Week 22: colour over the changes
Week twenty-two of a 32-week guitar practice path: choosing notes by the chord underneath, on a piece you can already play.
- Week
- 22 of 32
- Days
- 7
- Played as
- blues or rock
Week 15 taught this as theory. This week you do it over music you know, which is where it stops being an exercise and starts being a choice you can hear yourself making.
Blues switches Mixolydian chord by chord and aims at each chord's major 3rd. Rock chooses between natural minor and Dorian by ear, and spells the chords out with arpeggios. Both end the same way: one pass chasing the chords, one pass of plain pentatonic, and listening to the difference. Pentatonic floats above the form; chasing the chords sits inside it.
Blues treatment
Colour over the changes: a scale per chord, on music you already know
Week 15 taught this as theory; this week it goes over a piece you know, which is where it stops being an exercise. Find the major 3rd of each chord without counting — in A that is C♯ over the A7, F♯ over the D7, G♯ over the E7 — because in real time there is no bar to spare for working it out.
Then cross the seam: a phrase that starts over the I and finishes over the IV, changing scale as the chord does. The nearest note usually moves by a single fret, so find that fret rather than jumping position. The theory here is large and the hand movement is small. Finish by playing one chorus chasing the chords and one of plain minor pentatonic, and listening to the difference — a listener can hear which you chose even if they could not name it.
The daily session · ~26 min
- Warm upHands, then the three 3rds4 min
- One chord, one scaleMixolydian on the I5 min
- Cross the seamTwo chords, one phrase6 min
- Over your own pieceWhere its changes are6 min
- Jam, chase the chordsColour all the way through5 min
Check yourself
- Name the major 3rd of the I, the IV and the V without counting.
- Play a phrase that crosses from the I to the IV, changing scale as the chord does.
- Solo one chorus chasing the chords and one of plain pentatonic, and hear the difference.
Reference
Rock treatment
Colour over the changes: choosing the scale the chord is asking for
Dorian is not a new scale to memorise, it is natural minor with the 6th raised — one note, F against F♯ in A. Play the two back to back until you can hear that note rather than count to it, because hearing it is the entire skill this week.
Then try the natural 6th over each chord in your song. Over some it is bright and right; over others it fights the chord, and your ear rather than a rule is what decides. Follow it with a pass of nothing but chord tones — root, 3rd, 5th and the 7th where there is one — because chord tones are the destinations and scale notes are the route. A solo that lands nowhere in particular sounds like it is going nowhere in particular.
The daily session · ~26 min
- Warm upHands, then the one changed note4 min
- Hear which one fitsAgainst your song's chords5 min
- Arpeggios through the changesSpell the chord6 min
- Over your own songIn the lead break6 min
- Jam, chase the chordsThen compare5 min
Check yourself
- Play natural minor and Dorian back to back and name the note that differs.
- Say which chords in your song want the natural 6th and which fight it.
- Play one pass over the changes using only chord tones.
Reference
How the week runs
Whichever accent you pick, the material stays the same for all 7 days and the tempo and intent move. Day one takes it slowly, day two chases clean notes, day three brings it to target tempo and into the jam, day four pushes past comfortable, and day five drops back to tempo to record and listen. Days six and seven are yours.
You can switch accent any day without losing your place — it is the same week either way, so week 22 means the same thing in both.