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I’ve been away from the forum for a while as my wife was diagnosed with cancer last year so I’ve had to put ‘proper’ learning on the back burner for a while. Still have to really, but I’ve been keeping an eye on lessons and watching what I can.
The latest (EP269) is amazing and is right up my street so I’ve been trying to understand the theory of it some more. It just so happens I’ve also stumbled across the Andertons Rutbusters series – specifically episode 5 regarding the major scale and chords in the key. So I thought to test myself I’d apply what I thought I’d learned to EP269.
So… am I correct in thinking that all the chords used in EP269 (with the exception of the Bb) are in the key of C major and that the C major scale would work all the way through the piece? And I think when Brian gets to the Bb he plays two notes out of the chord rather than staying in the C major scale? Does that sound correct?
There is a section where on the F chord Brian hits two notes from the D shape F chord and these notes are also in the C major scale?
I think this is what I’m finding hard to get to that next level. I have to concentrate so hard to remember scale positions that I can’t process the upcoming chords to pick notes from them and all my improvisations end up like noodling up and down a scale.
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Jon
I’m sorry to hear of your wife’s diagnosis. You have our support & prayers
You are correct that Brian plays 2 notes of the Bb chord in that measure but keep in mind also that Bb is the flatted 7th of the C major scale and it is the note used to be the difference between a C dominant 7 chord and a C major 7 chord. In this case, the overall harmony of using the Bb chord sounds OK in this progression.
The D chord is built from the notes D, F# and A so the F# isn’t necessarily in the C major scale but the 2 notes that Brian has in the tab is the D and A notes – both in the C major scale.
Chord tone soloing is something that all major players do and some notes sound better against the progression than others. Suggest that you play the backing track and play one note at a time from the C minor pentatonic scale against the chord being played and see how well it sounds. If you use a player that you can loop a section of one chord at a time, loop each chord and play thru the scale just listening to how it harmonizes. Play each note several times against a chord to get a really good idea of how it sounds.
Once you’ve worked thru the minor pentatonic scale, repeat the process with the major pentatonic
Sometimes chords like the Bb in EP269 work in a progression just because they do and I try not to reason too deeply into it. If it sounds good and doesn’t clash, go for it. If it does clash and sounds harsh – LOL I tell people its advanced jazz and they wouldn’t understand
Just be cautious not to try to find the corner of the igloo and get stuck in the process. Sometimes we, as adults, tend to overthink things. Personally, I’ve learned to give some attention to subjects like this, move on and at some point in the future, it clicks with me.
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Arnie Berle was a regular contributor to Guitar Player magazine in its early days, he was an great player and teacher in the style of Jazz and Big Band. He wrote a book entitled Chords & Progressions for Jazz & Popular Guitar – it can be a little dry but the overall knowledge of chord theory that he passes on is invaluable. Its a good reference to have available as you are moving forward in your playing
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There are several ways you can explain it. Basically, when the song goes to Bb and then to F, you have temporarily moved to the key of F. The I IV And V chords in F are F Bb and C. For improvising using major scale, you can think of using the F major scale instead of C, or think of playing the note Bb instead of B. Or you can get fancy and think of playing Bb Lydian over the Bb (which is the same notes).
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