bit of theory help

Jam10 wrote:

You can solo in the key of G major or use the relative minor which is Em.

yea what he said

Jam10 wrote:

fleahorse wrote:

[just a quick question for this chord progression, what would be a good key to solo in?

l G l F l Eb l Bb A l

You can solo in the key of G major or use the relative minor which is Em.

Almost Jam10 . . .
If the chord progression is G - F - Eb - Bb - A . . . No it's not G-Major.
It's G-Minor. Lets take a look at this & see if I can walk you through it.

G-Major's Scale is: G-A-B-C-D-E-F#
F-Major's Scale is: F-G-A-Bb-C-D-E
Eb-Major's Scale is: Eb-F-G-Ab-Bb-C-D
Bb's Major Scale is: Bb-C-D-Eb-F-G-A
A-Major's Scale is: A-B-C#-D-E-F#-G#

For Major Scales:
The chords built off the I, IV, and V degrees of the scale will be major.
The chords built off the ii, iii, and vi notes will all be minor chords.
The chord built off the vii degree will be a diminished chord.

From this lets analyze these Keys and what’s what . . .
Key of G: G-Major, A-minor, B-minor, C-Major, D-Major, E-minor, F#-dim
Key of F: F-Major, G-minor, A-minor, Bb-Major, C-Major, D-minor, E-dim
Key of Eb: Eb-Major, F-minor, G-minor, Ab-Major, Bb-Major, C-minor, D-dim
Key of Bb: Bb-Major, C-minor, D-minor, Eb-Major, F-Major, G-minor, A-dim
Key of A: A-Major, B-minor, C#-minor, D-Major, E-Major, F#-minor, G#-dim

Now compare all of these Chords against what you play - do you see any similarities?
You’re playing all Major chords, so the minor chords need to be replaced with it’s relative Major.
Sooooo . . .
Key of G: G-Major, C-Major, D-Major, C-Major, D-Major, G-Major, F#-dim
Key of F: F-Major, Bb-Major, C-Major, Bb-Major, C-Major, F-Major, E-dim
Key of Eb: Eb-Major, Ab-Major, Bb-Major, Ab-Major, Bb-Major, Eb-Major, D-dim
Key of Bb: Bb-Major, Eb-Major, F-Major, Eb-Major, F-Major, Bb-Major, A-dim
Key of A: A-Major, D-Major, E-Major, D-Major, E-Major, A-Major, G#-dim

---

Now, which of these Keys has the same (or similar) chords to what you play????
* Did I hear you say Bb-Major?
Yes, this chord progression is in the Key of Bb-Major (or G-Minor), thus you can play:
Bb-Ionian(Major), C-Dorian, D-Phrygian, Eb-Lydian, F-Mixolydian, G-Aeolian(Minor), and A-Locrian.
Or you can keep it fairly unadorned and simply play a G-Minor-Pentatonic or G-minor Blues scale.
Cheers . . .

- Ian

Pj_Gurl wrote:

Spot on.
Ianvomsaal is going to be going 'vera nice, i like, high five'!
(I remember you saying Ian had been helping you out with the theory side a while ago!)

Thanks Pj Gurl

Silly question from someone who has too much engineering information and not enough music theory in his head:

How do you figure out what a chord or scale's relative minor or relative major is?

Novawind wrote:

Silly question from someone who has too much engineering information and not enough music theory in his head:

How do you figure out what a chord or scale's relative minor or relative major is?

http://www.zentao.com/guitar/theory/relative-minor.html

Relative Minor of a Major - quick and easy.
Simply place you pinky on the Major note you already have.
Now walk your fingers down the fretboard chromatically from the pinky.
Pinky, Ring (annular), Middle, Index.
Your index is on the relative Minor.
Your pinky is on the relative Major.
Just remember that it's always three letter names away.

example:
Place your pinky on the B-note, 7th fret, Low-E-String (for this example we'll call this B-Major)
Now walk your fingers down chromatically.
Pinky finger on the 7th fret . . . (B)
Ring finger on the 6th fret . . . (Bb or A#)
Middle finger on the 5th fret . . . (A)
Index on the 4th fret . . . (Ab or G#)
So, G# is the relative Minor of B-Major (B-A-G)
G# is three letter names from B (thus you wouldn't call it Ab)
Cheers . . .

- Ian