Quote:
Originally Posted by JonPR
Exactly - aka D major pentatonic, as FwL points out.
Of course the scale works in different ways on different chords, depending on how many (and which) chord tones it contains, and which extensions it contains.
It's most "inside" on D and Bm chords, as you might guess. It contains all 3 chord tones, plus two good consonant extensions (6th and 9th on major, 4th and 7th on minor).
(And that's in whatever key you find those chords, because they both occur in the keys of D, G and A. The pent is diatonic to all those keys, always sounds right on those chords.)
On a G chord, it contains the 3rd and 5th (B-D), adds 6th and 9th (as above, E-A in this case), but replaces the root with the maj7 (F#). So it gives a kind of sweet wistfulness to a G chord.
On an Em chord, it contains root and 5th (E-B), adds 4th and 7th (A-D), and provides the 4th (A) in place of the 3rd. This gives it an "E7sus4" sound - although only on an Em (or E) chord.
The lowest or starting note of a scale has no bearing on the modal or chord sound on the chord; the chord rules that. That's why it's important you don't regard your scale as any kind of "E" scale - unless you're improvising on an E-root chord. It's just the notes A B D E F# (alphabetical order), which work differently on each chord, regardless of which pattern you use. Soundwise, they relate to the chord root (and other chord tones), not to your starting note or the lowest note of your pattern.
It's worth exploring all the other ways it works on various chords (in keys of D, G and A).
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Thank you for your help and for your time.
It will take a little bit for me to digest this. I will study it.
The way in which I'm playing this noodle, tonally, at least to my ears, I can't fit the C# note in from the D major pentatonic scale.