Solo/Lead Theory

I have a question about note selection in guitar solos:

Example:

Key of Em has three basic chords being the 1,3 and 5.
Key of Cmaj has three basic chords 1, 4 and 5.
Each Chord has normally 3 notes which make up the base chord.

When soloing, do you select only notes within the scale for each of the 3 base chords.

For instance, when you switch from a C to an F in Cmaj, do you only play the notes in Fmaj scale (at least as a rule) while the rhythm part is being played in Fmaj?

Or....do you stick to the notes within the one scale that is the root chord for the song?

Or....do you throw out all the rules and just play something that doesn't clash with the chords and sounds musical?

Or...if not any of the above, how do you decide which notes are candidates for your guitar solo. Please explain how the scales, root notes, base chords, etc. combine to tell you which notes ARE candidates for a solo on a certain song. I can learn songs through the tedious process of picking out the notes, but if I know what the candidate notes are, it makes it easier to pick out melody.

Thanks in Advance,
Rob

Hi Rob,
I'm not sure if this will answer some of you Questions ?

I'm basicaly a blues player:
I know that I could play a blues using three chords in Minors or Majors they both work.

If i started in A the other two chords would be D and E

A chord is made up of the notes 1,3, 5 of A major scale
D chord is made up of the notes 1,3, 5 of D major scale
E chord is made up of the notes 1,3, 5 of E major scale

A minor chord is made up of 1, flat 3rd, 5 of A major scale
D minor chord is made up of 1, flat 3rd, 5 of D major scale
ETC...

When soloing I would use A minor pentatonic scale: A , C, D , E, G.
Or A minor blues scale: A, C, D , D#, E , G.

Theses two scales would harmonise over all three chords, major or minor.

Or I could play D minor blues scale over the D or D minor

Or I could play E minor blues scale over the E or E minor
I don't fully understand why ?

Originally Posted by: Grambo
A chord is made up of the notes 1,3, 5 of A major scale
D chord is made up of the notes 1,3, 5 of D major scale
E chord is made up of the notes 1,3, 5 of E major scale

True. But don't forget that they are all part of a system called the key of A major (i.e. from the A major scale).

The A major chord is the 1st, 3rd, 5th of the A major scale.
The D major chord is the 4th, 6th, 1st of the A major scale.
The E major chord is the 5th, 7th, 2nd of the A major scale.

That's how they are all fundamentally related to one another.

http://www.guitartricks.com/lesson.php?input=10942

Brilliant - many thanks, I've always wondered how they were linked