[BlobWeird]

Hey guys can you help me with the scales to a few songs.

Peggy O
Stagger Lee
Doin that rag
Tennessee Jed
China Doll
He's Gone
Ramble on Rose
Stella Blue
Candyman
They Love Each Other
To Lay Me Down
And last but not least Not Fade away

if you could tell me the scales (B mixolydian etc.) Id be much obliged!!

[mikeohiostate]

there is a long list dedicated to this in the think tank II

[phpbb]

here's the url:

viewtopic.php?t=674

[BlobWeird]

yeah i know but it doesnt have the particular songs on my list

[jahozer]

"give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, Teach him how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime"

Post some of the chords for the songs you want and I will help you work through them to figure them out.

There are lengthy discussions about keys and scales in some of the other threads as well.

[BlobWeird]

Ok i guess i went a little overboard with the amount of songs. But alright umm lets do a few if you dont mind. Maybe you can help me figure this stuff out. Not Fade Away E A D. He's Gone A B D Dm E E7 G. The Love Each Other G F7 F#7 G7 C F. Thatll be good for now. So teach me how to fish!! lol

[sarraqum]

Use this here table to figure them out:

http://folkguitar.us/keys.htm

Try ignoring 7th chords, like in TLEO and look out for major ones.

[spilly]

Stagger Lee changes key, F in the verses, G in the chorus parts

[spilly]

Not Fade Away is a little funny. The E, A, and D majors are indicative of the Key of A, but when soloing on it most players (Jerry, Howlin' Wolf, Buddy Holly, ect) tend to follow the changes in the higher "caged voicings" or alternate between the A and E major penatonics.
during the A, D, A section of the solo break, play A major penatonic. A, B, C#, E, F#.
during the E, A, E, play the E major Pen. E, F#, G#, B, C#. running bits of the full scale between to acentuate the change

[Billbbill]

For NFA A and E Mixolydian works well also. You may also sprinkle in some not so subtle blues pentatonic licks. The blue note also may be leaned on for each key. C for A and G for E.

[shakedown_04092]

Hey guys can you help me with the scales to a few songs.



if you could tell me the scales (B mixolydian etc.) Id be much obliged!!

Well, I hope I can help. Looks like I am in the same position as you - having trouble figuring out what scales to play. So, I figured I'd take a crack at it to see how I do, and if I'm wrong, hopefully someone can correct me and tell my why. This way, it's more like an active excercise, where I get to "work it out"....helps burn it into the memory easier that way


Peggy O - I believe this is in the Key of G and the proper scale would be G Major (Ionian).

Stagger Lee - Well, the first verse looks like it's in the Key of F (except for that last A...it doesn't match up, it should be an Am, but I don't know what to make of it), and I guess you'd just try to solo over the chords. I don't really know what scale to play over this part. As for the 2nd verse, looks like the Key of G, and the scale I'm leaning towards is G Ionian, but it's pretty ambiguous.

Doin that rag - The 1st section is in the Key of G, but as for a scale to use, I'm lost. I (not knowing any better) would play over the chords as best I could. I think the 2nd section is in the Key of B, but that first "C#" throws me a little....shouldn't it be a "C#m" in the Key of B? Same deal on what scale to play here, I'm lost.

Tennessee Jed - Key of C, and I think the scale is C Ionian.

China Doll - I'm either leaning towards the Key of Bb or the Key of F, but neither seem to fit perfect. Can someone help with the Key/Scale on this one? (sorry, starting to realize I'm not that much help after all...)

He's Gone - I'm pretty confident that this is in the Key of E and the scale is E Ioanian.

Ramble on Rose - I'm tempted with the Key of A, but there's no "G" in the Key of A? Then again, the Key of G fits as well, but then the "A's" in the song would meant to be "Am" and the "E's" would be Em, which isn't the case. This one hurts my head...

Stella Blue - Key of E (but that C7 doesn't fit...is that just a passing tone?...nor does the Em fit, come to think of it...) and the scale I play is E Ioanian, though not sure if that's right.

Candyman - This one's tough for me. when I play this one, I just play over the chords, really. Pretty much just focus on each note at a time, always changing the scale pattern.

They Love Each Other -

To Lay Me Down -

Not Fade away -


ok, my back is killing me, I gotta quit for now. Hope that helped, and I hope someone can correct me on my mistakes. I'll take a stab at the other 3 later if nobody else gets to them. Thanks for the thread, though, this is a great learning experience!

[tigerstrat]

Fenario: didn't the Dead always play this in A? or are there some G ones flating around?

[Billbbill]

Every version I've ever listened to with an ear toward figuring stuff out has been in A.

[tigerstrat]

China Doll: C( ii, IV, vii, VII[sub], I, VI[sub], vi) modulating to D at the end.

[steve]

tigerstrat: Fenario: didn't the Dead always play this in A? or are there some G ones flating around?

I've been listening to some 74 versions which are in G. The only other times I've heard it in G would be from Phil. Other than that, always in A from what I've heard.