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Overusing the Blues =/


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I seem to have gotten myself into a habit of over-using the blues scale because it is so damn cool. I dont know a great many scales but I always find that when Im just messing around with some soloing etc. Im very comfortable at using the blues scale. I wana stop doing this though. As although it sounds cool it's annoying aswell =/

 

Anyway, also, whilst Im making a post. Say Im using the blues scale to do some improved soloing. And say I start that solo on 3rd Fret E (G Blues Scale). What is a good way to learn what other blues scales will go well with that in the solo? Would it be say for example, if the song's chord progression fits in with the c major scale, that I would use any blues scales that would fit in with the c major scale? (i.e. C D E F G B A) Or am I a bit confused about what to use.. =/

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The blues scale itself will always have that 'blues' sound to it no matter where you play it from, so you can kind of force it on just about any scale degree and it will work, sort of.

 

 

If you take out that #4/b5 passing tone in the scale and just make it a regular pentatonic scale, then there are three places you can play it from in a key.

 

In a major key, you can play a minor pentatonic scale from the 2nd, 3rd, and 6th scale degrees. In the key of C major, that would be D minor pentatonic, E minor pentatonic, and A minor pentatonic. The corresponds to the fact that the three minor chords in the key of C major are Dm, Em, and Am.

 

If you think about it in terms of major pentatonics, that would be from the I, IV, and V. In C major, that would be C major pentatonic, F major pentatonic, and G major pentatonic.

 

 

 

 

However, pentatonics will always have that pentatonic sound to them, no matter where you start them from. If you really want to try some new sounds, try learning the major scale in all 5 CAGED positions on the neck. The major scale has a much different sound than the pentatonic or blues scales do.

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I took a look at the CAGED scale method a few days back. I recognised the E A and D barre forms as I have used them before and also they are all highly reminiscent of power chords. When I took a look at the scales I thought "Oh man I have to learn all of those off by heart?"

 

I use this site as reference..

 

http://www.rodgoelz.com/caged.htm

 

Im not sure what he means by "a new finger every 4 or 5 frets"

 

anyway when he says learn these scales in (all the standard keys) C D E F G B A to begin with. So basically just keep working on these CAGED patterns and change the root note to one of the afformentioned to change its key. Thus it becomes.. well what scale would it be called, a "CAGED C Fingering D Major Scale" seems a little bit of an OTT phrasing - would it just be referred to as a D Major scale if I followed the pattern in the key of D?

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Originally posted by TornadoShaunUK

I use this site as reference..


http://www.rodgoelz.com/caged.htm

 

 

That looks to be about the gist of it.

 

Im not sure what he means by "a new finger every 4 or 5 frets"

 

 

I think he's referring to the '1 finger per fret' rule of fingering, where you take a 4 fret span an assign one finger to each fret. Occasionally you have to reach 1 more fret on either side with your index or pinky fingers.

 

Thus it becomes.. well what scale would it be called, a "CAGED C Fingering D Major Scale" seems a little bit of an OTT phrasing - would it just be referred to as a D Major scale if I followed the pattern in the key of D?

 

 

If you're talking to a guitar player about finger, it's "CAGED C fingering D major scale" and to any one else it's "D major scale."

 

The bottom line is that's it's just D major. The CAGED system just gives you a logical way to approach fingering and learning the neck.

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Sure you could play the corresponding blues scale over each chord change. But why don't you try to step out of a strict blues scale. If you are playing over major or dominant 7 chords you could try opening in Gmajor pentatonic or G mixolydian for more of a jam band / rock feel then switch into minor (blues) scales over the changes for a traditional sound. Alternately you could reverse the process, opening in minor blues then using each corresponding relative major (or myxolydian mode) over the changes -always bringing you back to the tonic chord.

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