Assignment: Improvising over a chord change

Simplifying a Four Chord Progression

Alright then. If you're struggling to follow a four chord progression, here's a tip:

• Reduce the Progression: Simplify the progression by halving it. Focus on a two chord progression.

Example: C to A Minor

Let's play the first two chords of that last example: C to A minor. If we loop those around, we can look at just playing the chord tones.

• Common Tones: This is really interesting because we have several tones in common. In fact, two of the three tones will feature in both chords. There's only one note that changes between these, which is pretty cool.

Playing the Chords

Here we go:

1. C major
2. A minor

Something dead simple we can do is focus on the chord tones.

• Chord Tones in Common: The notes C and E feature in both chords.

This kind of sounds like an indie rock intro or something.

• Embellishment: What I did was embellish that with a note that's not a chord tone on either side of it, just one of them, and then I resolved it back.

Back to Basics

Let's go back to the basics and just play the chord tones of those chords:

1. Two
2. Three

You could spend all day just messing around over those two chords and playing the chord tones in various positions. It's great fun!

Musical Potential

Even with simple ideas, it can start to sound really musical.

• Song Intro: That could well be an intro to a song you might start writing at that point, who knows? But have fun with it anyway.

Get Creative

• Mistakes Are Okay: Don't worry about making mistakes. They will happen, regardless of whether you're working on improvisation or anything else on the guitar.

• Push Yourself: Mistakes are a good thing; it means you're pushing yourself. As long as you recognize them and understand what you did, you can hopefully avoid doing it again.

Conclusion

Just have fun with it! It's really great fun.