What scale do I use to solo over the following chord progression

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Were doing a ska cover of Honky Tonk Woman - Where should I solo over the following chord progression?

C#, F#.C#, D#, G#
C#, F#, F#, G#

Thank you
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Comments

  • paul_c2paul_c2 Frets: 410
    Can you indicate which chords are major or minor (or if they're neither)?
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  • C# Major would work
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  • vizviz Frets: 10647
    That's basically the verse, right, played in C# for some reason.

    So you want C# major or C# mixolydian, and then when you do a mini-modulation via the D# to the G# in your top line, you need to play notes in G# major. Then return to C#.

    In your bottom line you can stick with C# even over the final G# because it's not a mini-modulation, it's just a turnaround. 

    However I think you will get much better results if you think in tunes rather than scales. What would you sing along to those chord changes? Try to play that. Or try playing the vocal line, that can be very effective. Maybe try playing the vocal line, then moving up an octave in the places where there's no singing and doing a little embellished snatch of the vocal, then snapping back down the octave ready for the next phrase. Or try just embellishing the vocal line on one octave for one round of the solo, then do another round an octave higher where you go further off track. 

    My tuppence worth. 
    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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  • octatonicoctatonic Frets: 33725
    ^^^ This.
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  • ^that

    work out what sounds right based on the other instrumentation in he arrangement and the general feel you're going for, then worry about what it's called after the fact. 
    The Assumptions - UAE party band for all your rock & soul desires
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  • RolandRoland Frets: 8592
    C# mixolydian. On this particular song I'd use one embellishment. Over the D# chord I'd play exactly the same phase as I played over the second C# chord, but two frets up. Easy to do, and really brings out the harmonic movement in the song.
    Tree recycler, and guitarist with  https://www.undercoversband.com/.
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  • bbill335bbill335 Frets: 1368
    Yeah, stick to C#maj pentatonic, country blues-style licks, follow the chord changes, less is more, have fun with it.
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  • Thanks people.
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  • GuyBodenGuyBoden Frets: 733
    edited January 2017
    Don't think "What scales fits"
     Hear "What music fits"

    We're playing music, so hear music, it's not mathematics.
    "Music makes the rules, music is not made from the rules."
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