In this episode of The Improv Loop, we are taking a look at how to start developing your reactive playing over minor chords using minor pentatonic scales. Of course, we have a jam track available for you if you don’t have a looper.
The idea is to use a small fragment of the minor pentatonic scale and your ear to play whatever sounds good over this A minor to D minor chord progression. If you like the note you are playing over the chord that is currently being played, that’s great. If you don’t like the note you are playing over the chord that is currently being played, just move to a note that sounds more appealing to you. Using a smaller fragment of the minor pentatonic scale will help you NOT meander up and down the scale shape.
Intently listen to how each note you play sounds over each chord. Don’t forget to leave some space between the notes you play to break the rhythm up a bit. This is a great technique to start developing your ear and play more interesting melodies over chords.
The next episode will get into how to start choosing the notes in the minor pentatonic scale. For now, keep it simple, use your ear, and play what sounds good to you.
See you later,
Nate