| Minor Sounds and “Shady Grove,” Part 1 |
Minor Sounds and “Shady Grove,” Part 1
There are a number of different minor scales, and it’s sometimes hard to know which one to play when improvising or creating a solo for a song in a minor key. “Shady Grove” is a good example. With some exceptions, D is usually thought of as being the root note of “Shady Grove” (it’s the starting and ending note of the melody) and it’s usually thought of as being in D minor. But the notes of the melody are D, E, G, A, C, which is sometimes referred to as a D sus pentatonic scale (Example 1). This is slightly different than a D minor pentatonic scale which would use F instead of E. In effect this scale has no third, giving it an ambiguous sound, neither major or minor. It can also be thought of as an A minor pentatonic scale (Example 2) starting on the D. Scott shows you how you can use this tonality to play a simple melody-based solo, something like Doc Watson would play, that sounds different than if you used the minor pentatonic or natural minor scale.
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Minor Sounds and "Shady Grove" (Available to subscribers)
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