Improvisation IX - "Everything I Love" Part 3

This is the last exercise in a series of exercises based on the song “Everything I love” and tritone substitutions. This month the range of the arpeggio exercise has been shifted to the 10th-14th frets inclusive. Each month the fret range has shifted upwards 4 four frets. By the end of three months, then, I have covered an entire octave range on the guitar.

As always, the rules of this exercise are:

1. Arpeggiate the chords of a song in 8th notes within a five-fret range of the guitar.

2. Starting on the lowest available chord tone in that range (in this case, E, the seventh of an F major 7 chord) and arpeggiate upward. Change directions only when the next chord tone falls outside of the five-fret range.

While the purpose of this exercise is to improvise according to the above rule, some may find it helpful to read through a reference exercise. You can find one chorus written out here and watch me perform it here.

Improvisation VIII - "Everything I Love" Part 2

Last month, I changed my usual improvisation exercise by tritone subbing every V7 chord that would resolve to its associated I chord in the song “Everything I Love”. This month, I continue that practice by shift the range of the arpeggio exercise to the 6th-10th frets inclusive.

As always, the rules of the game are:

1. Arpeggiate the chords of a song in 8th notes within a five-fret range of the guitar.

2. Starting on the lowest available chord tone in that range (in this case, C, the fifth of an F major 7 chord) and arpeggiate upward. Change directions only when the next chord tone falls outside of the five-fret range.

While the purpose of this exercise is to improvise according to the above rule, some may find it helpful to read through a reference exercise. You can find one chorus written out here and watch me perform it here.

Improvisation VIII - "Everything I Love" Part 1

In previous posts I have mentioned how the improvisation arpeggio exercises I have been documenting are useful for learning the fretboard in a very thorough way. They can also be an excellent kind of ear-training. The rules of the exercise force specific resolutions of one chord to the next—resolutions we might not have otherwise chosen or ‘heard’. By repeating this exercise I will eventually expose myself to every resolution of one chord tone to another. Furthermore, this exercise can also be a way to target specific kinds of harmony.

In this month’s exercise I have replaced every V7 chord that resolves to its associated I chord with a tritone substitution. Tritone substations are perhaps the first substitution many jazz musicians learn. By practicing them in the context of this exercise, I can better train myself to ‘hear’ them and anticipated their resolution no matter what chord tone I happen upon.

As always, the rules of the game are:

1. Arpeggiate the chords of a song in 8th notes within a five-fret range of the guitar.

2. Starting on the lowest available chord tone in that range (in this case, A, the third of an F major 7 chord) and arpeggiate upward. Change directions only when the next chord tone falls outside of the five-fret range.

While the purpose of this exercise is to improvise according to the above rule, some may find it helpful to read through a reference exercise. You can find one chorus written out here and watch me perform it here.