Alive
Jam10
Posts: 654
I'm learning the solo for Alive, and I noticed that Mike starts the solo using the minor pentatonic pattern #1 scale in the Key of E minor. How does this work if the Chorus is E - G - D - A? And the verse is in the key of A? I'm confused on how he can solo in the key of E minor and it still sounds great? Please help me understand this.
Thanks
Thanks
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And sometimes, it doesn't matter why it works, it just does!
and if you add the third notes to the penatonic the root turns into a g, which the key of the song is(i think)
JEFF HARDY AND JEFF AMENT USED TO LOOK THE SAME
"Pearl Jam always eases my mind and fires me up at the same time.”-Jeff Hardy
A good solo is really just a melody in key. If the chords are all in the same key, and the notes in the solo follow the key, no problemo. Of course, you can then step outside the major and minor keys with flatted 5ths, harmonic minor notes, and just plain "wrong" passing or chromatic notes, which often work just fine, making them right.
YOu can also solo in any of the chords in the progression, for example, and yes G major and E minor are the same, being the relatives of each other.
It all boils down to, does the solo melodically relate to the song. That's actually the most important thing. The main problem with wheedly wheedly solos is that they are too generic and don't actually gel melodically with the song.
It has nothing to do with things "just working" or because "Mike's a really good guitarist".
It's MUSIC THEORY (plain & simple), & depending on how you look at it, the song can be in
a couple of different keys, Either: D-Major/B-Minor (2-sharps) or A-Major/F#minor (3-sharps).
D-Major/B-minor:
The scale used for the solo could be considered a hybrid scale - In the key of D-Major it's
E-Dorian, with the addition of a b5 (1=E, 2=F#, b3=G, 4=A, b5=Bb, 5=B, 6=C#, b7=D, 1=E).
This can be easily thought of as the E-Minor Blues Pentatonic Scale, and the fingering is:
e
12----14-15--
B
12----14-15--
G--11-12----14
D--11-12----14
A
12-13-14
E
12----14-15--
Most of the emphasis is placed (as usual) on the notes of the minor pentatonic scale,
E---G--A--B---D--E
1--b3--4--5--b7--1
though unison bends are used towards the end of the solo for added intensity with
the wah pedal being employed on the last couple just top take it over the top.
_________________________________________________________________
Key of A-Major/F#-Minor:
Now a lot of transcriptions say the tune is in the Key of A-Major with 3-sharps (F#-C#-G#).
The cord progression Mike solo's over is E-G-D-A (repeated a lot).
In the Key of A-Major: A=I, D=IV, and E=V (1-4-5). Now your basic rock chord progression
is based on a I-IV-V (1-4-5) progression. The G-chord can be thought of as an extension
(like 7, or b3rd) - Basically adding more color. The scale is A-B-C#-D-E-F#-G#-A. So the
progression resolves to the I-chord (a descending I-IV-V progression) - in this example
V-VII-IV-I (5-7-4-1). The last chord in the solo ends where it started, being the simple
E-Major Chord.
Now lets take a look at the notes in these chords being played during the solo:
E-Major: E-G#-B
G-Major: G-B-D
D-Major: D-F#-A
A-Major: A-C#-E
What do you know, the only notes sharped in these chords are F#, C#, G# (which is the
Key of A-Major). So here we go again with F#, C#, G# all being sharped (Key of A-Major).
This is why the E-Minor-Blues Pentatonic Scale Works - MUSIC THEORY (nothing more).
People may play by ear, and they may not know that they're doing it. Everything may
just sound right to them, but there's a reason for it. It's all Music Theory.
Cheers . . .
- Ian C.T. vom Saal
<b><font color="red">CONTACT ME HERE</font>: www.myspace.com/ianvomsaal</b>
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I rambled on a bit due to the late 3:00am hour, and thus
made a few mistakes when typing the A-Minor section.
Here it is (hopefully) corrected - all I ask is that you please
paste this in your initial Great answer reply to me (so that
it shows correct - I really hate being tired & making mistakes):
Also, hopefully my 2nd reply makes more sense.
Cheers . . .
- Ian
(depending how you analyze it). I have two different transcribed versions of
this song - one in D-Major and one in A-Major.
Being able to play E-minor pentatonic (or in this case blues pentatonic) has
relatively nothing to do with an E minor chord or a G major chord. It has to
do with the Key Signature used. Take a good look at the key of A-Major.
What is sharp in the Key of A-Major? (F#, C#, G# are all sharp). These
are basically all the notes: A, B(Cb), C#(Db), D, E(Fb), F#(Gb), G#(Ab)
This means that all these notes are available in this A-Major Key Signature.
Now just think about what chords can be made from all these available notes?
As in our past theory discussions (also printed on the Scales & Modes sheet I
sent you and have posted), the E-Minor scale is: E-F#-G-A-B-C-D-E, while the
Pentatonic scale removes the 2nd and 6th scale degree's, leaving E-G-A-B-D-E.
Look at all the notes in the E-Minor scale - the only accidental you see is F#
because in the Key of E-minor there is only 1 sharp (F#): E-F#-G-A-B-C-D-E.
This means that any other # or b note that you decide to add will just be color.
Mike has just chosen to use the E-Minor Blues Pentatonic Scale (adding lots
of color to his phrasing): E-F#-G-A-Bb-B-C#-D-E.
This means that if you add #'s or b's you're just adding color - it's why this scale
works in the Keys of: E-Minor (F#), D-Major (F#,C#), or A-Major (F#,C#,G#).
It'll also work in many other keys with #'s, though the more sharps you add the
more color, and thus the less likely it is to sound right/correct to your ears.
Anyhow, as I said at the start of this, I don't know how much simpler this will be.
Cheers . . .
- Ian
<b><font color="red">CONTACT ME HERE</font>: www.myspace.com/ianvomsaal</b>
♫ ♫ ♫ ♫ ♫ ♫ ♫ ♫ ♫ ♫ ♫ ♫ ♫ ♫ ♫ ♫ ♫ ♫ ♫ ♫ ♫ ♫ ♫ ♫ ♫ ♫ ♫ ♫
2008: Camden 2, Hartford
2010: Hartford
2013: Wrigley, Worcester x2, Hartford
2015: NYC
2016: Philly 2, MSG x2, Boston 2, (TOTD Philly 2, MSG)
2018: Prague, Krakow, Berlin, Boston x2
2022: San Diego, Sacramento, Las Vegas
so only the tonal emphasis changes, not the Key (therefore it's not in E).
The chords in the chorus of Alive are E, G, D (or D5), A (twice), then B.
At the end of the 2nd chorus the band seems to switch between playing in
4/4 and 7/8 (stop cowering behind the sofa, it's not that bad) - I suggest
you learn it as a musical phrase instead of bothering with all the counting
stuff . . . don't count, just play. The same can be said for the entire song.
*I recorded a version of Alive a few years ago, so if I ever get around to
digging it out I'll post it (I'm sure it's in one of those boxes in my closet).
- Ian
<b><font color="red">CONTACT ME HERE</font>: www.myspace.com/ianvomsaal</b>
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sorry to be a bother, but u couldnt post the sheet again maybe? please?
Chord Chart - http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w83/ianvomsaal/CHORDS.jpg
Chord Theory - http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w83/ianvomsaal/ChordExplination-1.jpg
Scales & Modes - http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w83/ianvomsaal/Scales--Modes-Diagrams-Fingerings.jpg
I created all of these pages for my guitar students.
Pj_Gurl, do you have my Photobucket pages memorized
<b><font color="red">CONTACT ME HERE</font>: www.myspace.com/ianvomsaal</b>
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