Your Favorite Scale?

[Kipp Harrington]

Care to share it with us?

Sure... it may be "part" of some existing, musically "legitimate" scale. But I wouldn't know, of course. I will try to post it later today when I'm done with the Saturday responsibilities. I must warn you however, I have never tried to scribe any such thing, so it will look pretty amateurish.

 

[maxschrek]

32" and, ironically, I don't own a single instrument built on that scale.

 

[BassChuck]

Love any scale with augmented second.
Hate the one in the bathroom.

 

[Rib 13]

any substitution mode that I can make work for a particular chord or phrase is my favorite at the time

and I also like using Mixolydian for #I

 

[sotua]

34", followed by 25.5"

 

[MontzterMash]

Usually G, usually minor, and I absolutely love how the various minors all work in different and related ways.

Historically and biologically, there’s some truly magical about the pentatonic scale. Recall seeing “Cave of Forgotten Dreams” (Wernor Herzog documentary about the human relics and art in a 30,000 year old cave) where they found an ice age flute tuned to the same pentatonic scale we use today. Magic.

 

[Kipp Harrington]

Care to share it with us?

Well... here it is. Descending in "D". I don't even think this is considered a scale, lol. I just think it sounds cool, especially if played rapidly. Sorry for the crudeness!

 

[Flamingo21]

Thanks.
At first sight, it might be D minor pentatonic. Tomorrow I'll take up a bass and try it out.

 

[Kipp Harrington]

Thanks.
At first sight, it might be D minor pentatonic. Tomorrow I'll take up a bass and try it out.

Cool, thanks!. I use it even when a song isn't in Dm. Lol. I use the same pattern for every key. Ignorance is bliss! Lol.

 

[eddybuzzard]

The Mandalorian Mode, of course!

It is, THE WAY!

 

[eddybuzzard]

Well... here it is. Descending in "D". I don't even think this is considered a scale, lol. I just think it sounds cool, especially if played rapidly. Sorry for the crudeness!View attachment 4149006

You have discovered a Dm pentatonic!
Play it over a F major, and you'll have a nice happy sound (because it's the same as a F major pentatonic )

 

[Kipp Harrington]

You have discovered a Dm pentatonic!
Play it over a F major, and you'll have a nice happy sound (because it's the same as a F major pentatonic )

Thanks, buzzard. I can't follow stuff like that...I just "play". Most the stuff I play is probably incorrect. Thanks for the feedback, though.

 

[Flamingo21]

@Kipp Harrington Believe it or not, that was the first time in my life I've played Tabs. So thanks for the experience.

Very clear writing, by the way.

 

[Kipp Harrington]

@Kipp Harrington Believe it or not, that was the first time in my life I've played Tabs. So thanks for the experience.

Very clear writing, by the way.

Thanks instrumentalist. And that's the very first time I wrote a tab... thanks for giving me that opportunity!

 

[JTE]

Diatonic major. Everything thing else for me is from that. Building chords, how the chords relate to each other, etc. Pentatonics come from there, as do what little utility modes have for tonal music, etc.

 

[Beff Juckley]

Diatonic major. Everything thing else for me is from that. Building chords, how the chords relate to each other, etc. Pentatonics come from there, as do what little utility modes have for tonal music, etc.

I hadn't thought of it that way.

 

[Spin Doctor]

I hadn't thought of it that way.

It's the most efficient way to think about it. You can build practically ANY scale from the major scale by changing at most two notes, or removing at most, two notes. Most of the time in western music, you only need to alter one note to get whatever random scale you want.

For example, say you want to play something obscure, like a Hirijoshi Pentatonic scale, which is a Japanese pentatonic, that's thousands of years old. Just take the Aeolian mode, which is all the same notes as the major scale, remove the 4th and 7th notes of the Aeolian, and there you go. That's all there is to it.

Want to play Melodic Minor? Take the Dorian mode and sharp the 7th.
Want to play Harmonic Minor? Take the Aeolian mode and sharp the 7th.

The major scale is the Rosetta Stone of music. And for whatever reason, people don't seem to take it seriously. Modes either, for that matter which is just a major scale shown from a different perspective..

 

[vvvmmm]

FWIW, as a lead guitarist who is often called upon to improvise, I start with a pentatonic. Sometimes I even start with the "correct" pentatonic, but sometimes it might be the 4th or the 5th. But once I figure that part out, it's pretty easy to figure out if I need a major 3rd or 7th or whatever in the pentatonic I'm in, or to change to the root pentatonic.

But as a bassist, I start with a pentatonic. (And it helps to use a lot of octaves and 5ths.)

 

[Beff Juckley]

It's the most efficient way to think about it. You can build practically ANY scale from the major scale by changing at most two notes, or removing at most, two notes. Most of the time in western music, you only need to alter one note to get whatever random scale you want.

It makes sense come to think of it. The biggest leap I've ever had in my playing came from just practicing the major scale, being able to play it all over the neck and in the different keys. It took a fair amount of the guesswork out of playing for me.

 

[Snarf]

I like the good scale. It's the best.