Soloing and rhythm over Superstition

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In the band we play this in the key of Em

So for intro/verses I can play the riff or as a rhythm part using Em, Em7, Em6, Em9 triads all sound good. Any other suggestions?

Soloing over verse, Em Pentatonic, Dorian, Blues sounds good to my ear.

However over the Bridge the chords are 

B7 C7b5 B7 Bb7b5 A7      B7
//    //        //     //        ////      ////

So what would be your suggestions? Arpeggio approach would work. One Scale? B7 - B Mixolydian  A7 A Mixolydian over the 7b5 chords what would be the strongest scale Altered scale?


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Comments

  • Paging Dr @viz
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  • dean111musicdean111music Frets: 278
    edited February 2019
    after playing around i have used my ear to figure a few things out. 

    Firstly the main rift is more E7 sound but using m6 triads sounds cool. 

    Then the chords are B7 C7 B7 Bb7b5 A7 B7

    I have come the conclusion the B7- B Mixolydian C7 - C Mixolydian or C Half/Whole 
    Bb7b5 - Bb Lydian b7 or Half Whole works,

    Its been fun looking at this!
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  • vizviz Frets: 10644
    Paging Dr @viz

    Ooooh gosh no, seriously! And I might understand the theory but that doesn’t make me a good artist!

    And come to think of it, that’s the muscle I’d be pulling when creating a solo - the artistic, not the scientific - so, not working out what pool of notes to use (though that is an approach certainly) but letting my heart make a great melody then making my fingers reproduce it. Or try to anyway! And maybe only then use my brain to work out what I’ve played and why it works. 

    So I’d first decide what sort of sound I wanted - melodic? Funky? Rocky? Fast? Spiky? Then I’d get my mind’s ear to sing something over the progression that i wanted to hear - something that fits and conveys the mood I want. If it worked over the chords I’d stick with it; if not I’d discard it. Chances are it would work, otherwise my inner ear wouldn’t have allowed it to happen! 

    Then I’d work out what I’d done. I think!

    I’ll have to try it now and see if that’s actually what I’d do :)


    Roland said: Scales are primarily a tool for categorising knowledge, not a rule for what can or cannot be played.
    Supportact said: [my style is] probably more an accumulation of limitations and bad habits than a 'style'.
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  • vizviz Frets: 10644
    viz said:
    Paging Dr @viz

    Ooooh gosh no, seriously! And I might understand the theory but that doesn’t make me a good artist!

    And come to think of it, that’s the muscle I’d be pulling when creating a solo - the artistic, not the scientific - so, not working out what pool of notes to use (though that is an approach certainly) but letting my heart make a great melody then making my fingers reproduce it. Or try to anyway! And maybe only then use my brain to work out what I’ve played and why it works. 

    So I’d first decide what sort of sound I wanted - melodic? Funky? Rocky? Fast? Spiky? Then I’d get my mind’s ear to sing something over the progression that i wanted to hear - something that fits and conveys the mood I want. If it worked over the chords I’d stick with it; if not I’d discard it. Chances are it would work, otherwise my inner ear wouldn’t have allowed it to happen! 

    Then I’d work out what I’d done. I think!

    I’ll have to try it now and see if that’s actually what I’d do :)


    Just tried it and what I actually did was play some wicked rocky melody stuff basically in B super locrian. So apparently that’s what I do!
    Roland said: Scales are primarily a tool for categorising knowledge, not a rule for what can or cannot be played.
    Supportact said: [my style is] probably more an accumulation of limitations and bad habits than a 'style'.
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  • For the main riff section I sometimes play chords instead of the riff and use E7#9 mixed with some Em7 (or G against an E root).

    For soloing over the main part, like you, I basically use a bluesy E Dorian (i.e. an added b5), but might throw in some chromatic passing notes. I suppose I could also get away with a major 3rd (G#) as well over E7#9.

    For the chromatic chord movements, I use B7, C7b5, B7, Bb7b5, A7 then B7#5.
    When soloing over that, I just play low root notes because I like the sound. Alternatively I could pick out notes from the chords or maybe tweak my basic scale to fit the chords, which might be as follows
    B7 and B7#5: temporarily modify the basic scale to have D# to fit the 3rd of the B7
    C7b5: temporarily modify the basic scale to have a C instead of a C#
    Bb7b5: aim for a blues lick involving Bb

    It's not a competition.
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  • monquixotemonquixote Frets: 17485
    tFB Trader
    I usually do something pentatonic that follows the chords like unison bends or a repeating rock riff.

    Normally that would sound quite contrived but in this case it enforces the changes.
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  • fretmeisterfretmeister Frets: 23919
    Get a horn section and do it properly.
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  • RolandRoland Frets: 8590
    viz said:

    ... And come to think of it, that’s the muscle I’d be pulling when creating a solo - the artistic, not the scientific - so, not working out what pool of notes to use (though that is an approach certainly) but letting my heart make a great melody then making my fingers reproduce it ...
    This. Theory is for analysing what you’ve played, not determining what you can play. At that point in the solo I’d be looking for what Neil Sedaka called the drop dead note. The crescendo of the solo. It would either be some screaming bent notes followed by a fast flurry which lead me back to the Em, or I’d focus on the chromatic notes B C B Bb A which is the ‘internal melody’ that emphasises the emotional pain of those four chords.
    Tree recycler, and guitarist with  https://www.undercoversband.com/.
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  • BarneyBarney Frets: 614
    edited February 2019
    You can just use E m pentatonic over it all by picking the right notes another thing that you could maybe try is using a E dim scale or arp and resolving to something in Em again over the Bb7..
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  • Here's the solo I used to play for superstition  check out from 2m05s in.  Possibly slightly over the top ;)


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  • Wis for the “play a melody, not a scale” posts.

    Put the guitar down. Hum something you think fits. Then something else, then another one. Work out how to play all of thos melodies on a guitar. Pick the best bits, and put them together - that is your solo. 

    Then - if you really want to - work out what scales those melodies use. 
    The Assumptions - UAE party band for all your rock & soul desires
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  • vizviz Frets: 10644
    Wis for the “play a melody, not a scale” posts.

    Put the guitar down. Hum something you think fits. Then something else, then another one. Work out how to play all of thos melodies on a guitar. Pick the best bits, and put them together - that is your solo. 

    Then - if you really want to - work out what scales those melodies use. 

    Yup. 

    @fastonebaz that was bloody brilliant. 

    And I’ve just realised for the first time your name isn’t fast tone baz, it’s fast ONE baz. 



    Roland said: Scales are primarily a tool for categorising knowledge, not a rule for what can or cannot be played.
    Supportact said: [my style is] probably more an accumulation of limitations and bad habits than a 'style'.
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  • stratman3142stratman3142 Frets: 2177
    edited February 2019
    Wis for the “play a melody, not a scale” posts.

    Put the guitar down. Hum something you think fits. Then something else, then another one. Work out how to play all of thos melodies on a guitar. Pick the best bits, and put them together - that is your solo. 

    Then - if you really want to - work out what scales those melodies use. 
    I wonder whether there's some talking at cross-purposes here. If I describe things in terms of a scale, then it's merely to put a label on a bunch of note options from which I create the musical phrases (or lines) I hear in my head. 

    Having said that, while playing musical phrases, I have in mind some sort of pattern or reference points (call it a scale if you will) from which those phrases are derived.

    It's not a competition.
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  • viz said:

    @fastonebaz that was bloody brilliant. 

    And I’ve just realised for the first time your name isn’t fast tone baz, it’s fast ONE baz. 



    Cheers @viz .  Loved playing that one .  Ah the history of our usernames is probably a whole new thread in itself. 
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  • vizviz Frets: 10644
    Wis for the “play a melody, not a scale” posts.

    Put the guitar down. Hum something you think fits. Then something else, then another one. Work out how to play all of thos melodies on a guitar. Pick the best bits, and put them together - that is your solo. 

    Then - if you really want to - work out what scales those melodies use. 
    I wonder whether there's some talking at cross-purposes here. If I describe things in terms of a scale, then it's merely to put a label on a bunch of note options from which I create the musical phrases (or lines) I hear in my head. 

    Having said that, while playing musical phrases, I have in mind some sort of pattern or reference points (call it a scale if you will) from which those phrases are derived.

    You are also right; scale seems to have two meanings - palette, and run of sequential notes. You mean palette, right? I’m sure we all have a conscious or subconscious palette that we’re drawing from. 
    Roland said: Scales are primarily a tool for categorising knowledge, not a rule for what can or cannot be played.
    Supportact said: [my style is] probably more an accumulation of limitations and bad habits than a 'style'.
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  • stratman3142stratman3142 Frets: 2177
    edited February 2019
    @viz yes.

     'Palette' that's a good word to describe it. I've been struggling to find the right word, so I'll nick that.

    It's not a competition.
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  • dean111musicdean111music Frets: 278
    edited February 2019
    Here's the solo I used to play for superstition  check out from 2m05s in.  Possibly slightly over the top


    Great solo! Very fun and exciting. Was that all improvised?

    Your solo was great but it was only over the E vamp i was looking at the changes in the bridge.  

    But thanks for all the advice. I actually did the scale route and then used my ear to work on something that sounds good! 

    I might give it another try and think in a more melodic fashion but humming a melody first to see what happens.
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  • stratman3142stratman3142 Frets: 2177
    This month's SotM (link below) might be of interest to participants in this thread.

    http://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/151249/solo-of-the-month-sotm-46-chat#latest

    It's not a competition.
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