What scale to use with what chords?

Hi, I know nothing of theory but I do want to learn and I will.

But a question nags me from the start...

How do you know what scale to use when playing any 3 chords? What makes the root note in that scale, the root?

Sorry if this easy or been asked before. Ive been reading on here about theory and find it very fascinating to a point where its an absolute must to learn to be better at guitar.

Thanks

Hi dfaris,

"Ive been reading on here about theory and find it very fascinating to a point where its an absolute must to learn to be better at guitar."

.. I know exactly how you feel and it's a good place to be.

The scale you would play over any three chords would depend on what key the chords are in and if it's major or minor. Major is the 'happy' sounding key and minor is the 'darker/moody' sounding key.

If a song is in the key of 'A', there's a good possiblity that the song will start on that chord and whether that chord is major or minor would let you know if the soloing key would be A major or A minor. This is not true in every case, but a handy commonality to keep in mind.

Scales follow a pattern and the 'root' note of that scale tells you where the pattern starts. Kinda like the roots of a tree, the trunk and branches all start from there and rely on it.

Also, some of the 'patterns' or scales are related. The pattern that makes an A minor scale is exactly the same pattern (notes) that make a C Major scale - all the white keys on a piano. This relationship is called the 'relative minor'. In other words you learn 2 scales for the price of 1 !!!

As an example: sit at a piano, find the 'A' note and play each white key up to the next 'A' (8 of 'em) this will show you what the minor key sounds like. Now go to the 'C' note and play each white key up the the next 'C' (8 of 'em) this will show you what the major key sounds like..reminds me of "do a deer, a female deer"..etc.) Notice that both scales use the same notes but sound different depending on where you start ie: the root.

This should help with some basic theory understanding.

(Terminology - there are 'keys' on a piano..the black and white ones, and there is the 'key of a scale'. I referred to both, hope it wasn't too confusing)

Originally Posted by: dfaris
Hi, I know nothing of theory but I do want to learn and I will.
[/quote]
The best place to start is the Guitar Fundamentals 1 & 2 courses (GF1&2). Particularly GF2 because it starts with basic music theory applied directly to the guitar. And then continues on to the relationship between scales and chords.

http://www.guitartricks.com/course.php?input=1
http://www.guitartricks.com/course.php?input=2

Also, here is my brief overview of music theory to give you a large scale road map:

http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=495

Originally Posted by: dfaris
How do you know what scale to use when playing any 3 chords? What makes the root note in that scale, the root?

Great questions. The answers are in these tutorials:

http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=483
http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=491
[QUOTE=dfaris]
Ive been reading on here about theory and find it very fascinating to a point where its an absolute must to learn to be better at guitar.

Music Theory is the set of concepts that describes the nature of musical events. It is the process of mentally identifying the sounds that occur in music. We do this in order to build a consistent set of ideas to describe what happens in music.

Like any endeavor, the more you know about what you doing, then better prepared you are to actually do the activity. Just make sure your theory and practice learning curves keep pace with each other. So that your theoretical knowledge learning curve and your ability to apply those ideas, to practice them and put them to use grow evenly.

Best of success! Let us know how it goes.

Originally Posted by: Neal Walter

The scale you would play over any three chords would depend on what key the chords are in and if it's major or minor. Major is the 'happy' sounding key and minor is the 'darker/moody' sounding key.

But how do you find out the key?

Is there a relationship to the chords played, to the key it is in? Example; if I played g,c d. What key or what scale do I play a lead or riff to it?

Thanks for the great replies, Neil and Chris. Nice to get some help when needed and even better when you get more than expected. :)

Technically, with those specific 3 chords the key could be G, C OR D but common sense would make me try G first because G,C,D fall into a 1,4,5 pattern which is so common in popular music. If you're reading sheet music, you can get an exact answer based on how many #'s there are.

If you're just talking about 'in general' I think Christopher's got some good advice about using the fundamentals course. The more info you get on Theory the easier it is to wrap your brain around it. Theory's cool too, it's mathmatical and musical at the same time...like a secret code. ;)

I am doing the fundementals, its just a bit mind boggling at the moment because its new.

I take theory as "the science in music" since it has mathematical properties but rhythm and balance.

G scale? 1,4,5?

I did the tut on finding out chords through scales, 1,3,5.

How did you get the key of G using 1,4,5? Is it because I started with G?

Originally Posted by: dfarisI am doing the fundementals, its just a bit mind boggling at the moment because its new.
[/quote]
Good. Go slow. Take your time. Go over it again.

Originally Posted by: dfaris
I take theory as "the science in music" since it has mathematical properties but rhythm and balance.

Theory can be described as "looking at music scientifically". Keep in mind that music has more to do with physics than mathematics. There is math involved, but there is much more in the nature of the science of acoustics (a subdivision of physics).
[QUOTE=dfaris]
G scale? 1,4,5?How did you get the key of G using 1,4,5? Is it because I started with G?

No. The starting chord is not necessarily the root.

What you are asking is "How do I determine what key a group of chord is in?"

The answer is here:

http://www.guitartricks.com/lesson.php?input=10942&s_id=483

Look at those intro to improv tutorials. ;)

Thanks Chris and Neil !
Thats exactly what I needed to know.

Wow, there's soooo much valuable lessons on here and sooo much to learn. Its too bad work, the wife and kids, and life take up so much of my time. lol

Im going to start putting pen to paper whilst I learn, write down the notes in the chords Im playing and start to see the relationships between them.

More questions to come, and thanks for the help!

Cheers!

Originally Posted by: dfarisThanks Chris and Neil !
Thats exactly what I needed to know.

Welcome, of course.

Best of success with it. Take your time and enjoy the process. Have fun and let us know how it goes. :)