August 2024 Guitar Newsletter: How To Use Play-Along Tracks To Improve Your Chops And Ears

Play-along tracks are fantastic for improving your guitar playing abilities.  These recordings emulate the feel of playing with a real band and allow for refinement in various areas.  These so called backing tracks come in all kinds of genres, ranging from blues, jazz, folk, bluegrass, pop, funk, rock to metal in varying degrees of difficulty. They are excellent for all levels of players and provide the perfect setting to make use of music theory and expand your fretboard knowledge.  I was first exposed to play along backing tracks in high school when my band teacher used Jamey Aebersold vinyl play along records to practice improvising a 12 bar blues in the key of F and Bb.  To this day, I appreciate backing tracks old and new of all kinds. 

There are several reasons why backing tracks are commonly used in educational settings.  For one, they strengthen the understanding of key signatures.  Beyond that they are vehicles to expand your chord, triad and arpeggio knowledge and improvisational skills using scales.  Backing tracks will usually have a title like “Jam in A minor”.  What that means is that the recording is in the key of Am minor and the student is advised to play the notes of an A minor scale along with a series of chords such as Am, G, F, G in a repetitive loop.  Guitar solos are common in songs and depending on the chord choices in the backing track can quickly become challenging .  Therefore, I was delighted to stumble across a new double album of play along tracks by Zander Wyatt called “Improvise on Guitar” because he simplifies matters.  His approach is primarily designed for beginners on acoustic guitar and the recordings are in a folk-blues style.  Instead of playing an entire chord progression right off the bat he builds things up like staying on one chord for an entire track.  Now, to some this might seem boring, but keeping things basic is not a bad idea.  My thought is, if you can’t play well over only one chord why should it sound any better playing over a more difficult chord progression?  Regardless of your playing level, don’t underestimate the usefulness of a very simple play along track. 

Let’s examine this approach a bit closer with some hands on suggestions. The very first track on the recording titled “Improvising Mastering 1st Position” remains on a C major chord for the entire track.  Too easy?  Wrong! Why not try to get as much mileage out of it as possible and stretch your imagination.  Here are some ideas you can use while playing along with the track:

1.  Practice your C major scale in as many positions as possible from open position up to the highest location on your fretboard. 
2.  Play the notes of a C major scale up and down the fretboard in a linear fashion, meaning staying on one string.  Repeat this on all 6 strings.
3.  Find all C major arpeggios on the fret board, playing them individually in various positions and then linking them together.  
4.  Find all the C major pentatonic shapes and stay in one box for the entire track.  Push repeat and move on to the next shape.  Limiting yourself is a fantastic lesson in digging a little deeper and seeing what you can come up within that box.  You can also play pentatonic scales on one string only.  Try using a slide for this exercise!
5.  Put all of it together and incorporate all techniques in one setting.  Be creative and mix and match as you please.  

A straight forward backing track also allows for ear training exercises. Blues and Jazz music calls for the use of blue notes.  These tones give those genres their very own dialect and emotional element.  In the key of C major this would mean incorporating a lowered 7th, a minor 3rd or a diminished 5th along with the regular notes of a C major scale.  Add a Bb, Eb and Gb to the picture and you’ll be amazed at how those notes change the color, create interest and add the proper spice.  Experimenting with non-traditional scales that include more notes outside of the key signature is the next step.  Ever wonder why music from India or the Middle East sounds so different from Western European based music?  In a nutshell, it’s partly because they are using notes that are not limited to a standard major or minor scale.  Practicing these scales over a play along track that has only one chord will help you observe how some notes that don’t belong in the key will stick out and create tension.

Here is an idea intended for recognizing the sound of notes outside of a standard key signature.  Play the following scales over the C major chord.  Keep an ear out for the notes that are accidentals.  Get a feel for the tension they create and perhaps are longing to be resolved to a less dissonant note.

C Mixolydian:  C D E F G A Bb C

C Lydian:  C D E F# G A B C

C Lydian Dominant:  C D E F# G A Bb C

C Major Blues Scale:  C D Eb E G A Bb C

C Minor Blues Scale:  C Eb F Gb G Bb C

C Hexatonic Scale:  C D Eb E G A C

You can do the same thing over a minor chord.  For example, when improvising over an A minor chord, besides playing an A natural minor scale ( no sharps or flats), experiment and get a feel for other A minor scales that have notes that don’t belong in the key of A minor, again creating various colors.  This is fantastic ear training to get a feel for scale tones outside of a key.  Good improvisers are very aware of the effect this has and can turn up the heat during a solo by incorporating those tension notes.
Try these scales over an A minor chord:

 A Dorian:  A B C D E F# G A

A Harmonic Minor:  A B C D E F G# A

A Melodic Minor:  A B C D E  F# G# A

A Minor Blues Scale:  A C D Eb E G A

A Phrygian: A Bb C D E F G A

These days play along tracks can be purchased as apps or are easily accessible on your choice of music streaming platforms.  Put in a search like “play along track in A minor” and see what pops up and with a little bit of exploring, I am certain you’ll find a track that suites your style and will inspire you to pick up your instrument.  These recordings can give you a boost, emulate the feel of playing with a real band and also help you get ready to play live with musicians.  

Let me end this newsletter with one final suggestion:  Don’t be afraid to record yourself playing along with the jam track and listen to your playing.  Observe how those different scales and scale degrees sound.  Perhaps that blue note seemed really strange as you played it but it actually added that extra something as you hear it in the bigger picture.  Students tend to feel that they played a wrong note if it sounds off a little bit, but in reality, it is creating some interest and the listener is usually less critical and perhaps even enjoys some of the dissonance.  Enjoy the abundance of play along tracks.  They are quite useful and will up your playing level and strengthen your ear training abilities!
Chris