Pop Soloing with Chord Tone Targets

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Instructor

Jonny May

Course Type

Workshop

Skill Level

Beginner

Duration

01:43:32

Have you ever played a solo that seemed to wander without going anywhere? Chord tone targets fix that. This technique teaches you to aim for the most important notes in each chord, so your lines have direction and land where they should. It’s one of the most important skills for soloing in the pop style.

You’ll start with the pop chords and three common chord progressions that show up in countless songs on the radio. Next, you’ll learn three essential left-hand accompaniment patterns: a simple one for beginners and two more challenging ones as you grow. Then you’ll learn what chord tone targets are, how to choose the best scale for soloing over a pop progression, and what separates a meandering solo from one that lands its lines.

From there, you’ll work through essential chord tone exercises that help you lock in and land on your targets. Then you’ll move on to soloing with mixed targets. The course includes downloadable sheet music and backing tracks, so you can play along with the band. By the end, you’ll be ready to solo over your favorite pop songs with confidence.

Course Objectives

Learn the essential pop chords and three common pop chord progressions
Play three left-hand accompaniment patterns, from beginner-friendly to more challenging
Understand chord tone targets and how to choose the best scale for a pop progression
Tell the difference between a meandering solo and one that lands its lines
Master landing on chord tones through essential exercises, then solo using mixed targets

Learning Focus

Exercises
Improvisation

Featured Reviews

View PWJ member reviews of this course!

Christine Papile verified

A great course to help with my improvising. Learning how to make lines sound great!

I loved this course and the helpful tips for improvising using chord tones. I had problems with improvising and this made it so much easier to understand how to improvise properly and with intention, Just the simple process of landing on certain notes made all the difference in my playing. I am starting to love improvising instead of it always being such a challenge for me. Glad I took this course.

Victoria Shirley verified

Straightforward, step-by-step

Makes clear that target tones are the name of the game in everything from soloing to runs, fills, comping, composing, countermelodies, and inner voice melodies. There is a 'method to the madness' of soloing that makes it all make sense. Puts the U (you) in your mUsic.

John Falconer verified

Very Valuable Course! I Will Bookmark It For Future Practice!

I participated in the live course, when the recording was made and when I watched it for a second time, I was really impressed with how essential these techniques are to musical-sounding solos! I will be coming back to this course until I have mastered the concepts and have some lines in my fingers!

Claus Pawellek verified

Very helpful for Beginners

Really nuts and bots for a start with improvisation on a chord progression and much fun to practise.

Sueci Carmichael verified

The best course! Pop Soloing

This course was amazing! Before taking this course, I didn't realize that improvising had direction. I thought it was, just do what you want. In this course you learn about target tones and how to create a beautiful solo line. The solo in a sense is intentional, as well as improvised. Now I feel like I can just noodle at the piano, and know that it will sound good. I plan on working on this a bit more and will post one last video. So much fun!