I’ve just started practicing my improvisation using Justin’s Jam Blues Vol 1 CD. I’m having a ball, and occasionally I even manage to string some notes together that actually sound good! I’m focussing on the minor pentatonic scale initially.
However, I’ve hit a snag with one of the tracks. It’s called “Thriller Scone” in the PDF notes that accompany the CD. The notes show the chord progression as:
Amin7 Amin7 Amin7 Amin7
Dmin7 Dmin7 Amin7 Amin7
Fmaj7 Emin7 Amin7 E7(b9)
That looks to me like the key of A minor. However, the track name on the CD is “Thriller Scone in D min”. The notes say: “try some tasty bending and roots-y minor pentatonic licks in the style of B.B. King”, but they don’t say which minor pentatonic scale the licks should be drawn from.
I’m sure my tentative grasp of music theory is at fault here, but can someone please tell whether I should be improvising from the A minor or D minor pentatonic scale for this track?
Hello Jacksprat, Looks like you’re right. In a Dm progression there would be no Em7 chord, but an Edim. The E altered chord at the end has a G# in it, maybe that could suggest using the A minor harmonic scale over that chord (G# instead of G in the minor pentatonic scale). Have a nice day!
Hi Richard,
To clarify, the PDF does not have it in the key of Dm. It doesn’t mention the key at all. However, it lists the chords as I showed in my original post. Those chords look like the key of Am to me, but I could be wrong. It’s the track title that mentions Dm.
The chords on the PDF are not the same as the chords in the video you posted. It appears either the PDF is wrong or the title of the track is wrong.
My ears aren’t good enough at this point in my journey to hear what key the track is in. I don’t want to solo in the wrong key, as this would just mess up my ear training. As Justin says: “practice makes permanent”, so I don’t want to practice wrong.
Hi again Richard,
I just had a look at the comments on the YouTube video you posted. A few comments suggesting the backing track is in Am and the chords shown on the video are wrong. I’m now inclined to believe this track is in Am and the PDF that accompanies the CD is correct, but the CD’s song title saying it’s in Dm is wrong.
It’s all a bit of a mess TBH. Can we get some clarity on this please?
Interesting.
I need guitar in hand which I will do later today.
Just having breakfast at the mo.
I created these side-by-side comparison tracks.
2 x 12 bars in A minor and 2 x 12 bars in D minor.
See what your ears tell you when set against the jam track itself.
Thanks Richard. Enjoy your breakfast. Dinner time here.
The CD track I have is identical to your “Thriller Scone D Minor” file above.
The “Thriller Scone A Minor” file you uploaded just sounds like the sonar on a submarine. Something’s gone amiss there.
So the question is whether Thriller Scone in D Minor IS actually in D minor. Quite a few people on YouTube think it’s in A minor and the PDF says it is too.
