C Shape | V of vi

For some of you, this might be the first time you have had to consider two different scales while you solo. This kind of thing is usually associated with jazz music, where you're often using a different scale for each chord. If you're a little fuzzy on the concept of secondary dominant chords, I recommend brushing up on those as well.Here is a link to the specific lesson about V of __ chords.

Also, if you've made it this far into CAGED Soloing, here is an important thing to remember: These concepts take time to learn, but each progression and shape will not take the same amount of time. In other words, as you work through these progressions with mindfulness and thoughtfulness, you'll notice that it gets easier to learn the next progression and the next shape. Things will start clicking faster.

The Jam Track for this lesson is in the Key of G Major. You can find the video version of it right here. You can also download an mp3 version of it in the attachments section at the bottom of this post. If this mp3 version of the jam track is a game changer for anyone, I am planning on continuing this trend in future videos AND I'll go back through all the previous tracks and create mp3 versions of previous jam tracks as well. Let me know in the comments if that would help you out.

If you're having fun, or you've learned something unique about CAGED Soloing throughout your practice, please feel free to share on the community forum.

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C Shape | I - vii° Progression

This particular lesson is focused on the relationship between the I chord and the vii° chord. This is a wonky progression, and while I have shown how to make diminished chords, I haven't talked a ton about using them. Typically, you'll see a half diminished chord in a minor key is a situation like ii° V i, but this lesson will JUST focus on the relationship between I and vii°. Check out the PDF attached below, and the I - vii° Jam Track in D Major on my SPJ Jam Tracks page specifically for this lesson.

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C Shape | I - vi Progression

In this lesson we're exploring the cozy world of the I - vi chord progression. I say "cozy" because the I chord and vi chord share 2 of their 3 notes with each other. Relative major and relative minor are so similar that this progression might be the easiest to solo over.

Check out the attached PDF and practice your solos over this Jam Track in C Major. And of course, post your questions, concerns or progress on the community forum.

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C Shape | I - V Progression

In this video, we'll be focusing on the relationship between the I and V chord shapes using a C shape as our I chord.

To get comfortable with this relationship, start out playing fragments of the C shape over the I chord and fragments of G shapes over the V chord. This is not soloing yet, but seeing, exploring, and actually playing the chord shapes will REALLY help you "feel out" the chord tones when you sit down to start making melodic fragments. If you need a refresher on all the CAGED shape fragment possibilities, check out CAGED Basics.

Once you start getting comfortable with the CAGED chord shapes, you can branch out into the relationship between the pentatonic scale, the the major scale, and each chord. This is where you can begin creating phrases using melody-making "rules" or guidelines spelled out in Music Theory Monday lessons 17, 18 & 19.

Use this Jam Track in A Major for your I - V progression practice

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C Shape | I - IV Progression

In this lesson, we'll see how a I IV relationship looks when using a C shape as your I chord. This updated CAGED Soloing series is spending a lot of time on just one shape, showing the relationships between two chords at a time: The I chord and another chord.

Your practice for these lessons can consist of playing fragments of the C shape over the I chord and fragments (or a full bar) of the E shape for the IV chord. If you need a refresher on all the CAGED shape fragment possibilities, check out CAGED Basics.

Once you start getting comfortable with the CAGED chord shapes, you can branch out into the relationship between the pentatonic scale, the the major scale, and each chord (I and IV). This is where you can begin creating phrases using melody-making "rules" or guidelines spelled out in Music Theory Monday lessons 17, 18 & 19.

Use this Jam Track in E Major to practice making chord fragments and melodic fragments. Remember, music practice doesn't always have to be musical and beautiful. Exploring and getting comfortable takes time. Have fun and share your progress, frustration, excitement, etc on the community forum. AND remember, there is no perfectly correct way to do this. All of my lessons just show a set of considerations. You can veer off from there when it feels right. Have fun!

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C Shape | I - iii Progression

In this second episode, we're tackling a I iii progression using the C shape as our I chord. That means we can also use the C shape pentatonic scale as our basic scaffolding for that area of the neck. As a reminder, in these lessons, the green dots represent the major scale, the pink dots on top represent the pentatonic scale, and the yellow dots on top of that represent the chord. The blue dots are the notes I'm playing.

We're being a little more holistic here, talking about chord progressions in an area of the neck AND how to solo in that same area. Hopefully as these lessons keep building, you'll begin to see a very clear picture of how to solo and play chord progressions all over the fingerboard.

In the past a few people have said "dang, there are 7 different shapes for each of the 5 CAGED shapes - thats like 35 different shape combinations to memorize." Looking at it this way can certainly be daunting but keep this in mind: The more you practice these concepts, the easier it will be to grasp the next combination. On top of that, the more you think about this stuff in a music theory context, the more you'll see this information as obvious an inevitable. It takes time, but if you focus on one set, one jam track at a time, the next sets will get easier and easier.

Combining these lessons with music theory monday, rubiks cube lessons, and other lessons, you'll slowly start to see how this stuff makes sense in the broader context. And having it make sense in that broader context makes it easier to remember and practice in general.

Try soloing over this jam track in D Major, and use the attached PDF below for reference.

If you'd like to share your progress, frustrations, questions, or discussion ideas for this lesson, head over to the community forum.

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C Shape | I - ii Progression

This is the first episode of a more holistic reboot of my previous CAGED System Series. I think the previous series was a great start (and still useful to watch if you want reinforcement for this lesson), but this one should really drive some concepts home a little more clearly.

I recommend having a strong familiarity with these lessons before diving into this series:
Music Theory for Guitar
Music Theory Monday (through Melody Making)
Octave Shapes

For this series, there is a nice color scheme for the different kinds of notes and shapes we'll be exploring. For the following series, keep an eye out for these colors:

Green: used to give quick examples of shapes, but in a stack it will be the bottom layer, representing the notes in the Major Scale.

Pink: Represents the pentatonic scale. When you see pink, it will often be layered on top of the major scale to show the "missing" notes from the pentatonic scale.

Yellow: Represents a specific chord. In this series the I chord will always be a C Shape, followed by a chord shape representing ii, iii, IV etc. We'll be stacking yellow chord shapes on top of the major scale and the pentatonic scale.

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