Note: this page is deprecated and will no longer be updated. Please use the Collections interface on Patreon.
Overview
If you’re new to the Fret Science Patreon, looking for an older lesson, or just trying to get a sense of what kind of content is here, this index is a great place to start. These are the main sections:
- YouTube videos with downloads
- Inside the solo
- How to solo over…
- How to improvise
- Backing tracks
- Chord tone soloing visualizations
- Chords, scales, and arpeggios
- Essential tools and techniques
- Administrative topics
Contents of the Improv 101 course are listed on a separate page. The introductory videos and Module 1 are available to all paid subscribers. Modules 2-8 are available to Gold Members.
And don’t miss the pinned “Start Here!” post.
YouTube videos with downloads
Paid Patreon members are entitled to free copies of all downloads that accompany Fret Science videos (except for those in the 12-PDF bundle, which is a separate purchase). Any member with lifetime Patreon payments over US$30 can also request a free copy of the bundle. See here for all available discounts.
- Pentatonic Gear Shifts: The easiest fretboard visualization method for soloing over chord changes
- If I could teach only one lesson: Improvisation
- Cowboy Chord Superpowers PDF cheat sheet
- One note unlocks improvisation
- Every Scale, Everywhere, All at Once
Inside the solo
These videos examine great guitar solos phrase by phrase, showing how they work over the song’s chord progression by targeting chord tones and using appropriate scale fragments. Doing this kind of analysis is the key to making the most of every solo you learn.
- Led Zeppelin – Stairway to Heaven
- Jimi Hendrix – Little Wing
- Pink Floyd – Mother
- 5 lessons from David Gilmour’s simplest solo
- The Beatles – Something
How to solo over…
These lessons look at the chord progressions of classic songs and demonstrate how to improvise effectively over them.
- Stairway to Heaven outro jam
- Chord tone soloing: Little Wing (part 1)
- Chord tone soloing: Little Wing (part 2)
- Hotel California
- Friend of the Devil
How to improvise
Exclusive lessons covering various aspects of improvisation, focusing on melodic playing that targets chord tones.
- Improv 101: Gold Members start here
- Chord tone targets in the blues
- What scale should I play?
- How to find the key of any song
- Make scales sound less like scales: Melodic sequences on one string (video)
- Pentatonic Gear Shift Overdrive: Horizontal shifts
- Pentatonic Gear Shift Overdrive: “Hidden in Plain Sight” Revisited
- Everything is pentatonic: how to play (just about) everything with just the pentatonic scale
- The Andalusian cadence and the Phrygian dominant scale
Backing Tracks
Backing tracks for improvisation practice using a software or hardware looper (see also: Essential Tools: Loopers and the next section, Chord tone soloing visualizations)
- Led Zeppelin – Stairway to Heaven
- Jimi Hendrix – Little Wing
- Pink Floyd – Mother
- Modal chord progression backing tracks
- Interval chord cycles for practicing gear shifts
- Improved SoundSlice visualizations and loops
Chord tone soloing visualizations (SoundSlice loops)
These videos show Fret Science visualizations (e.g., the rectangle and stack) overlaid on the fretboard in real-time over backing tracks. This is a great way to practice visualizing chord tone targets, either with or without your guitar in hand.
- Chord tone target practice – Little Wing
- One-scale-per-chord pentatonic target practice: Little Wing
- I-IV-V target practice – Pink Floyd’s “Mother”
- Chord tone target practice: Hotel California
- Improved SoundSlice visualizations and loops
- Interval chord cycles for practicing gear shifts
Chords, scales, and arpeggios
Exclusive PDF written lessons covering various topics in fretboard fluency.
Chords:
- Seventh chords
- Chord name decoder ring
- Creating chord voicings with barre and shell chords
- Spread triads
Scales:
- The other pentatonic diagonal
- Pentatonics on two strings
- Diagonal rectangle pathways
- The Dickey Betts hexatonic scale
- Unlock the harmonic and melodic minor scales with the rectangle and stack
- Playing melodically on one string (part 1 – diatonic) (PDF)
- Playing melodically on one string (part 2 – pentatonic)
- The Dominant Pentatonic scale
- Yet another dominant pentatonic scale
- Three landmarks for instant harmony
- More landmarks for instant harmony
- The Andalusian cadence and the Phrygian dominant scale
Arpeggios:
- Easy arpeggios with the rectangle and stack (PDF)
- Easy arpeggios with the rectangle and stack (video)
Essential tools and techniques
Brief guides to essential tools for practicing fretboard fluency and improvisation.
- Loopers (PDF)
- Loopers (Video)
- Stem splitters
- Exploring consonance and dissonance with a “freeze” pedal
- Big picture: Techniques for effective practice
- Jam sessions: Don’t wait until you think you’re ready…start jamming today!
- YouTube keyboard shortcuts and Looper.tube
- Improved SoundSlice visualizations and loops
- Building an effective practice habit
Administrative topics
Evergreen announcements and how-tos
- Start here!
- Fret Science digital credits (get other Fret Science products for free)
- Private lesson availability
- Free downloads – get the 12-PDF “Building Fretboard Fluency: The Big Picture” ebook free along with a free rectangle-and-stack cheat sheet.
- Fret Science store discounts for Patreon members (including how to get the 12-PDF bundle)
- Introductions (please introduce yourself here or via DM, so I can get to know you and help you more effectively!)
- Fret Science test reel from September 2022
Fret Science 