question about guitar scales and soloing

[relaxandreflect]

i have always been confused about the appropriate use of scales and soloing. i am primarily a rhythm guitarist, but would like to get better at soloing. i don't have a good understanding about when to use what scale. i've just always played what sounded right. for instance, if the song is a simple g-c-d progression, what key(s) would i use, and how would i know which scale(s) to use, like blues, pentatonic, mixolydian, etc? also, why would i use the scale with the song. i can do a little soloing by sound, but am self taught so never learned all the theory. any help is greatly appreciated.

[Curtis P]

reffer to the thread Basic Scales/Intervals for Beginners, all help will; come from there

Good luck!

Curtis

[Pex657]

If your planning to learn scales, I would check The Exercise Book by Adam Kadmon, it has scales coming out the wazu.

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/sid=04...ase_pid/908900/

[truerussian558]

memorizing scales is a stupid way to go, it will blow your brains as there are literrary thousands of scales out there, take a book on theory, or look in the thread curtis mentioned, its a lot better to learn how to construct different types of scales, since youll only have to memorize 20 or so things, instead of memorizing every single scale, plus theory and scale construction will improve your rythm playing, and will improve your improvisation skills imensly

[madcow]

i'm kind of beginnerwhn it comes to guitar, and guitar building, and this forum etc. in my band, me and th other guitarist switch off lead/rythm roles.

so: g-c-d i just solo in a simple C scale. i dunno what its called but my guitar teacher has called it a blues/rock scale. anyway, i have an asenal of riffs slach techniques that i use in whatever key im soloing in. I also use a scale that is "the white keyes on piano" (spanish scale?) hich is pret much the samething with more notes in between

[Ki swordsman]

scales intervals theory thread here

it needs a bump anyway

[Pex657]

I find nothing wrong with trying to learn scales by heart. It does take work and I am not saying learn everysingle one. But if you just go through and practice different scales it will increase your speed, theory, freestyling, and just in general make you a better player.

[Ki swordsman]

yeah, he was just saying it's more efficiant to learn how to create them

for instance modes, harmonic modes, and pentatonic together, you can learn 19 scales...

or if you know the theory you only need to learn 3... and you pretty much know the rest

[Sindlei]

i dunno what its called but my guitar teacher has called it a blues/rock scale. anyway, i have an asenal of riffs slach techniques that i use in whatever key im soloing in. I also use a scale that is "the white keyes on piano" (spanish scale?) hich is pret much the samething with more notes in between

sounds like you're talking about minor pentatonic scale and C major scale.

[kenneth_b]

To answer the original question...

Check out these lessons, from Fareed Haque:

http://www.fareed.com/lessons.html

Jazz Theory Made Simple and Jazzy Sounds for Rockers should get you started on how to start soloing. Fareed's main points are to learn arpeggios for each chord form you want to solo over, and then mix these into the soloing you are already doing.

So, you ask about a G-C-D progression. Well, that looks like a blues I-IV-V to me. Some things you could try would be a G major scale or a G blues scale (minor pentatonic). But, that can get boring. Mix in riffs around the G7(9, 11, #11, 13) over the G chord, and so on for the other chords. When using arpeggios, just land on a note in the arpeggio, you can come into it from a note above or below it. Also, any note sounds cooler if you slide into it

See if those free lessons don't help you, Fareed's a great teacher.