ole country pickin'

[GuitarBoss1]

To all the country pickers out here:

- What scale would you recommend to play as a solo when jamming to country?
- What is the most common key?

I'm just now trying to branch out of the usual strumming and boom-chick stuff.

Thanks a ton!

[stanron]

You play the scale of the key of the song. If the song is in D major the scale is the D major scale. If the key is B minor play the scale of B minor.

The real trick is knowing which notes of the scale are in the current chord, and, of course, what to do with them.

As to which keys, start with low numbers of sharps and flats and work up.

[GuitarDogs62]

Originally Posted by stanron

You play the scale of the key of the song. If the song is in D major the scale is the D major scale. If the key is B minor play the scale of B minor.

The real trick is knowing which notes of the scale are in the current chord, and, of course, what to do with them.

As to which keys, start with low numbers of sharps and flats and work up.

I agree with every thing said above and want to add that ear training also comes into play here as well.

[jseth]

With all the above, the major pentatonic scale of the song is always a decent "default"; add the incidental notes that fit, like a flatted 3rd and a flatted 7th...

Many of the "classic" solos to old-time country tunes were largely comprised of the melody of the song involved... you really can't go wrong by quoting/playing the melody while soloing to country - ANY song, really, but especially country...

[GuitarBoss1]

Thanks guys. Yeah, I'm learning the pentatonic scales now, so I hope that's a good base. Now my ears just need to get better!