Is there a trick? Blues scale thingaminy...

[bullshark]

Hi,

Got this chords sequence over a bassline and I tried to find a blues scale that would sound good with it. I'm having trouble, is there a trick to it?

Two chords that I'm playing with:

G: G-B-D
D#m7: D#-A#-C#-F#

Sounds like this.

So, am I stuck with going trough all the scales with a process of elimination, or is there a trick to it?

Thanks.

[sante]

How about G pentatonic scale ??, should be a perfect fit!

[sante]

SO:

G - A# - C - C# - D - F - G

[bullshark]

Cool

But..."teaching a man to fish" and all that, how did you come to that finding? Just experience and your ears, or is there a formula of some kind?

[Toxikator]

No, there is no blues scale that will sound good with it, in the sense that it uses tones which aren't PART of the blues scale. I guess that doesn't mean it won't still sound good, but...

A blues scale, btw, is THIS (root notes only)

I-iii/III-IV-bV-V-vii/VII-I (slashes indicate "crushed"/"blue" tones)

Since your second chord is built on a bvi (D#), it's inherently dissonant to the blues scale.

SO:

G - A# - C - C# - D - F - G

technically

G - Bb - C - C# - D - F - G, and the Bb and F would be heavily interchanged withB and F#

[bullshark]

Thanks Toxicator. The G penta scale seems to work allright thought, except for the "C#" which, while being part of the D#m7, sounds dissonant and not in a good way...and a mood killer. The "C", while not a part of the chords, seems to work allright thought, just guessing but probably because it's an even fifth from "G" which is the main tonality of the piece.

[musikjock]

ya know..you can always sit down and figure out what goes with what...thats why we have ears. But the key is to just follow along with the melody in your head and play accordingly. To me, the biggest thing is training of the ear. Once you have the melody in your head, let your fingers do the work. And don't be fooled by the 'just zone out and feel it approach'. Remember thinking is GOOD. Very good.

[musikjock]

Also, master arpeggios!

[Toxikator]

Understand that the G Pentatonic minor is NOT the same thing as the G blues scale, though. even with the tritone in it, it's not going to encompass the kind of playing that makes the blues. Of course, listening to your piece it's not really the blues anyway...

This is more what I'm talking about when I discuss the blues and blues scales.

[bullshark]

ya know..you can always sit down and figure out what goes with what...thats why we have ears. But the key is to just follow along with the melody in your head and play accordingly. To me, the biggest thing is training of the ear. Once you have the melody in your head, let your fingers do the work. And don't be fooled by the 'just zone out and feel it approach'. Remember thinking is GOOD. Very good.

Usually what I do, but on this one I had trouble...

Understand that the G Pentatonic minor is NOT the same thing as the G blues scale, though.

I understand that, but in this particular case it's even better for me as it further restrict the choice of notes...

even with the tritone in it, it's not going to encompass the kind of playing that makes the blues. Of course, listening to your piece it's not really the blues anyway...

Blues scales are so much more usefull than just for playing...the Blues. I use them all the time for other stuff. Just here, it didn't seem to work and I couldn't understand why, now I know, thank's.

[Toxikator]

Blues scales are pretty intrinsically connected to blues playing.

I mean if you were to do any sort of non-blues (or at least bluesy Jazz or Rock) performance of the scale C-Eb-E-F-F#-G-Bb-B-C it would sound terrible.

The thing about the blues "scales" is that they're highly conditional; certain notes ONLY get played in certain ways or at certain times.

[JumpingJackFlash]

My post Here contains details of all the standard scales, chords and arpeggios you should need.

[Toxikator]

Your post doesn't do the blues scale justice. You don't just play that scale, there's also heavy use of the major third and 7th. The minor third is often crushed to the third, and the major 7th is often a passing tone between the minor 7th and octave.

[JumpingJackFlash]

Your post doesn't do the blues scale justice. You don't just play that scale, there's also heavy use of the major third and 7th. The minor third is often crushed to the third, and the major 7th is often a passing tone between the minor 7th and octave.

True. The same can be said for any of the other scales. It is only meant as reference, not as the ultimate usage guide (which would take up far too much space!). I posted the link because it might be of interest to someone.

[BosseJo]

ya know..you can always sit down and figure out what goes with what...thats why we have ears. But the key is to just follow along with the melody in your head and play accordingly. To me, the biggest thing is training of the ear. Once you have the melody in your head, let your fingers do the work. And don't be fooled by the 'just zone out and feel it approach'. Remember thinking is GOOD. Very good.

Very well said. Train your ears, find the connection with what you hear and your playing ("fingers").