Playing a minor scale over a major chord?

[Suckbird]

Since the minor scale is a mode of the major this would work right?

I could play notes from the Aminor scale on a C chord?

If so i could play any mode over major chord?

This is getting weird...

[fralim01]

Originally Posted by Suckbird

Since the minor scale is a mode of the major this would work right?

I could play notes from the Aminor scale on a C chord?

If so i could play any mode over major chord?

This is getting weird...

Of course your could, but no matter how hard you tried to play in A minor, it would just sound like a C major chord...

[slybass3000]

One other diatonic scale on the minor side is E MINOR PHRYGIAN which is the actual extension of the major scale.
SB

[::::BASSIST::::]

I learned the natural minor scale which also is the major scale so that C=AMINOR D=BMINOR G=EMINOR etc

saves having to learn two totally different sets of patterns one for major and one for minor.

[Llama's Rage]

yeah, the minor third of a minor key is the relative major
so

Amin = Cmaj
Bbmin = C#maj
Bmin = Dmaj
...

if you want a way to visualize this as an easy way of remembering, take an inverted power chord, with your third finger on the root on the E string. your first finger is on the relative major.

[endorka]

On a related but slightly different note: what has always fascinated me is how you can sometimes play notes from a minor scale over the major chord with the same root. For example, Jack Bruce does this in "Strange Brew", where he frequently uses C during an A7 chord. Sounds great too - the fact that the guitar is quite choppy probably helps.

I'm assuming this is just standard blues scale stuff...

Jennifer

[slybass3000]

Yeah good call Jen.
It is possible to play a blues scale over a major chord with a minor seven in it. It's very very commun in blues. The regular blues scale as a minor sound because it doen't have the major third in it but the minor third and it can be useful in a blues with major chords with the dominant sound,when used wisely.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Suckbird
Since the minor scale is a mode of the major this would work right?

I could play notes from the Aminor scale on a C chord?

If so i could play any mode over major chord?

This is getting weird...


Of course your could, but no matter how hard you tried to play in A minor, it would just sound like a C major chord...

It all depends on what you do. If you are soloing on top of something that sounds like a C chord then using your A min scale is gonna be fine especially if you start and finish on the a, it is going to sound like a C6 chord. As a bass player we tend to think solo starting on the root and finish on the root which doesn't open a lot of doors melodically. That is why it is good to use the extended scale theory like using the scales built on the VI and III degre in major for example.

The other very important thing about this is if you play the bass line, no matter how hard the band will play the C major chord if you play the A note instead of C then it is gonna sound like an A minor because the harmony start from the ground up so
POWER 2 THE BASS

SB