Need info on which scale to use over what chords

grathan · December 2005

Is there a website that has a list of which chords go with which scales. I want to make some chord progressions to jam over and be in perfect harmonic melody. I bought the Guitar Grimoire Vol 1 which covered scales and had a lot of info. Anyone have Vol 2? that might have some info on what i am looking for...

ACWild · December 2005

If you know the scale patterns, you can visualize what chord possibilities are available. For instance, using the key of C since it's the most common example having the notes C,D,E,F,G,A,B.

In the open position, we have this pattern;

--0--1

3---
--0--1

3----
--0

2

--0

2--3----
--0

2--3----
--0--1

3----

Just by knowing some basic chord shapes, you can visualize which chords exist within this framework.

G Maj,
--3--
--0--
--0--
--0--
--2--
--3--

E min

--0--
--0--
--0--
--2--
--2--
--0--

A Min

----
--1--
--2--
--2--
--0--
----

D min

--1--
--3--
--2--
--0--
----
----

And lots of others. Notice all of the minor chords within this framework. If you play this pattern in the order presented note for note, it's also know as the Phrygian mode, which is a minor scale.

Knowing how the scale patterns within each key will unlock all of the chord possibilities without having to give it much thought.

Does this help or confuse you more?

iliace · December 2005

Yes the bulk of Volume 2 is dedicated to Chord/Scale compatibility.

You can also derive all this from the scale/mode chord chart in Volume 1.

Basically you can use a section of a scale that contains the notes of a given chord progression (except for allowed alterations) with that chord. The opposite approach is to take the notes of chords in a chord progression, and lay them out as a scale, inserting passing and leading tones as necessary.

ACWild · December 2005

Iliace and Tal put some really good theory posts in Alberto's site. Lots of good stuff to learn from these guys!

grathan · December 2005

thanks for for the help guys. Acwild i can see how visualizing the chords in that position would be easy. Iliace, i see that in vol 1 it shows what mode is compatatible with which chord based on the root note. I wonder if vol2 or vol 3 might show a list of chords of different root notes are compataible with a scale. In example lets say i look up a scale and mode like C major in the open position, and tada, there is a list of chords like Gmaj, E min, A min, D min etc.. without requiring any visualization or knowledge of what notes are in the chord and how they relate to which scale/mode i am playing.

AtomicNinjaRobot · December 2005

Try Guitar Alchemist. It's software that pretty much does what you're asking. There's a free version and a full version. The free version just does the basic seven modes. The pay version includes Harmonic Minor/Melodic minor and some more exotic stuff. I've used the free version for a while, and it really suits my purpose as a reference/jumping off point.

BTW, turn down your volume before clicking the above link. The site has some annoying music going on. I hate that...

HTH,
Tod

edit: Here's a link to the download without the annoying back ground music. You can read reviews of it there, too

iliace · December 2005

No it's the other way around. It'll say, \"E-6\" then show Edoriam, E melodic minor, E dorian b2, E dorian #4, E dorian $2, E Lydian b3, etc. At the end, there is about 30 pages dedicated to showing the numeric analysis of which chord fit which scales. There's also a chart of substitutions for each chord, using the slash-chord formula approach.

If you take any scale, and start on any scale degree take three or more notes of it, skipping every other one, you'll get a chord that the scale works over. Then all you have to do is try the inversions and different voicings.

Also try the reference section on WholeNote.com that's a good chord/scale database to look through.

grathan · December 2005

thanks Iliace, It sounds as though the 30 pages in the back of Vol2 might be helpful. I will have to check it out. AtomicNinjaRobot, i could be looking at the program wrong, but i think its showing me 400 versions of the chord Cmaj that i could use with the Ionian mode of Cmaj scale. Is there any way to make it show other chords like Dmin, or Amin that also could go with the Cmaj Ionian? Otherwise this is a pretty neat program, thanks.

AtomicNinjaRobot · December 2005

Yeah, you're right. It just gives a bunch of inversions of the root. I coulda sworn it showed various applicable chords for each mode

Hmmm... I've got tons of links to theory stuff

Maybe these will help:

Chord Scale

music calculator

iliace · December 2005

I think you're posing the wrong question. If you were to ask a computer , what chords work for the E Lydian scale (for example), it would likely answer: E Major, Emaj7, Emaj7(9), Emaj7(9,13), Emaj7(#11), Eb5, Emaj6, Eadd9, etc etc. Is this what you're getting?

The question has two components: E key center and Lydian harmony. So, from the machine's standpoint, it answers the question correctly. The question that it seems you should be asking is: what chords work for E lydian and all of its modes? That query will probably produce more of the response you're looking for.

grathan · January 2006

Thanks for the links guys. Iliace, wholenote.com is freakin awesome, i just gotta figure out how to get the lessons to play. Atomicninjarobot, that Music Calculator app has just what i was looking for. It lists all diatonic chords for each scale you pick. It would be more robust if it listed triads and root /5 stuff too, but its definitely cool

Need info on which scale to use over what chords

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