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[lollum_dropcap]T[/lollum_dropcap]his lesson comes from a reader’s request that I received.

They were having a bit of trouble improvising over a  I, vi, IV, V  (1, 6, 4, 5) progression which can be found in hundreds of popular tunes.

The Guided Jam Track that we’re going to use for our lesson is “Stand By Me” by Ben E. King.

It sticks to the I, vi, IV, V ( Amaj, F#min, Dmaj, Emaj ) progression all the way through and the tempo is slow enough not to leave you out of breath by the end of it.

Let’s check it out.

Stand By Me Improvisation using Arpeggios

We’re going to start jamming on this tune using only arpeggios. This will help to get each chord’s sound into your head.

In part two of the lesson we will add a couple of extra notes to create a little more interest in your melody lines.

If you have trouble following along simply focus on playing the notes from the bottom two or three strings. In a short while you’ll be able to memorize where those notes are and add in more strings.

Another thing you can try is playing a little rhythm using these arpeggios. Since they are only made up of chord tones, any combination of notes you grab will form the right chord.

Have fun & let me know if you have any questions.

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