Jam Tracks tips
Use these tips to navigate our bonus backing tracks
➊ B minor blues
We start with a blues jam in the key of B minor, with a basic turnaround progression similar to that of the BB King classic, The Thrill Is Gone. Use B Minor Pentatonic (B-D-E-F#-A), B Minor (B-C#-D-E-F#-G-A) and B Harmonic Minor (B-C#-D-E-F#G-A#) as your go-to scales. Arpeggios: Bm (B-D-F#), Em (E-G-B), Gmaj7 (G-B-D-F#) and F#7 (F#-A#-C#-E).
➋ Acoustic blues (G)
Here’s a fun raw and acoustic blues in G. It basically riffs in G and then occasionally goes up to the IV chord (C). Use G Minor Pentatonic Bb- (G- C-D-F) and G Minor blues Bb- scale (G- C-C#-D-F) for a start - and then try mixing in some G Major Pentatonic (G-A-B-D-E) for a more Mixolydian sound.
➌ G whole tone jam
This quirky one is based entirely on the symmetrical Whole-Tone scale (G-A-B-C#-D#-F), with G as the root note. Try finding cool patterns and licks to move up and down in whole tones – or even in major 3rds (which equals two whole tones). The Whole-Tone scale is completely symmetrical, so you can easily move your ideas round symmetrically.
➍ II-V-I jazz practice (F)
This jam - in the popular jazz key of F - has no guitar comping (just a subtle organ), leaving lots of space for you to play licks, throw in part chords or even try a chord solo! In theory, you can play F Major scale Bb- (F-G-A- C-D-E) all over it, but do get to know the main arpeggios Bb- too: Gm7 (G- D-F); C7 (C-E-GBb); and Fmaj7 (F-A-C-E). And, as always, happy jamming!
Jam tracks by Jacob Quistgaard. For free scale maps and hundreds more tracks, visit www.quistorama.com. You can also subscribe to www.youtube. com/QuistTV to get all the latest tracks and licks. Or find Quist and his jam tracks on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.