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Over Chords
Soloing
Over Chords
How to solo over individual
chords
Before we move on to learning how to solo over chord changes, we need to
first understand how to solo over individual
chords. How to match a scale to a chord.
The chords you solo over ultimately determine which scales you can use.
In a nutshell, the tones you use in your solo should be compatible with
the tones being used in the backing chord. However, you can often add
tones not used by the backing chord in your solo. The fewer tones being
played in the background, the more room you have, as a lead guitarist,
to build on it.
Once you can identify the chord type being played, you'll know which scale(s) you can play over it and use it effectively in your soloing.
Take your time...
The
basics of soloing over chords
Step 1 - what
is the root note of the chord?
First, you need to identify the root note
of the chord you're playing over. The root note is always
included in the name of the chord - E
major, A
minor, C#
diminished etc. For example, if the chord was E major,
the root note would be E,
therefore that would also be the root note of the scale we choose to
solo with.
In the chord and scale diagrams I use on this site, the root note is
clearly marked as 1.
You need to be able to identify the chords you'll be playing over so
you can identify their root notes. It's important, therefore,
that you have a good grasp of how chords are constructed on guitar
(this is covered in the chord section).
Step 2 -
major or minor?
The first, and arguably the most important distinction musicians tend
to make is that between major and minor. By identifying the chord
you're playing over as major or minor, you'll know to use a major or
minor scale.
A major chord will contain the following tones...
Root (1) - 3rd
(3) - 5th (5)
This is known as the major
triad, and the scale you're using to solo over the major
chord should include these tones. Naturally, you'll learn which scales
include the major triad tones as you learn them (there are many scales
you can learn in the scales section of this site).
Take the Mixolydian scale for example. This scale contains the major
triad tones (1 3 5), so this could be an option for using over a major
backing chord...
There are many other major scales (scales that use the major triad
tones) you can learn.
If the chord you're soloing over is a minor chord, it'll
contain the tones of the minor
triad...
Root (1) - minor
3rd (b3) - 5th (5)
You'll therefore need to choose a minor
scale, which will naturally include these triad tones.
For example, the natural minor scale includes the minor triad tones (1
b3 5), so that would be an option...
So, before anything else, you need to be able to identify the chord
you're playing over as major
or minor.
There are also two other basic chord types with their own triads - diminished (1 b3 b5) and augmented (1 3 #5), but we'll look
at those another time.
Step 3 - what
about the other scale tones?
When learning scales, you'll notice that in addition to the basic triad
tones, common across all major and minor scales, they also include
several other tones (e.g. 2, 4, 6, 7 + sharp and flat tones).
These non-triad tones can be seen as extensions of the
basic triads.
Much of the time, the backing chords you solo over will only use the
basic triad tones we looked at above. If so, and it's ideal, that gives
you the freedom to add in these additional tones and "dress" the basic
major or minor sound in your solo.
If, however, the backing chord includes tones in addition to the
basic triad, you need to be able to identify which tones these are to
ensure your solo/scale doesn't clash with the chord.
For example, if you're soloing over a 7th chord (a 4 note chord) such as
the example below, you'll need to make a mental note of which type of 7th it
uses...
That was an example of a major
7th chord, which means if you were to use the 7th in your
solo, it would also need to be a major
7th, to avoid clashing with the backing chord.
Again, as you learn individual scales, you'll naturally learn which
type of 7th they use.
The Lydian scale, for example, uses a major 7th (7), so that could be
an option for soloing over the major 7th chord above...
However, the Mixolydian scale uses a flat 7th (b7), so that would
need to be reflected in the backing chord if you were to use that tone
in your solo...
As well as the 7th, the backing chord could include other extension
tones (2, 4, 6, #4, #5, b9 etc.). Just like the 7th, you need to be
able to identify any additional non-triad tones so you can then know
which scale tones will be compatible in your solo.
In summary, the fewer tones the backing chord includes, the more tones
you have the option of adding in your solo.
You add to the depth of the backing chord's harmony through the scale
tones you play in your solo.
Scale Phrasing Basics >
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