Most of my playing revolves around the blues, and for soloing I use the blues scale mixed, I guess, with some notes from the major pentatonic scale. What other scale would be most useful to know for situations when the blues scale just doesn't fit?

Major scale and it' s modes:D

The most common and useful scales for me (and Mark Levine )

- Major scale
- Melodic minor
- Whole-tone scale
- Diminished (8 note scale)
- Pentatonic

Obviously every mode in those scales.



Once you've mastered those I think your scale languaje is pretty good.

pretty good he says,. If youre into metal and neclassical, leanr the harmonic minor scales:D

You're right I forgot the harmonic minor for the Yngwie fans

By the way, I'm working on a series about different scales but I say no more I don't want to ruin the surprise

Minor pentatonic and dorian mode should be good places to start mate. Also you should start learning all the modes gradually as well.

It's all said.

As far as minor pentatonic goes, I think phrygian and aeolian is also quite viable.

Thanks for all the suggestions.

I asked the question because I’m pretty familiar with the first two boxes of the major scale, yet when I play the major scale in the right key up or down to simple country music, it doesn’t sound right. It sounds like a couple of notes should be eliminated. When I feel around and avoid a couple of notes, it sounds a lot better. Is there a pattern I‘m unaware of, are there some notes of the major scale that are normally avoided? I suppose I’ll continue learning all the boxes of the major scale and figure out why I’m doing that later.

Maybe it’s a function of the blues music native to my head, but when I play the minor pentatonic or blues scale up or down to appropriate backing tracks, it sounds right just as it is.

For bonus points, can someone please tell me what scale the guitar soloist is mixing in occasionally with the F# minor pentatonic about half way through Tracy Chapman’s Give Me One Reason? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEi068wMuHs

Thanks.

Yes,I believe it has to do with your relation with Blues and Country music
and very often use of Pentatonic scales there.
Major Pentatonic Scale is nothing but Major scale with few notes eliminated.
In Major Scale those notes are 4th and 7th,throw that out and you've got Major Pentatonic.
Same thing with Minor scale,different degrees tho,throw out 2nd and 6th
and you've got yourself Minor Pentatonic Scale.

But playing straight Pentatonic isn't enough,even for Blues and Country.
Good evidence for that is the link you posted,
guitar player is playing F# minor pentatonic but he's bending note A to note A# all the time,
it's some kind of blend between F# minor and F# major,since chord is F# major not minor.
So notes are F#,A,A#,B,C# and E.
Now,this scale maybe has its own name but I prefer to call it
minor pentatonic with extra added major 3rd.
This is very simple approach to whole matter tho.
You can add even note D#,it'll work nice over B chord in progression.

Let me know if I missed something.

Thanks again.
You've kind of confirmed what I thought about the value of scales. Learn them well, then play around with them, then use what you've played around with in solos whenever it sounds right. Mix and match "what you've played around with" from the different scales whenever it sounds right.

Yes,if it sounds right then you've got it.