Shitty question on theory, a riff and a solo

[Exodus666]

Hi y'all

A friend of mine plays veeeeeery good (can play malmsteen and the like at high speed, ...), he's been playing for a year or three with a lot of practice, but he knows jack shit of theory.
I couldn't believe my ears when he said he didn't even know what pickups were :eek: :D

Anyway he needs to write a solo for this song but he (of course) doesn't know anything about scales. I know very little of theory as well so...

The supporting riff has three chords: (D, A# and G ?)

G----------------------------------------------
D----7-------3---------------------------------
A----5-------1-----5---------------------------
E-------------------3--------------------------

What scales/modes can he use to write a solo and are there any more details to pay attention to? Any more tips?

[Dyldo]

First off...it will take him forever to make a solo if he knows nothing of scales or notes; so have him learn the major scales: (http://www.metaltabs.com/forum/showthread.php?t=9339)

He would play the solo in G. So on the 3rd fret he would start of with..lets say Aeolian. Then if he learns his scales he can connect them and shred through all these scales:

Aeolian, Locrian, Ionian, Dorian, Phrygian, lydian, Mixolydian

As long as he is in G he should be fine. But really incourage him to learn at least 3-4 scales if hes apathetic about it. You could be the fasted shredder in the world, but with out any knowledge in theory he will be usless.

[Undying_Hatred]

Thats kind of how I am, Ive been playing for about 2 1/2 years and I can play pretty much anything but I dont know shit for hardware or scales.

[powersofterror]

here's a wicked sound....g harmonic minor a c# minor. Minor seconds and augmented 4ths, haha.

[Dyldo]

Seconds sound horrible....Grindcore!

[mctriple]

yah stick to the key of g minor. learn what the circle of 5ths is. when you're playin with a# (b flat) you can stay in g minor, so use the aeolian mode on g, which will mean you're playing in g minor or B flat major

[RUSSIANROULETTE]

:eek: goddamn, i've been playing for 11 years and i don't know shit about theory. i know a lot of different scales but i don't know what they're called or anything, i just play what sounds right.

[mctriple]

stevie ray vaughan doesn't know shit about theory, either, he just knows what sounds right. it's not a bad approach. some of us are a bit more methodical, though. i prefer to think of it a bit abstractly than to just let it flow with no vocabulary.

[Exodus666]

Allright thanks a lot

So, if he simply sticks to the Aeolian mode in G it should sound right... I thought of something like that but wasn't sure...

So, because it needs to go quick:

can he start at every fret that stands for a G and apply the scale from that point, or what? Because he'll probably want to range from low to high and back.
I have no idea on this one but I'd like to know for myself too :p
:D

Thanks

[Dyldo]

I think I know what you mean. He could shoot from the 3th fret to the 13 and pull of the same scale..but a skilled guitarist will notice.

Not knowing anything in guitar will make it extreamly hard for you to play along with other musicians. Its like speaking a diffrent laungauge while everyone else speaks another.

Musical knowledge can make it easier to make music and open doors.

[mctriple]

you can start the g aeolian scale anywhere there is a g, but the scale formation is different if you start it on higher strings. you can jump up 12 frets for the next g easily, or if he has his fretboard memorized he can just know to make sure that he plays all natural notes except to play b flat and e flat.

[mctriple]

it'll sound kinda boring if he just sticks to g aeolian, even if he jumps around. he's gotta learn the modes. he can play g aeolian, a locrian, b flat ionian, c dorian, d phrygian, e flat lydian, f mixolydian. mix it up for a more moving jam

[powersofterror]

Well, now, starting g major on for ex.d, would make it a dorian scale....or you're confusing me...cause I thought ya know, any scale starting and ending on d makes it dorian, any scale starting and ending on e makes it phrygian, so on and so forth.

[mctriple]

dorian, lydian, etc are all relative. what it's called depends on what key you're in. his example was in G minor (so you have e and b flatted), and the way you do minors is a bit different. you start with the I on the aeolian ("minor") scale, so the II note would be played on locrian, and g minor's II is a, so you'd play a locrian. then it loops back up to ionian for the III, so b flat ionian. IV = c, so c dorian.

if you play in the key of g major, you have f# as your only sharp. for majors, you start the I on the ionian ("major"), so the II, which is a, would be dorian. the III, which is b, would be played on the phrygian, etc all the way to f# bein played on the locrian mode.

3rd example to help you get it clear.. say you're playin in the key of e major, which has 4 sharps (f c g d). play the ionian ("major") on e, dorian on f#, phrygian on g#, etc all the way to d# on the locrian.

you're essentially right that any note starting and ending on a particular note is a mode. if you look at the modes, they follow the same major scale (and relative minor) formation, but because you start on the II note (for example) instead of the I, it changes a little. instead of w-w-h-w-w-w-h steps, you'd have to move up a note and you instead have w-h-w-w-w-h-w, the formation for dorian. and the modes are named based on the interval between the note you start/end on and the key it's in (the "I" note). starting on the III note, in order to stay in key, you'll find that your steps are h-w-w-w-h-w-w, which is the formation of the phrygian mode in whichever key you're playin it.

bein able to scoot up the fretboard about 5 frets to switch modes mostly just helps you to play in "boxes" where you're not moving your hand around.. you can just stick to a spot where your fingers can reach everything. then move up to another area where you can do the same, which is just another mode.

[Dyldo]

Actually, it would be better in D minor. G works...but D minor would be best. So start off with Aeolian on E 10th fret and then connect the scales from their.

[Exodus666]

Theory is such a bitch :D

Anyway, thanks a lot, he'll probably use the Aeolian G, it's not like he needs to play a five-minute-solo anyway.

[mctriple]

ya d minor is good, but g is my favorite.

[andras]

scale - you could take this as F major, or what i usually would use in this case is E Locrian. all you gotta do here is drop the B to Bb. F, G, A, Bb, C, D, E, F

therefore, you can easily use C major shapes, ie. all the natural notes and drop the B, this is very easy to remember.

progression - vi-IV-ii in F. D aeolian-Bb lydian-G dorian
this would be a good place to start


or vii-V-iii in E Locrian.

i only know a bit of theory, however, you could just work off the root notes of the chords and thus staying within the mode of that chord.

starts at 1st fret and last notes on 12th fret. layout for frets 13-24 same.
E|O|-|O|-|O|O|-|O|-|O|-|O| -this is the layout for F major
B|O|-|O|-|O|O|-|O|-|O|O|-| -all open strings except for B can be used
G|-|O|O|-|O|-|O|-|O|O|_|O|
D|-|O|O|-|O|-|O|O|-|O|-|O|
A|O|-|O|-|O|-|O|O|-|O|-|O| O are the notes, obviously
E|O|-|O|-|O|O|-|O|-|O|-|O|


use notes outside of the scale if you please, if it gets the sound you want.
if you wanna stay in key, then this is just one scale that can be used.

check out darkos official scales and sweeps sticky post. youll have more of this there.
i hope this helps in some way.