Outlining chords working with one chord pair at a time
To have the option of sounding like your soloing and improvisation is following the chords, you need to learn how to outline chords with the notes you choose. It can seem hard at first – you have know the chords, keep count when the next one is coming, know what the notes are in the next one, know where to find those notes – but all of those tasks can be broken down and tackled one by one.
To get the idea of how this will sound, take a two chord sequence, like G and C, and record those two chords or get a backing track. Solo over those chords starting with chord tones and building up to phrases with chord and scale tones.
Now record or obtain a backing track that JUST has one chord. G, in this example, and then a space for four beats. Now you want to suggest the D chord through the choice of notes you play during the silence.
The primary way of doing this is to emphasize or target chord tones from the chord you want to outline. If you ONLY play chord tones, you’ll be simply playing arpeggios – so include a few scale tones in there too. In the case of D these notes will be D, F# and A.
When you have tried this, replace the D chord with another chord from the key of G.
When you can do this with all of the chords, your soloing will sound more tuneful and musical and you can alter at will how closely you choose to follow the chord.
Do this in the first position of the G major scale on the first two strings, then on the first three strings. Stay in position one and use the first four strings.
When you can do this, repeat for all the positions.
