Hi Rachel - I see you have had some useful advice plus lots of diagrams etc too.
Here is my 2c.
Example 1 chord progression:
| D | G | A | D |
Triads
D = D, F#, A = 1, 3, 5
G = G, B, D = 1, 3, 5
A = A, C#, E = 1, 3, 5
D major scale:
D, E, F#, G, A, B, C# = 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
D major pentatonic scale:
D, E, F#, A, B = 1, 2, 3, 5, 6
D minor pentatonic scale:
D, F, G, A, C = 1, b3, 4, 5, b7
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The D major scale will work - with a careful ear to be a little careful around the 4th and 7th scale degrees.
The D major pentatonic will definitely work as it it removes these two potential trouble spots. That will give your improvisation a major sounding, upbeat, happy, country, sweet vibe. Notice there is no G so you’ll not be hitting the root of the IV chord.
The D minor pentatonic will bring a biting, bluesy quality, rubbing some friction in the mix - a b3 against a major 3, a b7 adding tension. You have spent time doing this in BLIM and subsequently - albeit most of those progressions used I7 and IV7 and V7 instead of major triads.
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To keep it simple, focus initially on one scale. Do you want sweet and upbeat or down low and dirty? Major pentatonic for the former, minor pentatonic for the latter,
To go beyond simple, mix in to one of the scales some chord tones. Major pentatonic plus the 4th when the IV chord is playing (its root note) plus the 7th when the V chord is playing (its 3rd and a leading tone back to the I chord).
Minor pentatonic plus 3rd (remember from BLIM hammer-on from b3 or curl b3 to suggest 3rd) plus 6th when the IV chord is playing (its 3rd) plus 9th when V chord is playing (its 5th). These are all covered extensively in BLIM.
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A more developed approach. You could mix and match major and minor pentatonic. Play major pentatonic over the I chord then minor pentatonic over the IV and V chords.
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Keep it simple. Think of one scale, one pattern, one framework and expand it with embellishment notes. This is much more manageable than constantly thinking of switching scales and patterns with each passing chord. Your application and understanding of CAGED is correct. For your progression using major or minor versions (D, G and A or Dm, Gm and Am) you can overlay the CAGED shapes as follows: E-shape D scales; A-shape G scales; C-shape A scales, all based around fret 10. But, that is making things far more complicated than is necessary.
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Example 2 chord progression
| Dm | Gm | Am | Dm |
Triads
D = D, F, A = 1, b3, 5
G = G, Bb, D = 1, b3, 5
A = A, C, E = 1, b3, 5
D minor scale:
D, E, F, G, A, Bb, C = 1, 2, b3, 4, 5, b6, b7
D minor pentatonic scale:
D, F, G, A, C = 1, b3, 4, 5, b7
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The D minor scale will work although be careful with b6 note of Bb - when the i chord is playing and when the v chord is playing. Also be careful of the b3 note of F when the v chord is playing. They can create dissonance if you stay on them.
The D minor pentatonic scale will work fine. Even better if you can add some chord tones too. Add the b6, note Bb when iv chord is playing (the minor 3rd of the chord). Avoid it over the v chord! Add the 9th, note E, when the v chord and the i chord are playing (5th of the v chord and 9th of the i chord).
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I hope that helps.
but I think I now understand more about the CAGED system and how the different chords/notes fit within scales etc. There is still loads to learn and practise but I feel confident I can come to grips with it all.
