Hi Guys. Just starting with a looper. Had played down a couple of tricks using I, IV, V chords. But when I try doing a bit of a jam Solo over the top using Relative Minor Pentatonic. it just doesn’t sound right. Where am I going Wrong?
Cheers.
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Hey Nick,
Just to clarify, by relative minor, do you mean eg
1 4 5 in A
And you’re playing F#m pentatonic?
Or, (which I suspect), you’re actually playing Am pentatonic? , from the parallel key.
Cheers, Shane
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@sclay Yeah. Same but different was trying C major using Am. pentatonic.
So Chords should be C, F, G. Correct?
Hey Nick,
Yep C,F,G for the triads. Or you can make them dominant 7ths for a more bluesy feel.
I assume you are trying for a bluesy feel.
If so, the C minor pentatonic would generally sound better and safer over all the chords. It contains both the b3 and b7 which creates that bluesy sound against the major chords. Plus its got the root notes of the chords
Ie. Cm Pentatonic - C Eb F G Bb.
The Am pentatonic is essentially the same notes as the C Major pentatonic
Am Pentatonic - ACDEG.
C Major Pentatonic CDEGA
However, you have to remember C is the home base or key of your progression, not the A. So if you are thinking Am shape over the chords, and highlighting the C as you should,then it really becomes C major pentatonic which is a different sound. And when you move to the 4 and 5 chords, you’re going to run into trouble at this stage.
You could certainly play the Cmajor pentatonic over the C chord, F major pentatonic over the F, G major pentatonic over the G, or several combinations of pentatonics, but thats probably too cumbersone at this stage.
I’d stick with the Cm pentatonic over all the chords for a while, then go from there.
Hope that helps somewhat.
Cheers Shane
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@sclay Awesome. Ok cool so I was kind on the right path. Had been wondering about the pentatonics and playing each shape relating to the chord, thank you for that… But yep would tend to agree Walk before I can Run. At this stage it’s still more of a crawl though. 
Just done a very basic Am 1 bar Vamp. Over Dubbing with of Am Triads. Then playing Am penta.
Cheers Shane helps a lot!
Nick.
I’m not a huge fan of playing minor pentatonics over a major chord progression. Some things will sound OK and some will not. You should be OK on the one chord. Hopefully @Richard_close2u (or other) will spell out where the problem areas are from a theory standpoint. I’m guessing probably a different 3rd and/or 5th than expected across the progression.
Better to play major pentatonics with some major scale notes tossed in (if you are feeling spunky). I think that’s a more useful experiment.
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C major pen over the I and switch to C minor pen over the IV and V.
Sounds cool but is Grade 7 stuff.
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