Playing relative minor over a major chord

[daeknight25]

Hey guys =) I am new to learning scales and stuff and I have a question after looking at some scales and trying out

If given this this chord progression....

G - C - D

And since we know relative minor of G is Em, C is Am and D is Bm

Can we use any of the relative minor pentatonic to play over the same chord progression?

Meaning when the chord progression is played, I would play the Em penta scale but I could also play the Am penta or the Bm penta. I need clarification on this =)

Thank you so much

 

[carboxymoron]

Actually, the relative minor pentatonic is exactly the same as the major pentatonic,
i.e. G major pentatonic = G A B D E;
E minor pentatonic = E G A B D, not E F# A B D.

So your original question is moot, since the two scales are exactly the same.

 

[cryingstatue]

Hi, actually his original question isnt moot i think you didnt read his statement properly.

anyway to answer your question (correct me if i'm wrong). YES you can use all three pentatonic minor scales to solo over that progression. all the notes contained within the three scales will work over the key of G.

however, this is only because you are using the pentatonic scale. the pentatonic scale is the natural minor scale without the "unstable" notes. In the key of G you can coincidentally use those 3 pentatonic scales because the notes all belong to the key of G. (we call this scale subsititution).

this doesnt work if you decide to expand the individual pentatonic scales out to become natural minor scales etc... because then you are introducing notes that will clash with the key centre of G.

just treat it as a happy coincidence that your idea of relative minors is the same with scale substitutions ONLY if you are using pentatonic scales.

you can however use the E natural minor scale as that is the G major scale anyway.

 

[zoyd_berg]

Since G - C - D is the member of G key progression, you could simply think of G as the base key.
So the best scales to use are: G Major and E minor pentatonic (if you follow the basic pentatonic pattern)
Actually if you notice carefully, all the notes of E minor pentatonic are also part of the G Major scale.
Just master this two scales across the entire fretboards and you will sound great anytime for any major chord progression.
You could incorporate some chromatic passing notes once you're comfortable with the scale to make it even more versatile.

 

[carboxymoron]

Did you miss the part where I pointed out the E minor pentatonic is exactly the same as the G major pentatonic?

Also OP hasn't even bothered to check back here.

 

[delirium90]

Since G - C - D is the member of G key progression, you could simply think of G as the base key.
So the best scales to use are: G Major and E minor pentatonic (if you follow the basic pentatonic pattern)
Actually if you notice carefully, all the notes of E minor pentatonic are also part of the G Major scale.
Just master this two scales across the entire fretboards and you will sound great anytime for any major chord progression.
You could incorporate some chromatic passing notes once you're comfortable with the scale to make it even more versatile.

hi zoyd_berg, im new to music theory as well so i hope to clarify some doubts with you!
do u mean that the general rule for solo-ing/playing scales to songs lies most of the time in first figuring out the key/basekey of the song, then figuring out its relative minor and then subsequently playing the relative major and relative minor scales?

could u tell me more bout chromatic passing notes at the same time? as in how do you incorporate them in your solos/scales?

 

[zoyd_berg]

That's right, but if there is a modulation going on within the song, you have to follow the new base key accordingly.
This will work on most standard major/minor chord progression.

There could be some tricky non-standard progression used on bridge or ending of a song.
For example: b6 - b7 - I (base key)
in this case you can't use the I major scale when the chord is at b6 or b7 since it's not part of the I base key major scale. You have to follow the actual base key in this case or if it's too fast to follow, just strum the chord

Chromatic passing notes is simply incorporating a half note before the starting/ending of a note. If used properly will make you sound quite jazzy even though you're just playing a major scale. I normally use it lightly just to sweeten up solos or fills.

Hope this helps.

 

[delirium90]

Hey zoyd!
I get what you mean by modulation so in the event, u have to adjust accordingly to the key in those portions of the song, but i dont understand your example haha. But in short i think u mean to say tt u have to take note of the key(s) of the song throughout and play accordingly and not assume tt the same scales can be used all the time, right?

i guess i will only experiment passing notes after im more familiar with what im doing right now haha. trying to familiarise switching between pentatonic and minor/major scales when improvising. so far no secrets uncovered as to how u can memorize em in e shortest time possible!
thanks!

 

[zoyd_berg]

yeah that's right friend. one thing to clarify here, modulation is a change in base key, it's not the same with changing chord progression within the same base key.

if you just started familiarizing with the scale, try to choose a song that has no modulation. get the feel of the scales first.
As you said, this thing takes time and effort to learn