Key centers are kind of an old-school way to approach jazz improvisation. Used correctly, they make your life easier. By giving you one scale to play over a progression, key centers let you think less.
And listen more.
It’s interesting to me. Because this was actually the first way I learned to improvise – back in high school.
The advice from my guitar teacher was simple: play in the key, and listen for things that sound good to you.
Again, this is kind of an “old-school” approach to playing jazz. Lots of trial and error, lots of listening to see what works as you go.
And these days, I’d argue that it’s an approach that not enough people are using.
The key center approach helps you focus on listening to what’s going on around you. Whether you’re playing with a backing track or a band, listening is important.
And it helps you focus on creating melodies that sound good to you. Instead of memorizing licks and patterns to recite as you play.
If you’re feeling overwhelmed by jazz improvisation, this is the article for you. We’re going to talk about:
- What key centers are
- Common misconceptions and “lost in translation” processes
- How to find key centers and map them out on your guitar neck
- Using key centers in your jazz guitar solos
Let’s get started.
Why Key Centers Matter
When you start learning jazz improvisation it can get pretty complicated. And it happens fast.
I remember going to improvisation class and drilling every arpeggio, in every key. Learning arpeggio shapes and scale patterns for each chord in each song we covered. And that was before we even tried playing a solo!
One of my instructors used to say “a chord is a chord is a chord.” And what he meant was you need to learn to play material over each chord you come across.
If you’re playing the right notes for the chords, you’re going to be sounding pretty good. Right?
We learned licks to plug in over ii V I progressions – that would automatically outline the chords for us. We wired on connecting arpeggios through chord progressions on our own.
But it was complicated. There was a lot to keep track of, pretty much immediately. That being said, It did make us good at playing the changes in our solos.
But it also had a high bar to entry. You had to put in a lot of work to get started. Before you could even really play a song. You had to be patient with the process and figure you’d get there eventually.
These aren’t bad things, obviously. I stuck with it, and this approach served me pretty well for a long time.
But it isn’t for everyone.
Key centers are a way of simplifying this process – letting you get into improvisation with a few simple tools at first. And building in the details later.
It involves figuring out what scale a chord progression comes from – and then playing that scale during the chord progression.
Simple, right?
It does take some groundwork – a little bit of theory analysis, and a little bit of planning out your scale shapes.
But it leads to a situation where you can let your scale shapes do the heavy lifting for you. And do a little more playing “by ear” using those scales.
For my students this has been a real game changer. I notice people starting to sound good pretty quickly. And without having to do too much groundwork ahead of time.
They’re less overwhelmed with the process. And they’re immediately working with more creative playing. Instead of calculating what to play on their next chord and memorizing licks.
Soloing with Key Centers – “Just Playing the Major Scale?”
One of the common criticisms of this approach goes like this.
“If you’re just playing the major scale over changes, it’s going to sound like you’re just playing the major scale.”
You’ll hear something like this as a justification for overcomplicating jazz improvisation. For why students need to learn to play all of the arpeggios for every chord in the song.
And connect them to one another.
Right away.
Whether it’s overwhelming for them or not.
But this is just a kind of jazz education boogieman. The truth is that soloing with key centers does work. And for many students, it’s probably the right place to start.
It just isn’t a quick fix. It takes some time and work. And coaching.
It’s tricky to fit that process into an academic timeline.
But here it is:
If the chord progression follows the chords in the key, all of the notes for those chords are inside the major scale.
And most of the time, a good amount of the chords in a progression are going to be within the key. So within the scale.
Sure, there are key changes to keep track of.
Sure, there are chords that are “outside the key” – like a rogue dominant 7th chord here and there.
But if there’s an actual key change, you just need to switch to the new key…
… and play that major scale. Simple, right?
And most of the time, it doesn’t matter that much if you miss 2 beats of a chord that is out of place. When you really dive in and analyze what’s going on, it can be surprising.
You’re usually not playing any “wrong” notes. You’re probably just missing a note or two that would be nice to have. And it’s always something you can go back and address later on.
But for getting started, I really feel like this is the way to go.
Jimmy Bruno on Key Centers
Late in my college career, I had a private lesson with Jimmy Bruno.
He pretty much hated everything they were teaching me in the music program. When we talked about soloing, he said something along the lines of “Of course you can’t just play the scale up and down. You have to play melodies with it!”
Which made a lot of sense at the time. And still does.
Sure, it might take a little longer to get good at soloing using this approach. You’ll have to spend more time playing through tunes with backing tracks or friends to figure out what works for you.
But isn’t playing a lot kind of the point? This isn’t a chore – it’s just playing a lot of guitar and making tweaks to how you do it.
Mapping Out Key Centers
Mapping out the key centers is sometimes the hard part – but it’s not that bad. You just have to let your scale patterns do the heavy lifting for you.
Start by looking for a ii V I progression in the song you’re working on. Generally this is a minor 7 chord followed by a dominant 7 chord, leading to a major 7 chord.
In C, this would be Dmin7 (ii), G7 (V), and Cmaj7 (I).
When you find one, congratulations! You’ve got a key center – at least for a few bars.
But what about other chords?
Using your key from the ii V I progression, walk yourself through the scale, looking at the root notes of the other chords in the progression.
If those other chords match note names in the scale, they’re part of the same key center.
If not, you might need to look farther down the line and find another ii V I – you could have changed keys. Check out this example of doing the background homework.
In the above example, here’s what we’re looking at:
- My notes are color coded by key
- Above each chord progression is the name of the key/scale to use
- The roman numerals below the chord symbols show what step of the scale that chord is based on. You don’t need to think too hard about that – just play the scale for now.
Now remember this process is a starting point. It’s not perfect, and you’ll have some puzzles to solve over time.
But it gets you most of the way there. And you’ll figure out a lot of the common theory tricks along the way.
The more you sit and do this homework ahead of time, the easier it will be to figure out key centers on the fly.
And when you do find a key change, here’s what you do:
Find the closest possible scale pattern for the new key, in relation to the scale you were just playing.
Switch to that scale with as little hand motion as possible. Preferably with a new starting note just a fret or two away from the note you just played.
The 5 Scale Approach
This is the system of major scale patterns I use to keep myself organized on the fretboard:
Using the root notes of the movable scale shapes and the note locations on the fretboard map.
It will give you the tools you need for finding the closest possible options for your key centers.
For a deep dive into my jazz guitar scale systems, check out this article.
Ear-Based Playing and Melodic Connection
One of the great things about this approach is it lets you use your ears more. When you’re thinking hard about what to play on your next chord, you’re not really listening.
And listening is important – listening to your band, the backing track, and the notes coming from your guitar.
When you have less to think about, it frees you up to listen more as you play. And this is what leads you to discover new melodies and sequences. To figure out what sounds good on different songs.
It’s what helps you develop the ability to actually play by ear.
And it lets you start playing creatively – right from the beginning. Instead of plugging in patterns and licks, you’re exploring your scale and seeing what works.
There is still absolutely a place for a closer look at playing the changes. As you get better at soloing, it’s natural to start exploring more complicated options. And adding more tools to your vocabulary.
It’s part of being a well-rounded jazz guitarist.
But I think key centers are a much friendlier way to start playing jazz guitar solos. And they will build you a solid foundation you can lean on as you dive into the more detailed topics.
Conclusion
Key centers are a simple entry into jazz guitar soloing. And one that anyone can get started with right away.
Key centers let you rely more on your ears, and use your scale patterns to create melodies that sound good to you.
Basically, you’re using a scale pattern that fits an entire chord progression. Instead of figuring out what to play for each chord in the song.
Using key centers takes some work.
- You have to spend some time figuring out the chord progression. What scale fits over it?
- You have to spend time mapping out your scale patterns on the neck. Especially if there are key changes. Which there probably are.
- And you have to spend a lot of time playing with backing tracks or friends. It takes time and reps to figure out what works for you and what doesn’t.
But isn’t playing more kind of the point? Using key centers lets you spend more time playing, and less time rehearsing different patterns for each chord in a song. It’s kind of a “zoomed out” view of the chord changes.
And at the end of the day, it’s fun work. So pick a tune, find your key centers, and dive in.
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