Best notes\scales for these chords

**BigDaddyLoveHandles** · 06-26-2010, 12:52 PM

Originally Posted by IbanezAS100

..What kind of sound are you going for? If it's the 'modern' thing you're going for, how about some pentatonic pairs, off the root and fifth of each chord (same quality pent as the chord)? It will give you some hip sounds a la Rosenwinkel, Hekselman, Kreisberg etc...

e.g. Am Pent and Em Pent for Amin

I don't know what you mean by pentatonic pairs. Do you mean, for example, alternating phrases from one scale and then the other? So, over Amin, playing a phrase from Am Pent (A C D E G) then a phrase from Em Pent (E G A B D)? That seems very consonant to me. What about something a little crunchier, a little more tension?

**IbanezAS100** · 06-27-2010, 09:29 AM

Originally Posted by BigDaddyLoveHandles

I don't know what you mean by pentatonic pairs. Do you mean, for example, alternating phrases from one scale and then the other? So, over Amin, playing a phrase from Am Pent (A C D E G) then a phrase from Em Pent (E G A B D)? That seems very consonant to me. What about something a little crunchier, a little more tension?

Yes, that's what I meant and you're right,these notes will be consonant, as they're entirely diatonic. The initial post was about the 'right' notes to play. I was thinking more about cool ways of organizing lines and creating patterns with familiar material, and funnily enough many of the lines that the players who I mentioned play are entirely diatonic-it's the complex harmony that makes them sound fresh and modern. Also, as this is a modal progression, it feels appropriate to use some pentatonics (think Joe Henderson, Wayne, Coltrane etc)...

If however, you wanted a bit of tension (as the solo progressed), and obviously depending on harmonic rhythm, space etc, one of the infinite options is:

For m7 chords, root min pent and maj pent on the 2nd (Am, B)
(only one tension-raised 4/11, 9, 13 or Dorian raised 4 sound)

For maj chords, maj pent built on root and 2nd (Lydian sound)

My favourite approach is even simpler, with just triads (e.g.same pattern as above)

..and we could probably spend the rest of our lives finding more ideas to play over this!!!!!