Major Minor Mode Mixture- Thoughts/Ideas/Concepts

[RockportTele64]

One of the ideas, if you will, that I have seen and try to follow on using major/minor modes when soloing is as follows:

(Assuming a song with a I-IV-V type progression, like a shuffle)

When the one chord is playing, use the major pentatonic scale for the one chord.

When the four chord is playing, use the minor pentatonic or blues scale for the one chord.

When the five chord is playing play the minor pentatonic or blues scale for the five chord.

So for example, if playing in the key of E,

When E7 is playing use notes from the E major pentatonic scale.

When A7 is playing use notes from the E minor or blues scale.

When B7 is playing use notes from the B minor or pentatonic scale.


So here are my questions:

1. How many of you have done this or try to do this?

2. For those that do, how much emphasis do you put on having notes that overlap between both the E minor and B minor scale when playing over the five chord?

The reason I ask is that it seems that when I try to play the B minor pentatonic or blues scale over the B7 chord, I I pick notes that dont overlap both E minor pentatonic and B minor pentatonic they can sound very out of place and not blues all. When the wheels really fall off, they can damn near sound like a wrong note out of the key....

So getting back to my example.

E7 chord is playing, I am playing riffs and notes out of position 1 of the E major scale (9th through 12th frets), perhaps focusing on the third and fourth string (playing the ninth and eleventh frets on those strings). Then the four chord starts playing. I can either go to position 5 of the minor pentatonic scale and keep everything rooted over the ninth fret OR I can slide up to play position 1 on the 12th fret. Cool, sounds good. BUT THEN THE FIVE CHORD GETS PLAYED

I go to position 1 of the b minor/blues scale. It can sound kind of weird if I play anything outside of notes that also line up with position 4 of the E minor pentatonic scale, so the 7th and 9th fret of the third and fourth string. If I try to play the high E string notes of the b minor scale over the B7 chord it can sound weird.

Maybe I just need to find some new or better riffs when doing this....

And not to worry, I PROMISE I don't get in my head hardly at all when actually playing, but I do try to take notice of what I like and don't like and what does and doesn't sound good (to me).


So how do you guys mix major and minor scale ideas when soloing?

Cheers and happy playing.

 

[snarf]

I think in BGU (towards the end - the chapter before Solo 5 I think) Griff talks about playing the major pent over the I and the minor pent over the IV and V. That's generally what I try to do. So, in your example, it'd be the E major pent over E and E minor pent over A and B. The other thing that I will do sometimes, and only if I'm going for a strictly major sound, is to play follow the chord. Play the E major scale over the E, the A major scale over the A, and the B major scale over the B. But you have to be real careful doing that and follow the chords closely or it will get sideways pretty quickly.

 

[Paleo]

E7 chord is playing, I am playing riffs and notes out of position 1 of the E major scale (9th through 12th frets), perhaps focusing on the third and fourth string (playing the ninth and eleventh frets on those strings). Then the four chord starts playing. I can either go to position 5 of the minor pentatonic scale and keep everything rooted over the ninth fret OR I can slide up to play position 1 on the 12th fret. Cool, sounds good. BUT THEN THE FIVE CHORD GETS PLAYED

I go to position 1 of the b minor/blues scale. It can sound kind of weird if I play anything outside of notes that also line up with position 4 of the E minor pentatonic scale, so the 7th and 9th fret of the third and fourth string. If I try to play the high E string notes of the b minor scale over the B7 chord it can sound weird.

Let's take a look at your example keeping everything on the 3rd and 4th string

When playing E Major over the I7 in Box 1 and E minor over the IV7 in Box 5, your root, E, is at the 9th fret of the 3rd string.

The 5, B, is at the same fret on the 4th string. You're probably playing both with your 1st finger.

When you move down a whole step to play B minor, that B is now the root and E is a 4, both under your 3rd finger.

Your 1st finger is now on A (b7) on the 4th string and D (b3) on the 3rd string.

So if you now play the same riffs to the right from your 1st finger you're not playing from the root of B minor and going up to the higher strings might sound “weird”.

(Playing from the b7 or b3 would actually be 2 different “modes” of the B minor pentatonic scale.)

But if you're "oriented" from the B 4th string root and play B minor riffs to the left, the notes on the first string, B and D, are the root and b3 and should sound "normal". Although most folks will stay with E minor over the V.

In short, always think from the Root.

 

[RockportTele64]

In short, always think from the Root.

Thank you for your thoughts!

So when you say think from the root, and using my example, are you saying think from the E note (key of the song) or B (chord being played) as the reference from the root?

 

[Paleo]

Short answer: The root of the scale you decide to play.

Keep in mind that the song isn't actually in the "Key" of E. Each 7 chord is the V chord of a different Key.

E7 is the V7 of A Major.
A7 is the V7 of D Major.
B7 is actually the V7 of E Major.

So the only scale that "fits" over a Dominant 7 chord is the Dominant scale which is also the Mixolydian, which is the Major scale played from it's 5.

So E Mixolydian "fits" over the E7; A Mixolydian over the A7; B Mixolydian over the B7.

None of the pentatonic scales "fit" any of these chords, but being "close enough" is the sound of the blues.

So E is the root of both E Major over the E7 and E minor over the A7.

When you change to B minor over the V7, B is your root.

B D E F# A = 1 b3 4 5 b7

Playing the scale thinking of a different note as the tonal center would suggest a different "mode" of the scale.

Each note would become a different scale degree. D wouldn't be a b3 or A a b7.


Griff will often use the example of "mixing" A Major and minor and suggest you not use the "3 fret rule" of moving A minor Box 1 down 3 frets to play A Major. The same licks would actually be in F#m Box 1.