Switching It Up With Pentatonic Changes
A Guided Jam

Most of us will be familiar with backing tracks that focus on a single scale. While that's a significant step in our lead/improv development, we'll also want to become confident with changing scales as the chords play.

This is a challenge that many of us will inevitably face at some point as accompanists, as a lot of music involves chord changes that take us outside the "parent scale" of the key.

That's exactly what this backing track trains, starting simple with a parallel switch between C major and minor pentatonic because of two borrowed chords...

So we're treating E♭ and A♭ as if we're playing in their natural key of C minor, hence the switch from major to minor scale over those chords. Borrowing from the parallel key is very typical and we should be aware of it in any accompanying situation.

We might call C minor the "switch scale" in this case, because C major is our home tonic and therefore our primary reference scale for the piece.

Track 1 - The Slow Burner (60 BPM)

Nice and steady to begin with. Take note of the marked chord tones. A tip here is to use them as targets through the changes - it helps to keep the melody anchored to the harmony and give it shape...

Note: if you want the complete "box trainer" version of this track, that moves through the neck in highlighted sections as we play, plus two additional scale switches, you can find it on my Patreon.

Track 2 - The Challenger (90 BPM)

More of a full band jam experience and something to build up towards gradually. Same chord sequence, just more involved...

Tips!

Make pentatonic switches a part of your daily warmup

Even without a backing track, you can still practice the logistics of moving between major and minor pentatonic on the same tonic note - a common switch. The key thing is to ensure you can switch smoothly without any stumbles/hiccups in timing. Just basic eighth notes will do the trick. Do this every day for ten minutes and you'll be surprised at the broader improvement that alone develops. There's something uniquely challenging about changing scale that trains a specific part of the musical brain.

Keep the "switch point" within one or two frets

Ever wonder how some soloists are able to make even the wilder chord changes sound smoothly connected? Apart from good timing and chord tone targeting, there's also the natural flow of the melody at play. If we move into a switch scale from a mere fret or two away (e.g. from the original scale), it creates a continuous, flowing, step-wise movement that the ear can follow. While it's tempting to jump between the most familiar patterns, spend time learning how parallel patterns overlap in the same neck area (e.g. a box position) and notice how closely and subtly you can shuffle between them.

Chord tones will save you if you lose your way!

Whether you visualise the chord shapes of the progression or the broader arpeggio patterns, chord tones are like a safe haven on the neck - familiar markers we should burn into our memory. Knowing where a chord tone is in close proximity means if we otherwise lose our bearings (e.g. with a scale switch), we can safely resolve to a chord tone and maybe milk it a little (e.g. with a vibrato or expanding to a full arpeggio) until we get back on track. Start with chord tones through the changes (even just one or two per chord at first) and then work in the connecting scale runs. Build up the melodic layers.

Bend or slide into the switch to flesh things out

Once you're confident with the visual aspect of identifying the switch, you can start to layer on more physical technique. Bends and slides are an especially expressive way of moving into a switch scale. A simple bend into a chord/target tone within the switch scale can really elevate your lead, prick up ears and make hairs stand up. Practice this in one overlapping neck position first (see tip #2).

Get more in depth help with this, including tracks in other keys on my Patreon. Thank you so much for your support, I really appreciate it!