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Ever been stuck playing on a song that uses the same minor chord for more than 8 bars?

Do you ever wish you had more options for soloing over this type of situation?

Well, I got an idea for you!

Here is what you need to know:
A pentatonic shape ( better if you know them all ) and where the roots are.

Here is how it works:
If your chord is D minor, then you already know you can play a D minor pentatonic scale. But, did you know that you can also use E minor and A minor? You can! If you like, you can play the same shape or pattern and just move it up or down the neck of the guitar. Or you can stay in one area of the neck and play them if you know all five pentatonic patterns. ( If you dare )

What you are doing is playing a minor pentatonic off the 1 ( D minor ) , 2 ( E minor ) , and the 5 ( A minor ).
By playing these scales you get these tones:
D Minor - 1 b3 4 5 b7
E Minor - 9 4 5 13 1
A Minor - 5 b7 1 9 4

Remember, this only works over static chords. This means that the you could play this only over the D minor chord. If the chord changes to another minor chord then you will have to figure out what your new 1, 2, and 5 are and play the same idea.

So, if you're playing over D minor then you can play the D, E, and A minor pentatonic scales. If it changes to A minor then you use A, B, and E minor pentatonic.

One more thing ... Your normal blues licks won't sound good on the scales built from the 2 and 5. Think about it, if your in D then your root is still D. Try to visualize the 2 and 5 from the D. Runs and repeating patterns work good with this concept.

Give it a try and see how you like it. It's gonna sound different so don't be put out if it is not what you expect. Keep using the concept and get comfortable with the tones. Have fun!






Static Chords Jazz Improvisation Pentatonic Ideas Guitar Lessons Jazz Guitar Tips