Improv with Samba Pattern
Introduction
This chord progression is in the “Samba” style, sort of a very fast-paced Bossa Nova. The progression is “ii V I ♯Idim7”
The Chord Progression
Materials to Use
For the first three chords, you can use the C major scale. For the last chord, a simple solution is to play a C♯ diminished 7th arpeggio. The real challenge will be playing appropriate melodies to such an up-beat tune. Don’t feel as though you necessarily have to play quickly just because the track is fast. Try playing a melody made of many long, slow notes at first.
C Major Scale
C♯dim7 Arpeggio
Backing Track
When you’re ready, play along with the backing track.
Exercises
- Play the chords along with the track.
- Play the C major scale along with the first three chords.
- Play the C♯dim7 arpeggio along with the last chords.
- Write a short melody that uses C major notes for the first three chords, and notes from the C♯dim7 arpeggio for the fourth chord.
- Improvise using the scales and the arpeggio together.
As the creator of Hub Guitar, Grey has compiled hundreds of guitar lessons, written several books, and filmed hundreds of video lessons. He teaches private lessons in his Boston studio, as well as via video chat through TakeLessons.