changing scales over different chords

The answer is all of the above 8) You can play a single scale for all the chords, or a scale for each chord, and everything in between. Just don't limit yourself to one. Mix and match. Use and practice them all and let your ears be your guide.

My only suggestion would be to look at different modes to play over the different chords. Mixolydian and Dorian are the most common, along with major and natural minor. So over the blues, for example, you could play E blues for the E chord and then A Mixo and B Mixo for the A and B chords.

DatM, I am certainly I don't have your knowledge of scales. I'm a rhythm guitar player. And I've often wondered if guitar players could adjust their solos not based on the key but by the chords being played.

I have never played with a lead guitarist who did that. But I can only add that I've played with a bass player (who I've played with the last 4 years) who does only play the minor pentatonic scale with each chord played. All the songs are guitar player distorted, but it seems to work.

Intellectually, I don't see how it works. Yet it doesn't bother my ears. Quite honestly, I'm jealous that he can use that "box" of notes over each of our power chords and not be called out.

So is it possible with a guitar? I don't know. Most guitar players play the m pent box for the whole song. That's what we do.

im similarly confused.
For example, if a song is in the key of A minor, but included a G major chord, i have been told that you could play the g majaor scale over it. but the g major scale has an F#, which is not in the key of A minor???

i dont see how this works?

You don't want to just look at the key of the song, because songs often modulate, meaning that the tonal center may temporarily shift from one place to another.

Besides looking at just the key of a song, you also want to look at the chord progression, especially with songs in minor keys because there are lots of possible chord progressions that go well with minor keys that don't always follow along with the natural minor (or minor pentatonic) scales. We've got an old Guitar Column (over on the "Lessons" page) called Minor Progress that explains this in more detail.

So it's very possible, in a song like Santana's Evil Ways, for instance, where the main chord progression goes from Am to D over and over again. The tonal center is definitely Am, and you can use the Am pentatonic scale (A, C, D, E, G) and it will sound fine. But using the G major scale allows you to have the F# note and that makes a huge difference when playing over this chord progression.

Technically, you wouldn't be thinking of it as the G major scale, but rather as the A Dorian scale. You can find more discussions of this all over the forums, as well as in the article A La Modal and the very latest installment of Turning Scales Into Solos.

Sometimes, depending on the chord progression of a song, you'll find yourself shifting from one scale to another, letting the various phrases of the chord progression dictate the best choices. We'll be covering this in upcoming Turning Scales Into Solos pieces.

Hope this helps.

One really good way to move from note to note in soloing is not by focusing so much on different scales, but on the individual notes that make up the chords that you're playing over.

To explain, let's say we have a simple 1-4 vamp from C to F and back.

The C chord is made up of the notes C, G, and E. Playing any of these notes, especially on the strong beats (1 & 3) will always sound good.

When we change chords to the F, we now have a chord made of the notes F, A, and C. Again, playing these notes on strong beats will always sound good and musical.

Playing notes targeted around the key center of C will help fill the gaps and connect the chords. This is a very simplified explanation of playing over changes, but hopefully you get the picture.

For practice, record the 1-4 vamp, then start out playing just whole notes for the duration of each chord. For example, hold a G for an entire measure of the C chord, then switch to A for an entire measure of the F chord. This will be a very natural sounding transition to help solidify the idea in your head and ears. After that, try other combinations and fill in the gaps with other notes form the key centers- I think you'll notice that your solos will sound a lot more melodic and thoughtful.

Hope this helps!

great replies, thanks for taking the time to write them. i shall put this into practice and hopefully the results will be seen in the next online jam here :D

DatM, I am certainly do know have your knowledge of scales. I'm a rhythm guitar player. And I've often wondered if guitar players could adjust their solos not based on the key but by the chords being played.

So is it possible with a guitar? I don't know. Most guitar players play the m pent box for the whole song. That's what we do.

It's definitely possible, but for most rock-pop songs, you'd probably want to stick to the root scale (whether pentatonic, major, or minor). If you're playing music with modulations and chords which arent in the home key (like you'll find in a lot of jazz) then it becomes necessary to be able to switch scales for each chord.

Even when you stick to one scale, you want to emphasize the notes that belong to the chord your plaing over. For example if you're in the key of C and you're playing over a G chord, you'll still use the C major chord, but you'll probably "lean" more in the notes G B and D.

Hope that makes sense...

(BTW this is 'DatM'. I changed my name :) )

im similarly confused.
For example, if a song is in the key of A minor, but included a G major chord, i have been told that you could play the g majaor scale over it. but the g major scale has an F#, which is not in the key of A minor???

i dont see how this works?

If you're in the key of A Minor, G major is a diatonic chord, so you can stick to the A minor natural scale (or A min pentatonic). No need to change scales 8)

That's not to say the G major scale can't work...but I wouldn't worry about that until you get a handle on the basic stuff.

im similarly confused.
For example, if a song is in the key of A minor, but included a G major chord, i have been told that you could play the g majaor scale over it. but the g major scale has an F#, which is not in the key of A minor???

i dont see how this works?

But F# IS in the key of A minor - if you're using the melodic minor scale.

Minor keys are a lot more "free" than major keys... because there are lots of different minor scales. You'll also see a lot more 'altered' chords (chords having a b5, #5, b9, or #9) in minor keys than in major ones. The only basic requirements for a solo in a minor key are including the root, and including the b3 - practically anything else can be made to work.

(Because they're so free, they can be complicated to think about - I'd advise taking one minor scale at a time and trying it out over a progression... use the natural minor, the harmonic, the dorian, the phrygian, the melodic, the gyspy, etc; each one has its own flavor, but once you get the hang of them you can mix them at will)

Tom, you are a guitar god in both playing and theory. My meager brain just exploded thinking about your last post. I really, really need to learn more theory. I feel naked in that even though I thought I knew enough.

Wow, you really are on on it like no other. +1 :shock: