Scale choices and chords

[zappa121]

Firstly, apologies for demanding answers immediately after joining the forum. As an intermediate player I'm sometimes left confused about which scale to select over certain chord progressions. Taking for example a chord progression made of C major, G Major and A minor (in C) is it acceptable to play the relevant scale over each chord (eg. C major pentatonic over C major; G major pent. over G major; A minor pent. over A minor), or is it advisable to stick to the scale of the key over the entire progression. Obviously this is the case when playing changes in jazz etc., I'm thinking more about rock/ funk styles.

[Bilbo]

Depends entirely on what you want to achieve. The pentatonics you refer to are correct but they are just one option. You could play a G major scale right through but it would sound busier but not much.

[hollywoodrox]

Chord tones and arpeggios are an excellent and musical way to play over chords check out carolkaye.com she has some excellent literature and information, it is relatively cheap and arrives quickly from overseas, she has some good stuff and its not just for jazz it can be applied to rock too she has a rock funk bass cd and guide and her basic bass dvd is supposed to be awesome too. heres an excerpt from one of her forum posts.
[color=#000000][font=Times][size=1]
[font="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"][size="2"][color="#804000"]Progressions are just that, chord changes usually something to do with the cycle (see above). It's best to not get too technical ("this has got to fit into that") and more important to hone in on the real soloing - I teach a different way in the sense I get you going immediately knowing all this stuff and using it in walking on chord charts (even if you haven't had years of theory, you can learn this rather practical and find it easy to get started right) and I don't fool around with so many technical terms that don't mean that much in actual playing.[/color][/size][/font][/size][/font][/color][color=#000000][font=Times][size=1]
[font="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"][size="2"][color="#804000"]Many kinds of funky-rock-blues-soul etc. patterns are all in my books and of course the Jazz Improv For Bass and Pro's Jazz Phrases (as well as Elec. Bass Lines No. 6) have fine jazz patterns also. The word "shapes" is sort of a new term - not used that much in actual teaching I think....meaning the chordal note shapes....more for guitar. Not that necessary for bass...and is taking the place of the former "box" term imo -- chordal notes used to be called that.[/color][/size][/font][/size][/font][/color]

[Coilte]

[quote name='hollywoodrox' timestamp='1375550892' post='2162852']
Chord tones and arpeggios are an excellent and musical way to play over chords
[/quote]

+1...as well as approach notes etc.

OP, while scales are very important, equally so are chord tones and arpeggios. In the progression you mention, why not simply play the actual chord itself ? i.e. 1,3,5,7 and 1,b3,5,b7 (for the minor chord). You could use inversions of these too, such as 3571 etc.

Check out this link :


[url="http://www.studybass.com/lessons/bass-chord-patterns/chord-tones-are-primary/"]http://www.studybass...es-are-primary/[/url]


The site itself is well worth while spending some time on.

Edited August 3, 2013 by Coilte

[Guest bassman7755]

[quote name='zappa121' timestamp='1375526698' post='2162487']
Firstly, apologies for demanding answers immediately after joining the forum. As an intermediate player I'm sometimes left confused about which scale to select over certain chord progressions. Taking for example a chord progression made of C major, G Major and A minor (in C) is it acceptable to play the relevant scale over each chord (eg. C major pentatonic over C major; G major pent. over G major; A minor pent. over A minor), or is it advisable to stick to the scale of the key over the entire progression. Obviously this is the case when playing changes in jazz etc., I'm thinking more about rock/ funk styles.
[/quote]

The its really not possible to give definitive answers to "what do I play over such-and-such chords" type questions as there are a lot of other variables at work. A lot depends on the genre and how the other musicians in the band are interpreting the harmonies: this will determine how strict or "out" you can play, whether "blue" notes, chromatics etc will fit, whether you play more key centric or chord centric etc.

Edited August 4, 2013 by bassman7755

[zappa121]

Great, thanks for the replies.

[Gust0o]

[quote name='bassman7755' timestamp='1375582188' post='2163176']
The its really not possible to give definitive answers to "what do I play over such-and-such chords" type questions as there are a lot of other variables at work. A lot depends on the genre and how the other musicians in the band are interpreting the harmonies: this will determine how strict or "out" you can play, whether "blue" notes, chromatics etc will fit, whether you play more key centric or chord centric etc.
[/quote]

I think I bump into this a lot, at least in my own head. As I've come to understand more, I've found myself with more options - and it's almost become a barrier. Much as with the OP, I then wonder what I could (or [i]should[/i]) play, and it takes a lot of effort to work out that there's more than just one answer.

Slowly getting there!

[Guest bassman7755]

[quote name='Gust0o' timestamp='1377091645' post='2183231']
I think I bump into this a lot, at least in my own head. As I've come to understand more, I've found myself with more options - and it's almost become a barrier. Much as with the OP, I then wonder what I could (or [i]should[/i]) play, and it takes a lot of effort to work out that there's more than just one answer.

Slowly getting there!
[/quote]

Your understanding of harmony will only allow you gauge how resolved or unresolved a particular note will sound (the amount of "tension") in a given context - but there is no formula for determining how much tension is appropriate at a given moment, that is purely down to taste/feel/convention etc.