Fret Science: Improv 101

Welcome to Improv 101

Many guitarists view improvising over chord changes as the unobtainable holy grail of their guitar journey. But it doesn’t need to be that way. It took me 30 years to crack the code, and now that I can see the path clearly, I want to illuminate it for you.

Every guitar player can learn to improvise. The problem isn’t you—it’s the way this stuff is usually taught.

The goal of the Fret Science: Improv 101 course is to help guitarists of all playing levels understand how the guitar fretboard works and how to apply that knowledge to melodic soloing.

This curriculum is style-agnostic, but unlike most approaches to the subject, it does not involve learning jazz theory. There’s a little music theory involved, but there are no prerequisites other than the physical ability to play single-note lines on your guitar.

If you’ve ever learned to play someone else’s recorded solo, you have everything you need to succeed with this course.

The course is divided into eight modules, and each module includes six elements:

  1. A big-picture lesson
  2. A music theory element
  3. A fretboard knowledge mental model
  4. One note to memorize across the fretboard (in case you don’t already know your note names or you’d like to speed up your recall)
  5. A set of exercises that combine the first four elements
  6. A backing track to practice along with (WAV file to load into your looper or play back on your phone or computer)

After completing the course, you will have everything you need to improvise confidently over chord changes in whatever style of music you play.

This complete course is currently available to Gold Level members on Patreon, and it will remain available there by subscription. By the end of May, 2025, it will also be available as a standalone purchase on Teachable.

Course outline

Each item in this course outline is linked to the corresponding Patreon post. Contents are subject to change as the course evolves over time.

Lessons marked with an asterisk (*) are available to all paid Patreon subscribers at any level.

Introduction

Module 1

  1. Big picture: Working memory & limitation exercises *
  2. Terminology: octaves, chords, and scales *
  3. Fretboard knowledge: The “warp,” octaves, and the minor pentatonic stack *
  4. Memorize the fretboard: E *
  5. Fretboard Practice: E minor pentatonic stack *
  6. Improvisation: E7 vamp with the minor stack *

Module 2

  1. Big picture: Good phrasing…practice makes permanent
  2. Memorize the fretboard: A
  3. Theory: The major pentatonic stack
  4. Fretboard: Octave connections and pathways
  5. Practice: A major pentatonic stack across the fretboard
  6. Improvisation: A7 vamp with major stack
  7. Bonus: Exploring consonance and dissonance with a “freeze” pedal *

Module 3

  1. Big picture: Techniques for effective practice *
  2. Music theory: Interval basics
  3. Memorize the fretboard: D
  4. Fretboard knowledge: The major and minor rectangle and stack
  5. Fretboard practice: D pentatonic scales
  6. Improvisation: D7 vamp with stack and rectangle

Module 4

  1. Big picture: Chord tone soloing
  2. Memorize the fretboard: B
  3. Music theory: Triads
  4. Fretboard knowledge: The pentatonic scale along one string
  5. Fretboard Practice: Triad targets in the rectangle and stack
  6. Improvisation: Building phrases that target two chords

Module 5

  1. Big picture: One scale per chord
  2. Music theory: Triads in the diatonic scale
  3. Fretboard knowledge: Overlaid pentatonics
  4. Memorize the fretboard: G
  5. Fretboard Practice: Switching pentatonic scales for each chord
  6. Improvisation: Slow I – V – vi – IV in D

Module 6

  1. Big picture: Major scale and modes
  2. Music theory: Modes are just pentatonic scales with two extra notes
  3. Fretboard knowledge: Modes on the fretboard
  4. Memorize the fretboard: C
  5. Fretboard practice: One octave modal scales
  6. Improvisation: Modal vamps

Module 7

  1. Big picture: How to learn from great solos
  2. Music theory: The Nashville number system
  3. Memorize the fretboard: F
  4. Fretboard knowledge: Triad targets inside the rectangle and stack
  5. Fretboard practice: Baseline pentatonic plus chord tone targets
  6. Improvisation: “Little Wing”

Module 8

  1. Big picture: What scale should I use?
  2. Music theory: Blues harmony
  3. Memorize the fretboard: Sharps and flats
  4. Fretboard knowledge: Blues scale and target notes
  5. Fretboard practice: Blues target notes + mixing major and minor pentatonic
  6. Improvisation: Blues in A

Conclusion

How to get this course

This complete course is currently available to Gold Level members on Patreon, and it will remain available there by subscription. By the end of May, 2025, it will also be available as a standalone purchase on Teachable.