Improvising Over I, IV, and V Chords

So the solo that you heard me play in Queenston's Calypso demonstrated two ways of improvising over these changing I, IV, and V chords.

Understanding the Key

• Because those three chords are all in the same key, the key of D, we can improvise using a scale of D major or any patterns derived from that.
• We don't have to change scales just because we've gone to the IV chord or the V chord.
• You only need the one scale, in fact.

This is called horizontal improvising, where you just play in the key. It's only possible to do that if the chords you're playing over are directly related to that key, in this case, I, IV, and V.

Coordination with the Bassline

First of all, we also need to deal with the coordination of playing against this bassline.

• Again, let's use the metronome, slowing it down to 100 beats a minute.
• Let's put a five-finger position on top of that and practice until you can really lock into it without changing chords, just D in the left hand.

It's important that you get the left hand F sharp against the fourth note in the right hand, which is a G.

It's going to be a little bit discordant until you move on. Don't worry about that; it'll sound fine when you're playing up to tempo.

In fact, you also need to practice the same right hand with the changing chords in the left hand.

• This is the next step of the changing bass line.
• Notice how the bass line or the chords underneath color the scale that you're playing in different ways.

Moving Beyond Five-Finger Positions

Now we need to get beyond just playing a five-finger position.

• Let's try the same kind of routine but with a complete scale: the scale of D major.
• We're going to loop that in the same way, like this.

This loop allows the scale to repeat every bar, which isn't normally the case because scales have seven notes, they don't fit naturally into a bar of 4/4 time.

• By looping it down the bottom, we've allowed every two bars to be an exact repeat.
• Let's do that with the bass line, maybe moving it up an octave to make the loop easier.

When you've mastered that, try changing the chords underneath.

• This is a really good first step into building fluency with the scale while keeping the chords or the bass line changing underneath.

Practicing Scale Patterns

However, if you just go up and down the scale all the time, sometimes known as scale running, it won't sound like a very interesting solo.

To really use scales to their maximum effect, I would advise you to start practicing some scale patterns.

Four-Note Group Pattern

We'll look at one scale pattern in particular now, which is a four-note group:

1. Coming down from D, there's your first four-note group.
2. Move down to the next note, and so on.

If we join those up, you can continue for as long as you like, up or down the scale.

Notice the fingering: The fingering I've given you avoids the thumb on a black note.

• For a black note, put the thumb on the white note before it.
• Let's try that pattern descending with a one-note pickup.

You'll notice I'm playing:

• The second note of the four-note group is on the beat.

Metronome Practice:

1. One, two, three, four.
2. Now going up, we could start on A, aiming to put the second note on the beat again:
   • 2, 3, 4.

So spend a bit of time with those patterns and see if you can do them more spontaneously.

Take them and run with them!