Em pentatonic...

bloodandtears · January 2018

Why does this scale work over the chord progression E, D, A, A? As witnessed in whitesnake song Spit It Out.
Is this progression a V IV I? Confused.

Lestratcaster · January 2018

All the notes from the scale fit over the chords, there's an E, G, A and D in the scale, which corresponds to a root note of the chords apart from the G as the lack of the sharp note (G# is major 3rd in E would clash).

The key might be G major which the relative minor is Em hence why the scale works as both share the same notes. Is the first chord definitely an E major and not minor?

bloodandtears · January 2018

It's E major to my ears... but I could be wrong

Lestratcaster · January 2018

I think its a powerchord which has no 3rd in the chord (so its neither major or minor) so the G note from an Em will fit.

viz · January 2018

It is E major, but it has a D chord, so it’s really using the E mixolydian scale. You can either noodle in E major pentatonic - or as you have found out, E minor pentatonic, as the only disputable note would be the G (it should strictly speaking be a G#, but in blues rock, the minor / major 3rd are often interchangeable, and sometimes even played together in the same chord, à la Hendrix-chord, the E7 flat 10 chord, 07678x). Even Coverdale sings both over the E and sometimes squeezes a note between the two.

In rock and blues, guitarists deviate from traditional classical harmony. So a song in E can have chords which are outside E major. E major would traditionally have:

E major
F# minor
G# minor
A major
B major / B7
C# minor
D# diminished
E major.

But in rock you can have
E major
G major
A major
B major / B7
D major
E major.

See, all those chords can just be parallel major chords, but crucially, despite each one being major, they are built on the E minor pentatonic scale (EGABD,E). So even though every chord can be a major triad, the notes they start on are in the E minor pentatonic scale.

That’s just rock.

HAL9000 · January 2018

Drop everything down a tone and it becomes the Sweet Home Alabama progression (with all the associated arguments about which key it happens to be in).

Danny1969 · January 2018

When it comes to rock \ pop music you can overthink the key .... it's really only a guide to what notes \ chords might be within the piece but there's generally bits here and there which aren't technically within the key the chords imply ..... especially when it comes to minor \ major thirds and sevenths ..... Bearing in mind on guitar we use notes BETWEEN minor and major ... notes you wouldn't even find on a piano

bloodandtears · January 2018

back to trusting the ear again lol

carlos · January 2018

You can seriously overthink rock music.

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Em pentatonic...

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