This backing ActionTab is from the Jamzone where we are looking at ways of making melodies from scales in a fun way. Ideally suited for those people interested in songwriting and learning how to make the most of chord progressions. Although we are using jazzy chords here, the concepts are important for any style, so make sure to give it a go and play the scale game.

The chord progression we'll be using here is very simple. Just 3 chords constantly repeated. They are:

Dm7
Db maj9 (no 3rd)
B maj7

Notice that the 3 chord shapes are very similar. This will help your fingers get used to these jazzy types of chord, as only a couple of finger changes are needed as you switch between chords. These may not be chords you are used to, but they are still common chord types, so worth practicing and placing in your repertoire.

Pay special attention to the 1st finger for each chord. It 'barres' across the frets, just as when normally playing those notes - but - just touch the low E string with the tip of your finger as you do that. This will mute that string, and yet keep the other notes from sounding.

Muting that Low E string will mean that even if you overstrum, the Low E string won't sound out and mess up the chord. Using your 1st finger to mute will save you from having to thumb-mute that low E string instead. Thumb-muting is fine for powerchords, but less practical with chord shapes like these. Of course if you prefer to thumb-mute and it works fine for you, use it. But most people will struggle.

Don't worry about the different chord relationships for now. We will look at that aspect of things later. For now we are only interested in using these backing chords to play the scale game.

After you have these chords down, move on to the next ActionTabs and learn about making melodies from scales. Once you have the hang of that, come back to this ActionTab, loop it, and try out your own scale games!