Guitar Scales question
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Posted on Apr 03, 2007 11:49 am
mclir9
www.witchsmark.com
Member Since: Aug 13, 2006
Say you are playing a song in the Key of G on guitar. Could you play a G Minor Pentatonic scale and it will fit well?? Another words can you play any of the scales (Minor, Major, Pentatonic, Harmonic, Natural, Blues etc etc) and they will fit well as long as you are doing them in the Key of G?? Or would I have to be playing in a Gm Key in order for the Minor Pentatonic to work right??
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shepherdsampatron saint of quality footwearMember
Since: May 30, 2002
Apr 03, 2007 12:10 pm In the key of G major, the relative pure minor is Em, so Em pentatonic works well. You could also play the A Dorian minor scale over G major.
G minor pentatonic works well over Bb major.
When you hear "In the key of" it refers to the Major key.
Unfortunately, often times people will say "this is in A" when they really mean "This is in A minor".
I would imagine this stems from the fact that most rock is blues based and so the blues or minor pentatonic scale is most often learned first and therefore becomes the default scale of reference for most players.
mclir9www.witchsmark.comMember
Since: Aug 13, 2006
Apr 03, 2007 02:19 pm Ok I think I get it. I just brought up a Circle of Fifths in google, and it shows Cmaj/Amin, Gmaj/Emin etc etc. So, if I say I am in the key of Gmaj, it could also be said I am in the key of Emin, correct?? And if this is so then in the Key of Gmaj I can play a Gmaj Scale or Emin Scale, whether it be pentatonic or not right?? Now would a Blues scale be played in Emin also, if in the Key of G or would you play a blues scale in G... is a Blues scale considered a Minor based scale??
shepherdsampatron saint of quality footwearMember
Since: May 30, 2002
Apr 03, 2007 02:50 pm Yes, the notes of the G major are the same as the notes in E Aeolian (the pure minor), the only difference is in the contrast that the root note supplies. For example, take those notes and play them over a G major chord and they sound happy and major, play the same notes over an E minor and it gives you that slightly sad minor feeling.
The Blues scale is the same as the minor pentatonic scale with a flat fifth added.
mclir9www.witchsmark.comMember
Since: Aug 13, 2006
Apr 03, 2007 04:05 pm Cool beans, thanks for the help. I think I grasp it now.
Apr 06, 2007 02:43 pm the minor pentatonic scale works perfectly over almost everything, aswell as the blues scale, you could play also E aeolian, G Major, G Lydian if you want a more jazzy feel and also G mixolydian and of course the G major pentatonic scale
Apr 06, 2007 05:05 pm some more tips:
don't memorize the relative minors. say you're in the key of 'g major.' count down three half steps (three frets) and that note is the relative minor key of g major. same goes for any other key. relative minor key is always three notes lower.
re: the blues scale>>>
the thing that makes a scale major or minor is the third note. if you are in the key of c major and you have two choices in front of you on index cards for scales that you could use over this part of the song, look at each C scale and look at the third note in each. if that note is E, that E is the third note of the c major scale. that c major scale (whether it's the straight major scale or some other major variant, like one of the modes) is at least compatible in terms of its major/minor identity. if that note had been E flat, though, then you would have been holding in your hands a minor scale, and it just won't work over your major chord. the blues scale is a minor scale. in g, you would use the e blues.
use the e blues, but make sure you resolve, where appropriate, to 'g,' not to 'e.' if the song's in G major, chances are that the tonal center of the song is the g chord. so that note will be the most 'final sounding' note, the resting place, the place to get back home to again and again.
