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What Scales to Play over a Song in a Major Key

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what scales to play over a song in a major keyThere are so many songs and so many scales. So what scales do you need to solo and improvise over a song in a major key? And what chords can you find in a major key?

First, when a song is in a major key, it means it’s based on a major scale. The song usually conveys a bright, happy or cheerful mood. There are seven chords that you can derive from that major scale. We’ll look into that in a few seconds.

To be able to improvise over a major key you also need a major type scale. The two most commonly used scales are the major scale and the major pentatonic scale.
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The Brilliant Benefits of The Blues Scale

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The Brilliant Benefits of The Blues ScaleThe pentatonic scale is a great scale to start out with when you’re learning to play lead guitar. But once you got that under your belt you can quickly move on to the blues scale. Even for guitar players who have kept their chops limited to the pentatonic scale for years, it will be enlightening to see how the blues scale can help out.

Although the blues scale doesn’t look that different from the pentatonic scale, the benefits are tremendous and can have a great impact on your soloing and creative expansion.

Let’s take a look at some of the reasons that make the blues scale such an important and valuable scale. We’ll show you how to play the pentatonic scale and the blues scale in different positions. And further we’ll explain how it can benefit, grow and open up your playing.
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10 Best Tools to Figure Out Guitar Songs and Solos

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10 Best Tools to Figure Out Guitar Songs and SolosBeing able to transcribe a song or guitar solo is a great skill that anyone can learn. One of the things that is really helpful developing and applying this skill, is to have some good solid tools that make this process as effortless as possible.

Back when I was 15 I had a cassette recorder with a slow down function, so I could figure out the notes of a guitar solo. The only problem was the slow down function also lowered the pitch when you’d slow down the song.

So when I had to deal with a fast blazing solo I set the pitch exactly an octave lower than the original key so I could transcribe the solo by ear. The downside was that some notes were so low they became undefinable and I couldn’t tell what notes they were playing anymore. :)

The tools we have today are something I could only have dreamed of back then. I’m not complaining, because I learned a lot from those limitations, but I also enjoy the benefits of the technology today. And oh, what makes it transcribing fun and easy!

Working out a song by ear is an important skill that is often overlooked. It takes your guitar playing to a higher level and gives you a deeper understanding and insight in many aspects of guitar playing. So, try to develop the skill of transcribing and use the appropriate tools to improve your skill and take it to the next step.

I created a list with the best tools that make the process of transcribing and learning a song or solo going as smooth as possible. These tools will help both guitar players who can already transcribe and guitar players who can you use some extra help.

Enjoy!

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The Fundamental Scales to Play over a Minor Key

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The Fundamental scales to play over a minor keyAccording to scientific american it seems that over the last few decades popular music has changed it’s course from major to minor keys.

A minor key means the song is in a key or mode based on a minor scale. The song usually has a more darker, melancholic or sad mood.

To be able to improvise over a minor key you need a minor scale. There are a lot different types of minor scales. Today we focus on the most important scales played over a minor key.

The two most used and fundamental scales are the natural minor scale and the minor pentatonic scale.

CHORDS
We can use the chords built from the natural minor scale to play these scales over.
The chord formula for the natural minor scale:
minor – diminished – major – minor – minor – major – major
Often notated as Roman numerals: i – ii – III – iv – v – VI – VII

For example we’re going to play chords in the key of “A” minor.
Apply the notes of the A natural minor scale: A – B – C – D – E – F – G to the chord formula.
You get the following chords: Am – Bdim – C – Dm – Em – F – G

You can use these chords to build any progression. A popular and common chord progression is Am G F G (i – VII – VI – VII) Continue Reading