An Alternative Improvising Method
So far your improvising has been based on key centers, i.e., the key of a song is determined, and then improvising patterns within that key are played against any chord in the song. Thus in the following example, pattern one could be used at the 2nd* fret throughout (e.g., major key progression in A), without changing its position as the chords change. In this way the use of pattern one is in relation to the key (A) rather than each individual chord change.
Another approach to improvising is to treat each chord separately, i.e., changing the key of your lead for each chord, e.g.:
Play this progression slowly, so that the position changes can be easily achieved.
Try other pattern combinations, but be sure to match the pentatonic scale name with the name of the chord, e.g.:
* This progression could also be treated as a Blues, with pattern one in the 5th position.
Here is an example which can be applied to this style of improvising.
Exercise 79 can also be used against the chord progression shown at the beginning of the lesson, but played using 2 bars for each chord instead of 1.
For the A chord it is played at the 2nd fret, for the D chord it is played at the 7th fret and for the E chord it is played at the 9th fret.
This approach also works well for minor keys. The following exercise uses pattern one moved between the 5th, 10th and 12th frets to follow the chord changes.
You should also experiment with other pattern combinations and other chord progressions (see Appendix 6).
