Build your own band: 16 moods and 20 styles in any key and tempo, with drums, percussion, bass, two chord instruments, a pad and lead fills, each with its own sound and volume.
This is an A major reggae backing track: a one-drop reggae groove: the skank on two and four, the bass carrying the melody. It plays the I – IV – V – IV (reggae) progression in A major at 76 BPM in 4/4, round and round, so you can practise soloing, rhythm or both.
The player above is set to this track. Press Play, slow it down or speed it up, mute the guitar to play the chords yourself, or mute the bass to play the bass line. You can also switch key or style without leaving the page.
The one drop: the kick and snare land together on beat three, beat one is empty, and the guitar skanks on two and four while the bass carries the tune.
I – IV – V – IV: three major chords, made into reggae by where the band plays them. In A major that is A, D, E.
In numbers: I = A · IV = D · V = E. The numbers count from the key’s root, so the same progression works in any key.
Small shapes on the top strings, short and crisp.
Play short, choked up-strums on the top three strings on beats two and four only; mute them straight away with your fretting hand. Mute the guitar in the player and the band leaves the part to you.
Keep it sparse and melodic, in the major pentatonic, and leave beat one empty like the drummer does.
Scales get you through the track; landing on the chord tones makes a solo follow the changes. The strongest notes over each chord are its 3rd and 7th:
| Chord | Root | 3rd | 5th | 7th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | A | C♯ | E | – |
| D | D | F♯ | A | – |
| E | E | G♯ | B | – |
A, D, E, in the order A | D | E | D.
A major pentatonic (A B C♯ E F♯) is the first choice; A major and A minor pentatonic also work.
Yes: change the tempo or tap another key in the player and the band follows from the next bar. Every track is made live, so any tempo sounds natural.
Yes: from the menu, save it as an MP3 or WAV file, as MIDI for your music software, or print the chord chart.
Backing track player: every style, key and tempo · All free tools