Lesson 7: Part A, soloing over chord changes
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We're going to take this slowly for two reasons. *A. *This is where the level of comprehension for theory really become demanding, and B. *I'm a college student going through a week of 4 Exams, so I can't write all of this today, but we'll get started
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Now there are basically two approaches to soloing in a real world context. *What I mean by that is that there are very few times when someone in your band will hit an A Major chord and say, "Just solo over this dude!" *Most of the time, we must play over a
chord progression. *For instance, say you've got a mean run worked out in E Lydian. *As long as you play over E, it sounds great, but when you continue playing over other chords, it begins sounding a bit strange. *This goes back to the confusion in the last thread regarding modes. *The flavor (Mixolydian, Lydian, Phrygian) of a Mode is dependent upon what context it is played in. *Thus a D Major scale sound like E Dorian over a E chord.
So the idea here is either A. *choose one or more scales which sound good over all the different chords in the progression, OR to change modes with the progression. *Neither one is simple, but it's probably best to approach the first method I outlined.
So, to illustrate, let's make up a chord progression. *We'll take C as the root and use a typically rock-sounding I, IV, V progression. *Thus our chords will be C, F and G. *Now the notes C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C sound Ionian (or Major) over C. *Those same notes sound like F Lydian over F, and they sound Mixolyidan over G. *This is a fine example of using one set of notes over a progession to achieve an interesting solo. *Notice the different flavor the notes take on as they are played over each chord. *The same notes that sound happy when played over C, sound dreamlike and floating over F, and more bluesy over G. *This is the most common method of soloing. *Everyone from Santana, Neil Schon, ZZ Top, Vai have relied on this method with varying degrees of success. *Often the problem with this sort of approach is a perceived staleness to your licks. *Think "Freebird"
*There are a number of ways around this. *One great way is to throw in other notes. *Remember, what Edward
Van Halen once said, "Those notes that don't sound good, those are passing tones". *There's nothing wrong with adding a little tension to your playing. *Chromatic runs, passing tones and odd harmonic noises are all part of the variety. *Also, don't get boxed in by the major scale. *Just because you're using three chords doesn't mean you don't have versatility. *While you want to create a feeling of belonging in your solo, don't be afraid to use other modes. *C Dorian would be effective here as it does not affect the IV, or V. *Just be conscious to note that while Dorian may sound good over C, you may not like the feeling it gives you over the other chords in your progression. *Lastly, don't be afraid to experiment. *
Next time, soloing adaptively over chord changes.
ALSO, for your reference a few scales
Dorian, Flat the 3 and 7 of the major scale
Lydian, Sharp the 4 of the major scale
Mixolydian, Flat the 7 of the major scale
There are tons more which I hope to post when I get home tonight, but these are some mentioned in the lesson
CLASS DISMISSED!! PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE!!!
