lesson
Keynotes
When a song ends, it usually ends on a chord with the same letter name as the key the music is in. For example, a song in the key of A it will usually end with some type of “A” chord such as A (major), A7, Amaj7, etc. This sounds pleasing or correct. The musical term for this is “resolve.” When you solo, you also (usually) want to end your solo with the note that the key gets its name from. So if the song is in the key of A, you will probably want to end your solo with an A note. This also sound correct or pleasing.
There are three places this “key” note (keynote) appears in Pattern #1. I have circled them in the diagram below. It is very helpful to memorize these locations.
When your solo is coming to and end, start planning how to smoothly end with the keynote. It takes some practice to get the timing just right, but it really sounds nice when you end on the keynote just as the last chord is played. Try it out.
You can play along with this mp3 file of Rhythm Track: Key of A
