A minor chord over A major walking line

[behemecoytl]

there is a point in a song my band plays where I walk the bass up an A major arrpeggio, hitting the major 3rd... and my guitar player arrpeggiates an Aminor chord during that same time. i am aware that music theory is just a guide, and not rules set in stone... but it doesn't sound great to me. it's not a blues song, and the major and minor 3rds together are very dissonant, but i can't tell if it sounds totally out of place (need to get a recording)...

any experience with arrpegiated minor chords over a major scale walking line and how to deal with it?

[jallenbass]

Avoid the 3rd if he's not willing to change.

[dalkowski]

^ This.

[scottbass]

Originally Posted by jallenbass

Avoid the 3rd if he's not willing to change.

Or change your walk to the minor 3rd. Or accept the dissonance; EMBRACE the dissonance.

Try all these approaches and settle on whichever one you like best. Or play it different each time - that can be fun, too!

As Roger Daltry says: "It ain't (frick)ing opera!"

[Billnc]

Could sound bluesy, where pentatonic minor is played over major or 7th chords all the time.

[BassBob1]

I am too lazy to try and find it, but i think there is a youtube video with mike gordon playing some line in a minor scale over a the same major chord or vice versa. Major over minor/ minor over major can work just fine. But, if you don't think it sounds good, play around with different things till you do.

[behemecoytl]

Originally Posted by jallenbass

Avoid the 3rd if he's not willing to change.

thanks. i think you're right. in the song it's supposed to be a straight A major chord, not A7, but whatever... i'll just skip the major third and walk it like a myxolidian.

the guitar player doesn't know a minor 3rd from a Buick... so it's easier for me to adjust.

[Crazyeelboy]

I guess if you hit the major 3rd immediately after the guitarist hits the minor 3rd, it could sound kind of chromatic...

Just kidding - you are probably better off just avoiding the 3rd and gently talking a bit of theory to your guitarist.

[MNAirHead]

when in doubt the tonic or 5th

[Slax]

Originally Posted by behemecoytl

thanks. i think you're right. in the song it's supposed to be a straight A major chord, not A7, but whatever... i'll just skip the major third and walk it like a myxolidian.

the guitar player doesn't know a minor 3rd from a Buick... so it's easier for me to adjust.

Mixolydian is a Major mode.

If the guitarist plays the chord minor, I'd probably just play it minor or talk it over with him and work out what sounds best.

[nashvillebass]

The melody should imply the right chord to play. Why not show him how to play an A major chord? slide that C note up to a C# and the band is good to go.

[MNAirHead]

Another option is to play as low as possible (especially on a low b string)... then mute the overtones out..

[SLaPiNFuNK]

Is there only one guitarist? any other instruments playing?

You could walk over Major chords all day and a soloist play Minor 3rds over major chords all the time and it not sound out of place as long as they are not landing on the Minor 3rds on downbeats and other strong beats (used as passing notes)...

So it really depends on what else is going on... is there a keyboard player pounding out a Minor chord, another guitar player playing chords? is there a vocalist singing?

If you REALLY want to walk up a MAJOR scale during the chord / point of the song... if its a A Minor chord they are playing, then walk up a C Major scale or G Major scale... that will make things really fun

[behemecoytl]

just one guitar- power trio with a lead vocalist... so every note jumps right out at you.

thanks for all the suggestions. i mentioned this issue to the guitar player at our last rehearsal and he says that this is a guitar-trick to play minor chords over major. i told him it sounds bad, but he assures me it does not. i had heard of this before in blues where a minor chord is played over a 7th chord... and i think this is the "trick" the guitar player learned- and i think he learned it as a "trick" that can be applied anytime... and it's not clear that he listens to the results...

yes, myxolidian is a majorish mode, but if i leave out the major 3rd and enunciate flatted 7th, it will basically be minor right?

[slybass3000]

It is a very bluesy, musical sound.

The other way around would be too dissonant in most cases.

[Soul Power]

What I would do is walk from tonic to the second, and from the second chromatically move to the major third. You figure out the rhythm to make it work.

[DylanB]

I refer you to James Brown's 'Cold Sweat', as an example of where the rest of the band is playing minor stuff and the bassist is planting some big fat major 3rds in the bassline.

Doesn't mean it will work everywhere though!

[MalcolmAmos]

+ 1 to it's time for roots and fives. He is not going to change just move out of his way.

[M Sterling]

If you're playing over chords the minor 3rd can sound cool over a major/dom7 chord, or vice versa. If you are playing in unison, I can understand why you would think it sounds bad. Playing two notes that are a half step apart at the same time creates a minor 2nd which is the most dissonant interval.

[mambo4]

Is there specific, mutually agreed upon CHORD you're both supposed to be supporting at that exact moment, or are you both just riffing "in A"?

If there's a specific chord being asked for, forget about keys/scales and support that chord.

If you're just riffing, pick which ever line actually sounds best and get the other guy behind it.