The Keys to Success

Part of my plan for 2012 will be to learn to play in all the major and minor keys.

To get started I am going to go through one major key a day for the next few weeks till I know them backwards.

This means writing out and then playing through:

• The scale, triads and 7th chords 
• The common changes (ii V I, I/iii vi ii V, I IV  V) (need to add to these)
• The common substitutions (in C Maj : vi I iii: Am7 CMaj7 and Em7, vi V ii :Bm7b5 G7 Dm)

I need to incorporate

• 3 shapes for each root note for the scales and chords
• Extended chords CMaj7+Dm 1 3 5 7 9 11 13
• important inversions
• modes
• single string, 2 string, 3 string

Time allocation is

• 5 minutes to write it out
• 5 minutes to verbalise and visualise 
• 5 minutes single scales
• 5 minutes triads 
• 5 minute break 
• 5 minute interval study
• 5 minutes 7th chords
• 5 minutes playing common changes
• 5 minutes to verbalise and visualise

 To keep it interesting, as I progress I will need to

• Expand the list of common chord progressions 
• work through modal vamps
• Learn tunes in the chosen key
• Improvise

At one per day it will take at least two full weeks to get through them all and I should cover each key at least 3 times to retain as much as possible so I am looking at about six weeks total.