Click here to head to
premierguitar.com/jan2011
to hear sounds clips of these examples.
Chord
Tones:
13th Root 9th
11th 5th
13th Root 9th
11th 5th
13th Root
5
8
6
8
5
7
5
7
5
8
5
8
Fig. 4 Fig. 4
A minor Pentatonic
C minor Pentatonic
G minor Pentatonic
F Blues scale
D minor Pentatonic
C Blues scale
E minor Pentatonic
D minor Pentatonic
A minor Pentatonic
E minor Pentatonic
“A simple way to gain a new perspective of
the fretboard and discover new sounds is to
use a pentatonic scale based on a note other
than the root.”
use a unique combination of
scales, arpeggios, and passing
tones to create their own voice.
One exercise I learned when first
getting into this was to create
some rules when soloing. In the
heat of the moment on a gig, you
want to be as free as you can,
but for practice purposes, such
self-imposed rules help you dig
deeper into the material.
should be. In a few instances, I’ve
listed a blues scale in order to keep
the melodic content grounded
and remind the listener that this is
indeed a blues progression.
Here are a couple of simple
rules to get these new applica-
tions under your fingers:
•;Over;dominant;chords,;try
using a minor pentatonic scale
that has its root either a perfect
fifth or a perfect sixth above the
chord’s root.
•;Over;minor;chords,;use;a
minor pentatonic scale located
a whole-step or a perfect fifth
above the chord root.
The goal of any new musical
application is to blend it into
your own vocabulary and style.
Set up a drone or loop a chord
progression and explore how
the sound of each scale changes
over different chords.
JASON SHADRICK is
an associate editor of PG,
and he as been mixing
blues, jazz, and rock since
he first picked up a guitar.
Mostly because nobody
told him not to. He has
degrees in Music Business and Jazz
Pedagogy, and he previously worked with
Lower Dyad Records and the National
Guitar Workshop.
