the key of D over all the chords in this jam track. See the video lessons in the intermediate section to learn the major scales up and down the neck and how to connect them through connecting links. You can also print out the scale shapes and see them on paper by going to the “written lessons” section of the site and download that PDF file.

Playing what relates to all is one road to take. Another road is to play over each chord individually with a different scale or arpeggio as it relates to that one individual chord that you are playing over. Listed on the written lesson are some suggestions of a few scales, modes, and arpeggios that work over the given chords to get you started. There is a myriad of options and I list a few to get you started, so get creative. Remember to listen carefully for the chord changes and try to end your phrases on strong chord tones. Mix things up – perhaps play through the changes at first with a scale that relates to all and then switch and practice playing over each chord. Practice with the jam track and first work on what relates to all, D major, then work on treating each chord like a separate event.

When soloing and improvising it is absolutely critical to thoroughly examine and analyze the chords and chord changes that you are playing over. Many guitarists make the mistake of just looking solely at the key – that won’t give you enough information. The chords will provide the “road map” for what lines, scales, modes, and arpeggios you will want to utilize as well as point to the strong notes to land on and emphasize. Too many guitarists don’t take the time to examine the chords and the chord changes – they just look at the key – big mistake. Without examining the cluster of chords you wont have all the needed information to know what you can fully utilize lead playing and improvisational wise.

There is a reason why certain notes and certain scales sound great over certain progressions and certain chord changes. Over time your ear will develop and eventually guide you to all the right notes and you will be doing it on the fly. But that takes time and practice, so you have to work on it – what do I always say and will keep stating as I feel it is one of the most important things to do as a guitarist – DEVELOP YOUR EAR, this is one of the reasons why. So write the notes out of each chord in a progression that you are playing over and then try to land on one of those notes when you change to that chord – try landing on those strong chord tomes like roots, 3rds, fifths, b7ths – make a real strong solo statement.

Remember when you are soloing or improvising, you have two choices:

1. Play the same scales or mode over all the chords – that is called “what relates to all” – no matter what chord you are playing over you use the same thing over each chord – you are playing what works over ALL the changes – in this jam track D major relates to all
OR YOU CAN
2. Treat each chord change like a separate event and solo with a different scale, mode, or arpeggio over each chord. So you are changing your scale, mode, and arpeggio with each chord change. This gives you a more sophisticated sound and is much harder to apply, takes a little work getting used to. We will work on this technique extensively in coming lesson modules.
So first get proficient at the first choice – using the same scale, mode, or arpeggios over all the changes – playing what relates to all. Do this first to get good at analyzing the chords and playing scales, and modes over all the changes. Then move onto treating each chord like a separate event and playing over each chord independently.

Modes to try:

Ionian mode (first mode – same as major) – 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 – same as the major scale – doe, re,me, fa, so, la, te
Dorian mode (2nd mode of the major scale) – 1, 2, b3, 4, 5, 6, b7 – minor mode, but can be used in some major key jams
Lydian mode (4th mode of the major scale) – 1, 2, 3, #4, 5, 6, 7 – major mode – sounds great over major 7th chords
Aeolian mode (6th mode of the major scale) – 1, 2, b3, 4, 5, b6, b7 – minor mode or relative minor

Here is me playing over the jam using the jam track and playing the scales, modes, and arpeggios that I outline in this written lesson. Listen for the arpeggios and how I play both what relates to all (D major scales over all chords), and also play over each chord – treating each chord like a separate event –

CLICK ON THIS LINK HERE TO LISTEN TO THE FILE

Have fun and rip it up!

Here you have a real cool minor key progression with a Latin Feel going Am7 to D. So in order to solo and improvise you want to take a second and analyze the chords as the CHORDS will give you the road map to what you can utilize lead playing and improv wise – just dont look at the key – that will only tell you a few things – you have to analyze the cluster of chords that you are playing over to really get the big picture of what you can utilize. Watch this video lesson as I play over this track in this lesson and explain what I am doing – its in the intermediate section of the website and its titled- Spice up that Minor Pentatonic Scale with melodic phrasing – Guitar Lesson Part 3 – also watch parts 1 and 2 of that lesson also as you will find them very helpful.

Here are a few things to get you started soloing over this jam track. Over all the chords try playing A minor pentatonic and blues scales – use the expanded shapes as well as passing tones and the 9th as discussed in the other lessons. Also try A Dorian mode over all the chords – that is the same as G major. So you can play all your G major scales up and down the neck but emphasize and focus on the A notes to make it Dorian – so it will sound more minor. Get real good at playing over all the chords in a progression and then try to solo over each chord independently, treating each chord as a separate event. If you are not familiar with a lot of these principles print out the rules for soling in minor key which is in the written lessons section of the web site.

Now the chords are moving pretty fast so you dont have a lot of time to play over each one but you can squeeze some cool stuff in there over each chord. You can also try A Aeolian mode over the Am7 chord – Aeolian mode works great over minor chords. A Aeolian mode is the same as C major. You can also try an Am7 and Am9 arpeggios over the Am7 chord. Play a few D major licks or a D major arpeggio over the D chord. Remember you have to get off the D major lines when you change to the Am7 chord.

HERE IS WHY THE ABOVE SCALES AND MODES WILL WORK OVER THIS PROGRESSION:

When soloing and improvising it is absolutely critical to thoroughly examine and analyze the chords and chord changes that you are playing over. Many guitarists make the mistake of just looking solely at the key – that won’t give you enough information. The chords will provide the “road map” for what lines, scales, modes, and arpeggios you will want to utilize as well as point to the strong notes to land on and emphasize. Too many guitarists don’t take the time to examine the chords and the chord changes – they just look at the key – big mistake. Without examining the cluster of chords you wont have all the needed information to know what you can fully utilize lead playing and improvisational wise.

There is a reason why certain notes and certain scales sound great over certain progressions and certain chord changes. Over time your ear will develop and eventually guide you to all the right notes and you will be doing it on the fly. But that takes time and practice, so you have to work on it – what do I always say and will keep stating as I feel it is one of the most important things to do as a guitarist – DEVELOP YOUR EAR, this is one of the reasons why. So write the notes out of each chord in a progression that you are playing over and then try to land on one of those notes when you change to that chord – try landing on those strong chord tomes like roots, 3rds, fifths, b7ths – make a real strong solo statement.

Remember when you are soloing or improvising, you have two choices:

1. Play the same scales or mode over all the chords – that is called “what relates to all” – no matter what chord you are playing over you use the same thing over each chord – you are playing what works over ALL the changes.
OR YOU CAN
2. Treat each chord change like a separate event and solo with a different scale, mode, or arpeggio over each chord. So you are changing your scale, mode, and arpeggio with each chord change. This gives you a more sophisticated sound and is much harder to apply, takes a little work getting used to. We will work on this technique extensively in coming lesson modules.

So first get proficient at the first choice – using the same scale, mode, or arpeggios over all the changes – playing what relates to all. Do this first to get good at analyzing the chords and playing scales, and modes over all the changes. Then move onto treating each chord like a separate event and playing over each chord independently.

Here is the big rule for when soloing over all the chords in a minor key progression or song:

When playing over all the chords in a minor key progression, as one option, you can pretty much always use the AEOLIAN mode, UNLESS the IV chord is major or the II chord is minor, then use the DORIAN mode over all the chords

That rule is absolutely critical and I strongly suggest that you burn that rule into your brain – you will be utilizing it all the time because so many jams, songs, and progressions are in minor key.

So in this Jam track we have Am7 to D. So when deciding what relates to all that is a I minor chord going to a IV major chord. Its a minor key jam where we do in fact have a IV chord that is major so we would utilize the A Dorian mode over all the chords. A Dorian is the same as G major so we can play all the G major scales up and down the neck but emphasize the A notes – its all about emphasis
.
You want to add more weapons to your guitar arsenal in addition to minor pentatonic, so this rule is super important. When soloing in minor key, minor pentatonic and blues should be your default setting. In a minor key progression, (where the I chord is minor), you can always utilize Minor Pentatonic and Blues in that key. That are pretty much a given. If you have a song in G minor you can solo with G minor pent and blues. If you have a song in Am you can solo with A minor pent and blues, etc, etc. And in fact, depending on the chords, you may even be able to use three different minor pentatonic keys as discussed in a previous lesson. You can also add the 9th, and the other passing tones as per our previous lessons on spicing up the minor pentatonic and blues scales. As long as you don’t hang on the passing tones and you bookend them with strong scalar notes. So in this progression play all the A minor pentatonic and blues scales up and down the neck.

If there is not a change to the II or IV chords, then Aeolian mode, or natural minor, is implied and you can utilize the Aeolian mode as well as the default setting of using minor pentatonic and blues scales. So remember if you are soloing over all the chords in a minor key, and there is a major IV or minor II chord somewhere in that progression, whether that chord comes up 2nd, 4th, or 10th in the chord string – you don’t want to play Aeolian mode over that chord because you will hit a very out of key note – the b6. The reverse applies also, if you are soloing over all the chords and you have a IV minor chord come up 2nd or 5th or 10th – and you are mistakenly using the Dorian mode, – then you will hit a very out of key note – the major 6th.

There is only one note difference in the Dorian and Aeolian modes – that sixth. Aeolian has the b6 while Dorian has the major 6th. If you hit the wrong one over that chord it will sound extremely out of key. So its super important you play the right mode over all the chords. Minor pentatonic works regardless – no 6th in that scale – it’s a root, b3rd, 4th, 5th, and b7th. Remember we are talking about when playing over all the chords in a progression playing what relates to all. The way I think is that when I am soloing in minor key and I want to play over all the chords, I am pretty much thinking mostly Aeolian mode, unless I see a II minor chord or IV major chord, then I think Dorian mode.