What scales to play over chords?

The rule is to use Major pentatonic scales over major chords and minor pentatonic scales over minor chords. This works well for most chords. All you need to do is switch scales with the chord changes.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on guitarlessonworld.com


What scales to play over minor chords?

The Pentatonic scale is the easiest and most effective scale to play over a minor key and is capable of beautiful bluesy, dark and soulful sounds. The scale is widely used in pop, rock, blues and other styles of music. It consists of five notes: 1 b3 4 5 b7 compared to the major scale (1 2 3 4 5 6 7).
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on guitarhabits.com


What scales can I play over a major?

The Major Pentatonic scale is the easiest and most effective scale to play over a major key and delivers an uplifting blues country sound. The scale is widely used in pop, classic rock, blues, country and other styles of music.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on guitarhabits.com


Do scales help with chords?

They are built from the notes in the scale. A simple C major scale with the notes C D E F G A B can give us chords when we stack every other note (or thirds). For example if we take C, E and G (the first, 3rd and 5th notes) we get a C major chord, if we take G, B, and D we get a G major chord.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on learntoplaymusic.com


Should I learn chords or scales first?

Scales and chords should be learned at the same time. All music consists of a harmonic component (chords) and a melodic component (scales). In order to play music on the guitar, both scales and chords are important skills to develop.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on guitarandbass.com


Understanding The Chord/Scale Relationship



How do you know what scale to use?

How To Always Know What Scales To Use
  1. Find the key. To find the key of the song, ask someone around you or just assume that the last chord in the song is the number one chord in the key. ...
  2. Find the root note. Then go to your low E-string and find the root note. ...
  3. Find the scale.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on thewizardofshred.com


What scales go with C major?

The C major scale is C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. If you pick any note from the scale and then go up skipping every other note, you get a chord. The seven chords you can get from the C major scale this way are C major, D minor, E minor, F major, G7, A minor and B diminished.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on ethanhein.com


Can you play a minor scale over a major chord?

Yes, you can play a minor scale over a major chord because every major scale has a relative minor and vice versa. C major is relative to A minor since both contain the same notes (C D E F G A B). The minor relative of a major scale is the 6th.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on fretjam.com


How do you solo over major chords?

Soloing Over a Key
  1. End your phrases on the root note. It will reinforce the key.
  2. Listen for the notes that sound best over each chord. ...
  3. Change positions when you play so you play low notes and high notes. ...
  4. Use dynamics by varying the volume of your playing.
  5. Use bends, slides, and vibrato to enhance your solos.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on guitarlessonworld.com


What scales are used in R&B?

What Scales Are Used for Soul or R&B? Listening to thousands of soul/R&B/neo-soul tracks, I can clearly hear that the E flat, B/Bb, and F major keys are the most commonly used. The key for E flat is Eb, F, G, Ab, Bb, C, and D. This is very easy on the fingers had has a very soulful and jazzy feel to it.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on spinditty.com


Why is pentatonic scale so popular?

It is by far the most common scale found in blues, pop and rock music because this group of five notes sounds really good together regardless of when, how or in what order you play them.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on percussionplay.com


Is the blues scale major or minor?

The hexatonic, or six-note, blues scale consists of the minor pentatonic scale plus the ♭5th degree of the original heptatonic scale.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on en.wikipedia.org


Why does minor pentatonic sound good over major chords?

ie Am pentatonic over A major chord? Well, the reason that the minor scale works is because when you play that minor 3rd over a major triad or dominant 7th chord voicing of the same name, you are creating what is called a #9 against the chord.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on vancouverguitarlessons.net


What scales to play over 9th chords?

Minor pentatonic scale, minor blues scale, diminished scales or altered scale are generally used to play over 7#9 chords.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on jazz-guitar-licks.com


What can I play over major 7 chords?

Over a C major 7th chord, use a C major scale (also know as the Ionian mode).
  • Over a Cmaj7 chord, use the C major Bebop scale. ...
  • Use the B blues scale over a Cmaj7 chord. ...
  • Use the B Locrian mode. ...
  • With your new knowledge, take these and use them to improvise over major seventh chords.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on thejazzguitarsite.com


How do you incorporate chords into scales?

The best way to get used to this is by playing all the chords of the key and slowly incorporating the scale into the chords. Each chord will already contain at least 3 notes from the scale we are using, so it is only a matter of adding the notes above and below the ones we are fretting.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on libertyparkmusic.com


How do you improvise over chord changes?

How to Improvise Over Unrelated Chords
  1. Try to find one simple scale, chord, or set of pitches that work over all the chords. Or at least two or more chords in a row. ...
  2. Take a short melodic fragment and sequence it. ...
  3. Ignore the key center movement, simplify the progression, and pick a target key to resolve to.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on learnjazzstandards.com


What is the catchiest scale?

Scale #1: A♭ Major (A♭, B♭, C, D♭, E♭, F, G) This scale is widely used by all top trap artists, and it usually has an aggressive vibe.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on wealthysound.com


What scale are most songs written?

More than a third of all songs are in one of four keys: G major, C major, D major, and A major. That all of these keys are major keys is unsurprising — with the exceptions of A minor, E minor, and B minor, none of the minor keys were even able to break 4%.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on reddit.com


What is the happiest scale?

Ascending natural minor scales, M = 4.14, were rated as happier than descending natural minor scales, M = 3.13, F(1, 23) = 17.34, p < . 0001. Ascending harmonic minor scales, M = 4.05, were rated as happier than descending harmonic minor scales, M = 3.16, F(1, 23) = 17.26, p<.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on jstor.org


What scale is most rock music?

Pentatonic scales have 5 notes per octave (hence the name) and are arguably the most common among guitarists. The minor pentatonic is used heavily in blues and rock, with its shape being one of the easiest to learn.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on marshall.com