How to Solo over a Minor II-V-I Chord Progression (L#4-5)

‘HOW TO SOLO OVER MINOR A II V I CHORD PROGRESSION’ BASS LESSON SHOWS YOU HOW TO APPROACH SOLOING AND IMPROVISATION OVER THIS COMMON TURNAROUND ON THE BASS GUITAR.

Unlike major II V I's minor II V I's were a real mystery for me. I had trouble playing over them so I always reverted to a certain set of licks to get me through while improvising. So, enough was enough... I sat down for a month with my bass and a stack of records and began to transcribe and theorize. After a lot of coffee and cigarettes (this was a long time ago, I am now a ex-smoker... expect for at friends parties when I've consumed far to much wine!) I finally figured how people were improvising over the minor II V I turnaround and how to apply it to the bass guitar. I saw the same scale are arpeggio substitutions coming up over and over and have put these video tutorials together to demonstrate them.

Learning to play over this progression and being able to use the different substitutions available is an invaluable practice method and is something that will really help every aspect of your playing. Be patient and methodical within your practice, it sometimes takes a while for your ear to get used to the sound of certain substitutions. Soon you will start to hear the substitutions discussed in these tutorials in many of the solo’s you have listened to or transcribed in the past. Trust me, this is a great experience, it's like someone just switched the light on! Get in the shed and good luck! S.

Oh, and another thing!… Watch out for my new book ’The Linear Harmony Concept For Bass Guitar’ which covers my unique way of approaching soloing on the bass and how to practice the different techniques involved. Due for release VERY soon!

Part 1

Part 2