Solo over static chord with falling bassline

[geezer]

Hey guys, this is a song I'm trying to solo over. In bars 9-10 there is a descendning bassline over a static chord (Em). Using the blues scale seem to work fine, but are there any other ways to approach it? Thanks!

[kris]

I use such basic scales:

E min melodic
E min penta
B min penta
cobinations :
B min penta + E min penta
or B min penta + F# min penta

Gmaj7 arpeggio

[Strat-itis]

It's actually not too terrible of a movement to solo over.

It's not required that you outline that descending bass line in your melody, although it's a bonus if you do.

There's also not a required tonality either. You don't have to change it to fit each bass note drop, just pick a tonality you like, or a few.

I think in groups of function for minor:

Tonic minor: natural minor, melodic minor, harmonic minor, minor 6 / diminished
Subdominant: dorian
Blues: blues scale, pent

The descending bass line implies its descending from a tonic, so I would start there.

[John A.]

+ 1 to what Kris said. But also, instead of thinking of it as a static E minor with a moving bass note, try thinking of it as either |Emin EminMaj7|Emin6 Emin7| or as |Emin|A7| and apply whatever or scales or devices you might use if those changes were notated explicitly. Kris's ideas cover that, but you might also throw in E Dorian, and since you're eventually heading toward A7 and then ii V7 I in G in you can anticipate those changes with A blues and/or A minor pentatonic ideas. Or try going outside a little with Bb minor ideas.

[AllanAllen]

Knowing which scales are theoretically correct never helped me.


In a Sentimental Mood by Duke Ellington

This movement is in D- for bars 1-2 and G- for bars 3-4 of every A section. Lots of people do this song so there is a wealth of vocabulary for you to pull from.

[garybaldy]

Django, and who would argue with him, basically ignores the movement. Dinah.pdf

[joe2758]

As stratitis said, "tonic minor" is what i'd play-- and also agreeing with Alan, not the scale but the vocab I've learned that stemmed from those scales.
And also agreeing with Django in that I ignore it basically

[kris]

Knowing which scales are theoretically correct never helped me.


In a Sentimental Mood by Duke Ellington

This movement is in D- for bars 1-2 and G- for bars 3-4 of every A section. Lots of people do this song so there is a wealth of vocabulary for you to pull from.

I always combine theory with practice... and vice versa.
Besides, I have to listen to what I'm playing... I have to keep it in my head.

[kris]

As stratitis said, "tonic minor" is what i'd play-- and also agreeing with Alan, not the scale but the vocab I've learned that stemmed from those scales.
And also agreeing with Django in that I ignore it basically

You need to be able to combine new phrases based on scales... This is what we should strive for.
Vocab is OK, but it's only part of the improvisation technique.

[joe2758]

boy never thought of it that way

[mr. beaumont]

Strange little tune in that it seems like those chords "should" be hanging around twice as long...but whatevers...

Style is important. This seems like it's going to be a old school swing tune or a "Django" style thing, so I'm going to play up to that minor cliche as much as possible (by working a descending E-Eb D Db at the top of my line), at least on my first and last chorus. In between, it's just not hanging around very long...I can make a few examples in a video, hang on...

[pamosmusic]

+ 1 to what Kris said. But also, instead of thinking of it as a static E minor with a moving bass note, try thinking of it as either |Emin EminMaj7|Emin6 Emin7| or as |Emin|A7| and apply whatever or scales or devices you might use if those changes were notated explicitly. Kris's ideas cover that, but you might also throw in E Dorian, and since you're eventually heading toward A7 and then ii V7 I in G in you can anticipate those changes with A blues and/or A minor pentatonic ideas. Or try going outside a little with Bb minor ideas.

This one … though it could maybe be easier as Em, B7, Em7, A7

[AllanAllen]

I always combine theory with practice... and vice versa.
Besides, I have to listen to what I'm playing... I have to keep it in my head.

Lots of people say they improvise off knowing which scales fit, it just doesn't work for me. My personal opinions and preferences shoudl not be taken as ground truth.

You need to be able to combine new phrases based on scales... This is what we should strive for.
Vocab is OK, but it's only part of the improvisation technique.

This is what I do use technically correct scales for, but it's still an exercise on my couch, and the vocab always, always, comes first.

[Strat-itis]

+ 1 to what Kris said. But also, instead of thinking of it as a static E minor with a moving bass note, try thinking of it as either |Emin EminMaj7|Emin6 Emin7| or as |Emin|A7| and apply whatever or scales or devices you might use if those changes were notated explicitly. Kris's ideas cover that, but you might also throw in E Dorian, and since you're eventually heading toward A7 and then ii V7 I in G in you can anticipate those changes with A blues and/or A minor pentatonic ideas. Or try going outside a little with Bb minor ideas.

This one … though it could maybe be easier as Em, B7, Em7, A7

At the risk of supporting my detractors, I do think these are good ideas for if you want to outline the movement.

[pamosmusic]

At the risk of supporting my detractors, I do think these are good ideas for if you want to outline the movement.

Mortal enemies.

[Strat-itis]

Well at least you're admitting it. Only took you 3 years of implications.

[pamosmusic]

Well at least you're admitting it. Only took you 3 years of implications.

oooooooooooh it’s been months since we’ve had a spicy altercation. We’re basically best friends by the standards of this place.

[Strat-itis]

[wolflen]

oooooooooooh it’s been months since we’ve had a spicy altercation. We’re basically best friends by the standards of this place.

Standards??..in here....

[Mick-7]

Lots of people say they improvise off knowing which scales fit, it just doesn't work for me.

Focusing on chord tones is better - learning how to connect them, but then 2 consecutive chords in a scale = that scale.

[Mick-7]

Hey guys, this is a song I'm trying to solo over. In bars 9-10 there is a descendning bassline over a static chord (Em). Using the blues scale seem to work fine, but are there any other ways to approach it? Thanks!

That's a common chromatic descending line over/under a I minor chord, e.g., in E minor: #7(D#) > b7(D) > 6th(C#). In other words, it's all just minor: natural minor, harmonic minor, melodic minor, etc. But these chord tones should not be written as Eb, D & Db over an Em chord.

[AllanAllen]

Focusing on chord tones is better - learning how to connect them, but then 2 consecutive chords in a scale = that scale.

Yeah, I guess my technique isn’t so different after all.

R 3 5 7 9 11 13… oops that’s a scale I call by another name.

[mr. beaumont]

Playing it now, if you don't want to highlight the descending line in your improv, you can really just anticipate the A7 in the second bar of the CESH...

So a bar of E minor, a Bar of A7, then A7 to D7 in the next two bars.

[Christian Miller]

Hey guys, this is a song I'm trying to solo over. In bars 9-10 there is a descendning bassline over a static chord (Em). Using the blues scale seem to work fine, but are there any other ways to approach it? Thanks!

I would think ‘there’s a thing in E minor’


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[kris]

Lots of people say they improvise off knowing which scales fit, it just doesn't work for me. My personal opinions and preferences shoudl not be taken as ground truth.





This is what I do use technically correct scales for, but it's still an exercise on my couch, and the vocab always, always, comes first.

I mean building melodies built on appropriate scales, not playing and practicing scales.