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Playing with backing track question


HALSAM00

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Posted

I get alot of enjoyment from playing with backing tracks, if a track is in the key of Am, am I to assume I can use the Am blues scale?

 

Maybe I am not asking this correctly, I have backing tracks mostly blues based and they give me what key they are in. Thanks to the internet I have printouts of fret boards with blues scale in different keys. I noticed the fingerings are all the same just different locations on the fretboard, so I started to memorize the fingerings, they are in different locations on the fretboard but the fingerings are the same.

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Posted

If you want to do a bluesy solo over a chord progression that's in Am, than yes, you can use the Am blues scale.

However a lot of rock that is in Am will have a chord progression like Am - F - G where a standard Am scale would be more appropriate IMO - but it really depends on the sound you are going for.

Personally, I think both about the Key and the chord when I'm soloing. For example, I know that the song is in Am and that the current chord is an F chord. Therefore, I'll use the notes that make up the F chord (F - A - C) as the base for my solo at that point. When the chord changes to say a G, I'll then use those notes (G - B - D) as the base, etc.

If you use strictly an Am blues scale (A-C-D-D#-E-G) to solo over the F and the G, you lose the third of the G chord and the root of the F chord.

If that makes sense. :blah::blah:

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Posted

It does make sense!

SO I need to figure out what chords are being played in my backing tracks and use the notes in the chords in my solo.

 

SO how do I figure out which chords are being played?

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Posted

Figure out the notes being played on the chords.

 

Then you can emphasize them better. I've been practicing the chord tone (not strictly but emphasizing chord notes) and my phrasing has improved since. Before it was like a drunk driver, drivind around but without direction. Now I feel like I know better where I'm going. But it takes time.

 

I do it this way:

 

I got a song on the guitar pro software (its almost midi sound but its better trough RSE) and for example if you got a 4 bar progression what I do first is put the first bar to repeat itself 99 times, so I can figure out the notes of the chord are, the rythm, etc. When it feels better I add the second bar (and put 99 repeats of both bars together), so I can play the notes of both chords and put a smooth transition between chords instead of a clashing one.

 

And so on, until the full progression is being played in the background.

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Posted

And like Jasco said in another thread.

 

You don't need to play strictly the notes of the chord (wich in most cases would be 3 notes (on a major or minor chord)). But starting and ending on those notes is what you are looking for.

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Posted

You can play major or minor pentatonic scales over most 1-4-5 blues progressions and they'll both sound good. Definately be aware of the changes and the arpeggios that make up those chords.

But really you have 12 notes to work with and any note is fair game...

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Posted

You don't need to play strictly the notes of the chord (wich in most cases would be 3 notes (on a major or minor chord)). But starting and ending on those notes is what you are looking for.

 

 

Exactly. If you took what I said to mean ONLY use the notes in the chord, that's my bad. Use them as "landing spots".

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