Playing outside — deliberately leaving the key for a beat or two before resolving back in — is one of the most powerful ways to add tension and surprise to your soloing. This masterclass with Luca Mantovanelli breaks down exactly how he approaches it, from the simplest beginner entry point all the way through to chromatic approach notes, melodic minor superimposition, and diminished ideas.
What you’ll get out of this lesson
You’ll come away with a clear, step-by-step method for introducing outside playing into your vocabulary: starting with pentatonic sidestepping, building through melodic minor and diminished substitutions, and developing your own vocabulary of chromatic approach patterns tied to specific fingerings.
Here are the backing tracks used in the video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NgCLXaySLM0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkjBc5ALDz8
The first step: pentatonic sidestepping
When Luca teaches outside playing to a complete beginner, he always starts with the pentatonic scale — specifically, playing the first pentatonic shape a half step up from the key, then landing back on the downbeat. The key is timing. Going a half step up tends to sound smoother than going a half step below, though a minor third above is also an interesting option with a more dramatic sound. The resolution back into the key is what makes the outside note work; without it, it just sounds like a wrong note.
The only important thing in this moment of the outside learning is just to be on timing. So start to play outside the last two beats and then release back. One, two, out, out, back. That’s the first thing I teach when I teach about the outside playing.
Melodic minor superimposition
Over a C minor vamp moving to F7, Luca uses C melodic minor throughout. The reason it works especially well over the F7 chord is that C melodic minor is the same collection of notes as F Lydian dominant — the correct sound for that dominant chord in context. The major 7th degree of the melodic minor scale creates the tension that resolves beautifully back over the root chord. Another option Luca uses is starting from E flat melodic minor over C minor, which gives a more distinctly outside sound that still connects smoothly.
Chromatic approach notes and vocabulary building
Luca organises his chromatic lines by left-hand fingering pattern. Each position — whether it’s a 1–2–4, a 1–3–4, or another combination — has its own set of approach options: four-note approaches, five-note approaches, six-note approaches. The number of notes and the rhythmic starting point determine whether you land on a downbeat or an upbeat, so it’s essential to practise each approach from multiple rhythmic positions. The musical identity of players who have a strong chromatic vocabulary comes from having worked out these enclosures systematically for each of their common fingering shapes, then internalising them as vocabulary rather than formula.
Diminished scale ideas
For diminished colour over a C minor context, Luca reaches for the F sharp half-whole diminished scale — the tritone of C. Because the diminished scale is symmetrical (repeating every minor third), the same scale also functions identically from A, C, and E flat, giving you the same sounds from multiple positions on the fretboard. Luca determines his starting note by position: he thinks about the diminished scale from whichever note is lowest in the position he is already in, rather than calculating the theory each time.
Taking it further
Once the half-step pentatonic sidestep feels comfortable, extend the same concept to arpeggios — playing a minor 7 arpeggio a half step up before resolving back in is a neat and effective option. From there, work through the melodic minor and diminished approaches Luca outlines, and start building your own chromatic approach-note vocabulary by taking each of your common left-hand fingering shapes and systematically working out what approach sequences are available.
Your homework
Over a minor backing track, practise the pentatonic half-step sidestep until the timing is rock solid: play two bars inside, then spend beats three and four a half step up, resolving on beat one of the next bar. Once that feels natural, try the same idea with a minor 7 arpeggio. Record yourself so you can hear whether the resolution lands cleanly.