Improvising

[matts420music]

Ok, i know very little about guitar theory but i just have a few questions for i can play pretty much all daves songs and i want to start improvising some jams and what not with his songs. I guess my question is if i have the right idea on what to play.

for example
watchtower is played in the key of Am, which would be the major key of C, is this correct???

Also, if this is correct...to improvise in the key of C, do i use the C major scale???

Another example..(same basic question)

Say Goodbye is in A, so I would improvise using the A major scale????

Am I on the right track, if so any other begginer tips would be appreciated and if not, any help or corrections would be appreciated....THANKS!

[taparoo]

watchtower is played in the key of Am, which would be the major key of C, is this correct???

Yes, since the C major scale and the A minor scale are the same group of notes, that's 'okay'.

Also, if this is correct...to improvise in the key of C, do i use the C major scale???

Generally yes. But say you're playing blues and you want that minor/blues quality to it you could also play the Cminor scale. It all depends on the progression/chords you're playing over. there are a variety of scales at your disposal (for example, the different modes of the major/minor scales like mixolydian over 7th chords is common, and dorian, etc.)

Say Goodbye is in A, so I would improvise using the A major scale????

Again, yes, but you'd have to look at the chords you're soloing over to get an idea of what other scales you could use.

A great site that I've used for reference is http://www.jazzguitar.be/jazz_guitar_chord_theory.html.

Another very helpful site that shows fretboard diagrams of many different scales is http://www.looknohands.com/chordhouse/g ... ex_rb.html

[matts420music]

THANK YOU , can you perhaps give me an example of what you mean by.... depends on what progression/chords your playing over???? Thanks

[taparoo]

THANK YOU , can you perhaps give me an example of what you mean by.... depends on what progression/chords your playing over???? Thanks

For example, if the progression is Em D Am (Cortez The Killer), you could play the Em scale over all of those chords and it would sound good. Why? because the Em scale consists of the notes E F# G A B C D. Take a look at the notes in the chords - Em has the notes E, G, and B in it; D has the notes D F# and A; and Am = A C and E. So you can see that all of those notes in the chords are in the Em scale, so you won't really have to worry about hitting 'wrong' notes when playing the scale. You'll want to change your target notes, or notes you emphasize, when the chords change, though, like over the Em you'd generally want to emphasize the notes of the chord, E G B, and when soloing over D, you'd want to emphasize the notes D F# A, and so on. Make sense?

[Nuladion]

THANK YOU , can you perhaps give me an example of what you mean by.... depends on what progression/chords your playing over???? Thanks

For example, if the progression is Em D Am (Cortez The Killer), you could play the Em scale over all of those chords and it would sound good. Why? because the Em scale consists of the notes E F# G A B C D. Take a look at the notes in the chords - Em has the notes E, G, and B in it; D has the notes D F# and A; and Am = A C and E. So you can see that all of those notes in the chords are in the Em scale, so you won't really have to worry about hitting 'wrong' notes when playing the scale. You'll want to change your target notes, or notes you emphasize, when the chords change, though, like over the Em you'd generally want to emphasize the notes of the chord, E G B, and when soloing over D, you'd want to emphasize the notes D F# A, and so on. Make sense?

Do you have all the notes of the major scales memorized? I only know C Also, you know what each chord is made up of right? I can figure out that a D chord has a D, A, and F# in it, but should I memorize all those?

[taparoo]

THANK YOU , can you perhaps give me an example of what you mean by.... depends on what progression/chords your playing over???? Thanks

For example, if the progression is Em D Am (Cortez The Killer), you could play the Em scale over all of those chords and it would sound good. Why? because the Em scale consists of the notes E F# G A B C D. Take a look at the notes in the chords - Em has the notes E, G, and B in it; D has the notes D F# and A; and Am = A C and E. So you can see that all of those notes in the chords are in the Em scale, so you won't really have to worry about hitting 'wrong' notes when playing the scale. You'll want to change your target notes, or notes you emphasize, when the chords change, though, like over the Em you'd generally want to emphasize the notes of the chord, E G B, and when soloing over D, you'd want to emphasize the notes D F# A, and so on. Make sense?

Do you have all the notes of the major scales memorized? I only know C Also, you know what each chord is made up of right? I can figure out that a D chord has a D, A, and F# in it, but should I memorize all those?

I only have a few scales memorized and I have the open chords (G, D, A etc.) memorized. I've been getting a little rusty, though. I really should buff up on good ol theory. I would say that you should have the more common chords memorized like G, D, A, E, C, F, and B and know how they are built (root, 3rd, 5th, etc).

[onid41]

wow i dont know any of this

[taparoo]

wow i dont know any of this

It's really helpful stuff to know if you ever plan on soloing over something.

[matts420music]

so this is what i've understood, using watchtower as the example again.

when improvising, use the C major scale.
when the Am is being played emphasize A, E, C in the C Maj. Scale
when the G is being played emphasize G, B, D in the C Maj. Scale
when the F is being played emphasize F, A, C in the C Maj. Scale

[Nuladion]

so this is what i've understood, using watchtower as the example again.

when improvising, use the C major scale.
when the Am is being played emphasize A, E, C in the C Maj. Scale
when the G is being played emphasize G, B, D in the C Maj. Scale
when the F is being played emphasize F, A, C in the C Maj. Scale

I think so. And can't you also switch into those scales while that chord is being played without hitting a bad note?

[taparoo]

so this is what i've understood, using watchtower as the example again.

when improvising, use the C major scale.
when the Am is being played emphasize A, E, C in the C Maj. Scale
when the G is being played emphasize G, B, D in the C Maj. Scale
when the F is being played emphasize F, A, C in the C Maj. Scale

I think so. And can't you also switch into those scales while that chord is being played without hitting a bad note?

yes, matts420music is correct. I would think of the scale you're using as an Am scale, though, not a C major scale (even though those scales contain the same notes) simply because it might be easier for you to think "Am, okay, Am scale" instead of "Am, okay then I use the C major scale", see what I'm saying?

And,yes, you can also use the scale of the chord you're playing over, too for a different sound. Like over G you could play the G major scale and F the F major scale.

[matts420music]

so all major scales are the same pattern just on different frets.

[sfmartins]

so all major scales are the same pattern just on different frets.

[MakoMako]

All I can say, in concern to the question on the chord. If you memorize the scales, it tends to help out with being able to at least figure out what notes make up a chord. At least in general theory, I'm not 100% positive if its the exact same when working on a guitar, but I can't imagine it would be too different.

[matts420music]

would this work out, i don't have a guitar im at work so i'll have to critique later.

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