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 a C major bossa nova backing track: bossa nova: root and fifth in the bass, syncopated chords on a nylon-string guitar. It plays the Imaj7 – ii7 – V7 bossa progression in C major at 125 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.
Bossa nova: a gentle syncopated groove on rim and hi-hat, root and fifth in the bass, and seventh chords on a nylon-string guitar.
Imaj7 – ii7 – V7: a bossa nova cycle that keeps returning to the warm major seventh chord. In C major that is Cmaj7, Dm7, G7.
In numbers: Imaj7 = Cmaj7 · ii7 = Dm7 · V7 = G7. The numbers count from the key’s root, so the same progression works in any key.
Three- and four-note shapes without open strings, close together so each change is a small move.
Play the chords short and soft on the off-beats shown, with the thumb on the bass notes if the bass is muted. Mute the guitar in the player and the band leaves the part to you.
Play quietly, close to the chords: the major scale with the 9th and 6th added to the melody, ending phrases on the third of the chord.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cmaj7 | C | E | G | B |
| Dm7 | D | F | A | C |
| G7 | G | B | D | F |
Cmaj7, Dm7, G7, in the order Cmaj7 | Cmaj7 | Dm7 | G7.
C major pentatonic (C D E G A) is the first choice; C major and C 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