adding extra 2 notes to pentatonic--okay when soloing?

So far I've learned to play the G/Em pentatonic on strings 1-4 up to the 15th fret. For some reason my teacher wants me to learn them like that but I find it strange. I learned the G scale in each position on the guitar so my fingers are missing the C and F#. So I've been practicing the pentatonic but adding those extra notes when I so desire. Would this be a bad idea or mess me up later when I'm supposed to solo?

Not at all. Just remember that the reason for excluding those 2 notes is that are the ones most likely to be dissonant over a background chord. Dissonance is fine on the V chord where you want to build tension, not so good with the I and vi which you want to be relaxed.

Chord definitions:

1 G=g-b-d
2 Am=a-c-e
3 Bm=b-d-f#
4 C=c-e-g
5 D=d-f#-a
6 Em=e-g-b
7 f#dim=f#-a-c-d#

Say the rhythm player is playing the traditional I-IV-V progression over and over. Say I'm using the full major scale. It seems like all but one of the notes would work. The rhythm guy is playing a G chord and I play

g—it's in the chord
a---it's just an add9
b---it's in the chord
c---could potentially sound bad because it's an add4 (not sus4 because rhythm guy still plays the b note)
d---it's in the chord
e---makes a 6th chord
f#---makes a Maj7th chord

Then if the rhythm guy is playing a C chord and I play

g—5th
a---6th
b---Major 7th
c---root
d---add9
e---3rd
f#--- flattened 5th. This could sound ugly.

Now the rhythm guy plays the D chord and I play

g—add4. This could sound bad against the f# in the chord.
a---5th
b---6th
c---dom7th
d---root
e---add9
f#---3rd

So far, with just that progression, it looks like c would be bad with the g chord, f# would be bad with c chord, and g could sound bad against the d chord.

If I play the major pentatonic I'll only be using g, a, b, d, and e I'll still have the possible dissonance with the g. So people really play the pentatonic because there is less potential dissonance? I always thought because it's much easier and less to remember when going on the fly. I still like to add parts of the major when it comes to me. My teacher's going to have a fit.

well you have marked D being good when rhythm plays a C.. and you called it add 9..

but when the G chord is played you marked C as being bad.. because it wont be suspended because the normal third is there, but you said it would be bad..

so why not call it a add11??

the same principle with the D over a C chord would be an add9, which is fine, but is also the second note in the scale so that wont be suspended because the normal third is there.. i cant explain this that well in writing..

so heres another way

G B D - C will be bad because its a 4th and it wont be suspended because the regular third is in there (B)

BUT

C E G - D will be ok because its "add9".. when virtually the same principle applies as above.. except replacing 4th with 2nd.. you called it an "add9" and said it would be ok.. but why not call the C in the G chord example an "add11"

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I am not trying to catch you out here (i know it might seem like it, i really have to clear up how my message needs to be taken because it nearly always gets taken the wrong way)

im just trying to say.. if you called it an "add11" instead of seeing it as mixing with the chord, it should be ok...

OR

that the add9 will sound bad because its the same principle as the C chord thing..

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Just pointing out conflicting thing and hoping that seeing it in a different light might make you see things clearer... that maybe they both will sound good, or none will, i dont know.

I'm just going by what things sound like when I play chords. If I get two notes a half step apart they seem to clash. I can see it comin'--how about a maj7th chord? Yea, that has a note one note a fret away and somehow it sounds good. Got me.

I hear your post. I want people to post what they think. It sounds not like a jab but like you want to help and that's cool!

So basically you are thinking I can play the major scale over anything that's in key and it will sound okay?

You can play any scale over any chord and it'll sound ok if you pick the right notes at the right time :)

People tend to use the pentatonic when they learn to improvise because there's less of a chance you'll hit a clunker. It's true that not all notes will be consonant, but you don't really want that -- it would sound boring after a while. With a pentatonic, the pitches that will have some dissonance with the chord happen when the chord itself is introducing tension, like the V chord... so the odds are pretty good you'll sound ok.

Using a major scale takes a few more chances, but it also gives you lots more possibilities. The notes that are a half step apart will sound just fine if you move them in the right direction - as will notes outside the scale (chromatic tones) if you resolve them. It's a matter of timing as much as note selection... experiment!

I remember I was at a jam at a buddy's house two months ago. Early on it was just me, Mike and Rich. Each have played over twenty years and are great players. Since it was the three of us they both played the 12-bar blues and told me to turn up my guitar and solo. I explained I never practice that stuff and only knew one pattern (G/Em) open. So I only played the notes in the pentatonic at the open position and at the 12th fret. Pretty sad. But that was the first thing to make me realize I had to work on that stuff a little because I know I'll be asked to do stuff like that again in various situations and I want to be able to come up with something. Thad led me to see out a guitar teacher and work on scales. I hate them more than anyone should. Still, I muddle through some exercises at a snail's pace and have actually learned some neat stuff.

So far I'm concentrating to keep on the 5 notes but I still add the C and F# when I feel like it. It is so funny when I'm playing I can see those notes and can't help but grab them at times. It's like forbidden fruit. I actually like the diversity of having the seven notes available. The past couple of night I tried bending strings, yeowch! I'll grab a note one fret flat of what I want to hear and bend it up, down, then play the note one fret forward to check if I was close. I didn't realize how far you have to bend just to go up a half step. I'm using 11-49's so that doesn't help. Last night I played a guitar at GC and it was really easy to bend the strings. :shock: