Modal Soloing
Targeting chord tones over changes
Playing Over Changes
Real-world soloing rarely stays in one scale for an entire song. When chords change, the harmonic context shifts, and your note choices should reflect that. This is called "playing over changes" or "playing through changes."
The simplest approach: identify each chord's quality (major, minor, dominant) and select the appropriate mode. When the chord changes, your scale focus shifts too.
More advanced: target chord tones on strong beats. If the chord is Cmaj7, aim to land on C, E, G, or B on beats 1 and 3. Fill the spaces between with scale notes, passing tones, and chromatic approach notes.
Chord Tone Soloing
Rather than running up and down scales, try building solos from chord tones:
1. For each chord in the progression, identify the root, 3rd, 5th, and 7th
2. On strong beats (1 and 3), land on a chord tone
3. Use scale notes to connect between chord tones on weak beats
4. Use chromatic approach notes (one fret below or above the target) for jazz flavour
This approach guarantees your solos outline the harmony and sound "inside" — melodic and intentional rather than random.
Tab Examples
Chord tone targeting over Am7 → Dm7 → G7 → Cmaj7
Am7: Dm7: G7: Cmaj7: e--5---8---5------------5---6-------5------7---8---7-----------8---7---5--------- B------------8--5-------------8--6-----------------8--5----------------8---5----- G--------------------7-------------------------------------7--------------------- D--------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- A-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- E-------------------------------------------------------------------
Tips
- Land on chord tones on strong beats — this is the golden rule
- Use scales to connect between chord tones
- Chromatic approach notes add sophistication
- Listen to jazz guitarists for masterful chord-tone soloing
Practice Exercises
- Map chord tones for each chord in a ii-V-I in C (Dm7-G7-Cmaj7)
- Solo targeting only chord tones — no scale runs, just the 3-4 essential notes per chord
- Add connecting scale notes between chord tones
- Record yourself and check: are you landing on chord tones on the strong beats?