When in doubt use < I - IV - V >
Most Western popular music is built from the basic < I - IV - V > movement. (The Tonic, Subdominant, and Dominant.) The 8-bar and 12-bar blues forms demonstrate the strongest leading tendencies of these three scale degrees. It's hard to escape the gravity of these movements. Chances are good that a lot of your music will be attempting to escape this gravity. Sometimes gravity wins, so be prepared to use it anyways.

Be aware also that < II - V - VI >, < III - VI - VII >, < IV - VII - I > ... etc., are all modal variants on < I - IV - V >. When you use these movements together they will tend to be associated by the listener. You can use the leading tendencies of these various movements to temporarily establish new keys. The movement used to most firmly establish a new key is < II - IV - I > (of the new key).

Resolution is easy
If you find yourself struggling to prolong a progression that seems to be going nowhere take a time out and see if it might not be better to just resolve the movement (unless resolution is not part of your master plan!). The most direct route to a resolution is via descending 5ths, especially using dominant 7th chords. For example, to resolve to C you could use D7 - G7 - C.

Lock the Root
If your chords keep losing their names because you like to click in the Scale Box a lot then lock the root to preserve your chord names. You'll be glad you did.

Keep a real guitar handy
Take a guitar stand. Place it two feet to the left and slightly in front of your chair. Take an acoustic guitar (electric is okay too) and place it in the stand. Make sure the guitar is in tune with the computer. Stick a guitar pick in-between the strings near the top of the neck so you won't have to go hunting.

Play along with FretPet all the time
FretPet has an uncommonly good sense of rhythm. The program will continue to play the same progression over and over again for as long as you want. This is ideal for practicing leads and developing accompaniment of all kinds. Use the program as a teacher as well as a tool. It is an embodiment of what you seek.

Ask for help
Do you want a new feature in FretPet? Do you need help with a confusing topic? Would you like to report a bug? Simply send an email to fretpet@emania.com and get help straight from the source.

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