major + relative minor scales

[deathfret]

i know that each major scale has a relative minor scale (6th note of the scale) and i was wondering whether this means that they go well together in a solo, also what is the best scale for improvising rock solos

[StoneDragon]

If your playing over a chord progression that calls for C major and you decide to throw in A minor (the relative) you will probably be disappointed in the fact that it still sounds like you are playing C major.... only now you keep hanging out on notes that don't really resolve with the chords.

The reason for this is that the chord is king. The chord dictates where your root note is. Since C major and A minor are the same notes, the chord progression itself will determine the sound of that group of notes.

In order to figure out the best scale to use over a given progression, you have to determine whether or not that progression suggests a scale. One of the easiest ways to do this is to pay attention to where the root notes of the chords are moving. Do they seem to be outlining a scale that you know? What chord in the progression seems to be the one that the rest of the chords lead back to? That is most likely your key center. How the other chords are arranged around that key center is where the "scale suggestion" comes from.

I would say that scale importance for rock soloing goes like this:

1) Pentatonic - both major and minor, but depending on the style of music that you play, one or the other will probably be more important.

2) Dorian/Myxolydian - when you start mixing major and minor pentatonic together in the same solo, you are actually drawing from these two modes.

3) Ionian/Aeolian - More style specific and chord progression specific.

4) Harmonic Minor - for those minor progressions that go to the major Dominant chord. Sultans of Swing comes to mind (Dm C Bb A). When the A chord comes around, you'll need to switch from D Aeolian to D Harmonic Minor.

5) All the rest.