Aim the Map at the Chord Changes

Day 36 | about 25 minutes

I-chord targets

Focus: find G, B and D inside every zone and land on them without correcting.

• 3 min: In G, call each FFcP zone and point to G, B and D. Those three are the G chord, degrees 1, 3 and 5 of the key. The first board draws every one of them inside Position III: B at the fourth fret of the G course, D at the seventh, G at the fifth fret of the D course, B at the second fret of the A course, D at the fifth, G at the third fret of the E course, B at the seventh. Call a zone, point at its three, and play nothing yet.
• 8 min: Play 1, 3, 5, 8 and 8, 5, 3, 1 in all four zones. That is the arpeggio up and back down. In Position III it is G at the fifth fret of the D course, B at the second fret of the A course, D at the fifth, G at the third fret of the E course, then the same four coming back. In Position IV it is G at the twelfth fret of the G course, B at the ninth fret of the D course, D at the twelfth, G at the tenth fret of the A course. All four zones, both directions, slow enough that every note is a decision.
• 6 min: Approach B from B flat, then resolve immediately; repeat on several strings. B flat is one fret below B and it is not in the key, which is what makes it an approach: it leans. Play the B flat, then the B straight after with no gap, and let the B be the note that lasts. In Position III the pairs are the third and fourth frets of the G course, the first and second of the A course, and the sixth and seventh of the E course. Do it on each. What you are listening for is the second note arriving, not the first note being played.
• 6 min: Eight short phrases, each ending on 3 or 5. The 3rd is B and the 5th is D, so no phrase ends on a G today. Four to eight notes each, and the last note has to be one you aimed at, which means saying it in your head before you play it. Ending on the 3rd leaves a phrase warm and open; ending on the 5th leaves it hanging. Either one tells a listener which chord is underneath, which is more than a root does.
• 2 min: Log the target you miss most. It will be one of six notes: a B or a D in one particular zone. Write the note, the course and the fret, because tomorrow adds a second chord and a target you cannot already find will get lost.

What an approach note is: A note a fret away from the one you want, played just before it, usually borrowed from outside the key. It has no life of its own: its whole job is to make the next note sound like an arrival. The test is that it resolves straight away. A B flat that lasts as long as the B after it is not an approach, it is a wrong note.

• End-of-day check: Land by intention, not correction.

Day 37 | about 25 minutes

IV-chord targets without moving

Focus: hear the change to C and hit it from where you already are.

• 3 min: In each G zone, locate C, E and G before playing. C, E and G are the C chord, and in the key of G they are degrees 4, 6 and 1. The first board draws all of them inside Position III: C at the fifth fret of the G course, E at the second fret of the D course, G at the fifth, C at the third fret of the A course, E at the seventh, G at the third fret of the E course. Notice what did not happen: no note had to be found outside the hand. Only the target changed.
• 8 min: Play IV arpeggios inside all four zones. In Position III the C arpeggio is C at the fifth fret of the G course, E at the second fret of the D course, G at the fifth, C at the third fret of the A course. In Position IV it is C at the tenth fret of the D course, E at the seventh fret of the A course, G at the tenth, C at the eighth fret of the E course. Inside means without moving the hand: the notes are already under it and all that changes is which three you pick out.
• 6 min: Alternate G major pentatonic phrases with C chord-tone endings. Play a phrase out of the five notes, G, A, B, D and E, and land it on a C, an E or a G. The C is the interesting one, because it is not in the pentatonic subset at all: it is the 4, the note last week told you to leave out. Over a C chord that same C is the root and the steadiest note available, so it stops being the note to avoid and becomes the note to aim at.
• 6 min: Chop G to C; remain in one called zone for a full chorus. The link below plays two bars of G and two of C, going around. Pick one zone and stay in it for the whole eight bars, playing G's targets for the first two bars, C's for the next two, and so on. Set the speed low enough that you can name the next target before the change arrives, because naming it afterwards is a different and much less useful skill.
• 2 min: Mark the hardest C target. Usually the E or the C in whichever zone keeps them in awkward places. Write the note, the course and the fret.

Why the 4 comes back: Last week's discipline was to leave the 4 alone, and today the 4 is a target. Both are right. Over the I chord in G, the C is a note that leans and wants to move on. Over the IV chord the same C is the root and the most settled note in the bar. A note is not good or bad by itself. It is good or bad against whatever the bass is playing.

Chop G to C with the bandTwo bars of G, two of C, going around under a recorded bass and guitar. Set the speed low enough that you can name the target before the change arrives.mandolintrainer.com/app/#jam?c=1~G~G%20to%20C~Chords.1.G%7CG%7CC%7CC%7CG%7CG%7CC%7CC&go=play

• End-of-day check: Hear and hit the IV change in place.

Day 38 | about 25 minutes

V-chord targets without moving

Focus: the strongest change in the key, landed on rather than survived.

• 3 min: Locate D, F sharp and A in each G zone. That is the D chord, degrees 5, 7 and 2 of the key. Inside Position III the first board draws A at the second fret of the G course, D at the seventh, F sharp at the fourth fret of the D course, A at the seventh, D at the fifth fret of the A course, F sharp at the second fret of the E course and A at the fifth. The F sharp is the 7 of the key, the other note last week left out, and over the V chord it is the 3rd, which is the note that makes the change audible.
• 8 min: Play V arpeggios inside all four zones. In Position III the D arpeggio is D at the seventh fret of the G course, F sharp at the fourth fret of the D course, A at the seventh, D at the fifth fret of the A course. In Position IV it is D at the seventh fret of the G course, F sharp at the eleventh, A at the seventh fret of the D course, D at the twelfth. Four zones, no shifting, and say the chord's own numbers as you play them: one, three, five, one.
• 6 min: Approach F sharp from F, resolving immediately. F is one fret below F sharp and it is not in the key of G at all. Play the F, then the F sharp straight after with no gap, and let the F sharp last. In Position III that pair is the third and fourth frets of the D course; in Position IV it is the tenth and eleventh of the G course. The V chord is the strongest change in the key, and its 3rd approached this way is the most useful single move in the week.
• 6 min: Chop G to D; land on F sharp or A at every D change. The link below plays two bars of G and two of D, which is four D changes in one chorus and eight in two. Every time the D arrives, the note on the first beat has to be an F sharp or an A, chosen before you got there. Count them as you go, because the proof line is six out of eight.
• 2 min: Count the deliberate landings. Deliberate means you could have named the note before you played it. A note that arrived and then got corrected onto a chord tone half a beat later does not count, and it does not sound the same either. Write the number out of eight.

Chop G to D with the bandTwo bars of G, two of D, going around. Eight changes in two times through, which is where the eight landings the proof line counts come from.mandolintrainer.com/app/#jam?c=1~G~G%20to%20D~Chords.1.G%7CG%7CD%7CD%7CG%7CG%7CD%7CD&go=play

• End-of-day check: At least 6 of 8 landings succeed.

Day 39 | about 25 minutes

I, IV and V in one zone

Focus: one zone, three chords, and a target plan that does not move when they do.

• 3 min: Write one 8-bar G I, IV, V progression and mark each change. Eight bars, one chord to a bar: G, C, G, D, G, C, G to D, G is the set a circle plays and the one the link below sets going. Write it out with a bar line between each, then write above every change which note you mean to aim at. The writing is the step. A target plan you have not written down is a target plan you will abandon in bar three.
• 8 min: In one zone, play only chord tones on the first beat of each chord. Use Position II in G, which the board draws: G at the fifth fret of the D course, A at the seventh, B at the ninth, C at the third fret of the A course, D at the fifth, E at the seventh, F sharp at the ninth, G at the third fret of the E course. All three chords are inside it already, the G chord as the dots marked 1, 3 and 5, the C chord as 4, 6 and 1, the D chord as 5, 7 and 2. One note on the first beat of each bar and silence for the rest of it, so the only thing being practiced is arriving.
• 6 min: Fill between the targets with pentatonic notes. Keep exactly the same landings and put something between them out of the five notes G, A, B, D and E. The rule is that the filling must not step on the landing: reach the target on the beat and let the fill be what got you there. Two or three notes between targets is plenty to begin with.
• 6 min: Repeat in a second zone without changing the target plan. The same eight bars and the same written targets out of a different hand, Position III or IV. The plan is written in degrees, so it moves. If you find yourself rewriting it to suit the new zone, it was a fingering rather than a plan.
• 2 min: Record one chorus. One take, eight bars, band underneath. Then listen for one thing only: can you hear the chord changing from your line alone, with the band ignored? If not, either the targets arrived late or the fill covered them up.

One zone holds all three chords: The reflex when a chord changes is to move the hand. Today is where that stops. The G chord, the C chord and the D chord are all inside Position II already, as 1, 3, 5 then 4, 6, 1 then 5, 7, 2. Nine notes, one hand, three chords, and nothing to find because nothing has moved.

The eight bars of G, C and DThe progression a circle plays: G, C, G, D, G, C, G to D, G. Write yours first, then set this going and hear whether they agree.mandolintrainer.com/app/#jam?c=1~G~G%2C%20C%2C%20D~Chords.1.G%7CC%7CG%7CD%7CG%7CC%7CG%20D%7CG&go=play

• End-of-day check: Every change is audible from the line.

Day 40 | about 25 minutes

Change zones on purpose

Focus: move after a landing rather than to escape one.

• 3 min: Choose a G I, IV, V progression and assign a different zone to each phrase. Use yesterday's eight bars and cut them into four two-bar phrases. Give each phrase a zone and write the four numerals in a row: I, II, III, II say. That row is the route, and choosing it before you play is what makes a zone change something you did rather than something that happened to you.
• 8 min: Practice only the two boundary crossings. Two of the crossings in your route will be new, so take them out of the progression and drill them alone. The shared notes are the doors and the brackets under the board say which zones touch: in G, Positions I and II share G, A and B on the D course and D, E and F sharp on the A course, while III and IV share only the A at the seventh fret of the D course and the E at the seventh of the A course. Half speed, until the crossing is inaudible.
• 6 min: Run the progression, changing zone after a chord-tone landing. The order is the whole point: land on the target, let it sound, then move. A shift that happens instead of a landing is what this day exists to stop, because it sounds like running away. Play the eight bars three or four times with the band and listen for whether every move came after an arrival.
• 6 min: Reverse the zone route on the next chorus. The same four zones in the opposite order, so a route that climbed now descends. The crossings are the same doors used the other way round, and they are usually not equally easy, which is the thing the last step is asking about.
• 2 min: Log which direction feels freer. Write up or down, and why. Most players find one direction easier because they only ever practice the joints in that order, and knowing which one is a repair job for Week 8.

The eight bars of G, C and DThe same eight bars as yesterday, so the only thing that changes today is which zone each phrase comes out of.mandolintrainer.com/app/#jam?c=1~G~G%2C%20C%2C%20D~Chords.1.G%7CC%7CG%7CD%7CG%7CC%7CG%20D%7CG&go=play

• End-of-day check: Shifts happen after resolution, not as escape.

Day 41 | about 25 minutes

Blue-note control

Focus: use the flat third and the flat fifth as approaches, and never park on one.

• 3 min: In G and D, locate the flat 3 to 3 and flat 5 to 5 pairs near each zone. A blue note here is the flat 3rd or the flat 5th, drawn as a small dashed dot a fret below the note it leans on. In G Position I the flat 3 is at the eighth fret of the D course leaning on the B at the ninth, and the flat 5 is at the fourth fret of the A course leaning on the D at the fifth. In D Position I the flat 3 is at the tenth fret of the G course leaning on the F sharp at the eleventh, and the flat 5 is at the sixth fret of the D course leaning on the A at the seventh. Find all four before you play.
• 8 min: Play each approach as tension and resolution; never park on the altered note. Tension and resolution means the blue note is short and the note it leans on is long: play the flat 3 for half a beat and the 3 for a beat and a half, every time, so the ear hears one thing arriving rather than two notes happening. Parking on it, holding it, or ending a phrase on it turns a blues inflection into a wrong note, and on a mandolin, with no bend to hide behind, that happens fast.
• 6 min: Add one blue approach to every other two-bar phrase. One, in every second phrase, which means most phrases have none at all. That ratio is the lesson. Put it on the way into a target rather than anywhere else: the flat 3 arriving on the 3rd of whichever chord is sounding.
• 6 min: Record a chorus with no more than four blue-note events. Eight bars, four at the most, recorder running. Count them out loud afterwards if you need to. The limit is the exercise, because color that turns up in every bar stops being color.
• 2 min: Mark any unresolved color note. An unresolved one is a flat 3 or a flat 5 that did not move up onto its neighbor, or that ended a phrase. Listen for them and write down where they happened, because those are what the proof line means by accidental.

What a blue note is on a mandolin: A guitar player bends into these. A mandolin has eight strings and almost no give, so the flat 3 and the flat 5 have to be played as their own notes and left immediately. That makes the timing everything: short, then the note it leans on, long. Held for its own sake, a flat 3 in a major key just sounds out of tune.

• End-of-day check: Color sounds deliberate, not accidental.

Day 42 | about 25 minutes

Phase 3 test

Focus: ten cold calls of key, zone and chord, each answered with a phrase that lands.

• 3 min: Draw a key, a zone and a chord function. Three slips now: one of the seven keys, one of Positions I to IV, one of I, IV or V. The keys, positions and chords sets on the call slips page below are those three, or write your own. The two boards draw two of the harder combinations, the E chord as the V in A inside Position II and the G chord as the IV in D inside Position II, so you can see what a right answer looks like. Draw all ten sets and write them down before you start, because shuffling between answers eats the clock.
• 10 min: Ten calls: answer with a pentatonic phrase that lands on that chord's 1, 3, or 5. Two things in every answer, then: the phrase comes out of the key's five-note subset, and the last note is a chord tone of the called chord. For the E chord in A, Position II, the landing notes are E at the ninth fret of the G course, G sharp at the sixth fret of the D course, B at the ninth and E at the seventh fret of the A course. Four to eight notes, land, stop, next call.
• 5 min: One chorus in place; one chorus moving through three zones. Eight bars each. The first stays in one hand and lets the line say the changes; the second uses three zones and moves only after a landing. Play them back to back so you can hear which sounds more like music and which sounds more like a test being passed.
• 5 min: Include two resolved blue-note approaches. Two in the whole of those two choruses, each one a flat 3 or flat 5 that moves straight up onto the note it leans on. Two is the number: any more and the test starts measuring something else.
• 2 min: Score accuracy out of 10. A call counts if the phrase started inside five seconds, stayed inside the key's five notes, and landed on a chord tone of the called chord that you could have named beforehand. Eight out of ten, plus the two clean choruses, is the proof line.

Call slips to printThe keys, positions and chords sets: draw one slip from each.mandolintrainer.com/workbooks/fretboard/slips/#keys

• End-of-day check: 8 of 10 calls, plus two clean choruses.