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Home > Scales / Theory > Chord Scale Relationships

Guitar Chord Scale Relationships

As you learn more and more scales, you'll notice certain chord-scale relationships emerge from the fretboard. Tones
that are used in the backing chords need to correspond with the tones in the scale(s) you're playing, otherwise it'll
clash.

It's therefore important to know what tones the backing chords are using so you can highlight these same tones
through your solo. There's an easy way to find a "starting point" for your solo in this respect, and that's what we'll be
looking at in this lesson.

Video lesson

Here I take the concept in this lesson to its ultimate ends - to see the intrinsic relationship between chords and scales
as a group of related intervals on the fretboard.

Guitar Chords and Scales - The Bigger Picture

Identifying chord shape/scale pattern relationships

As a guitarist, you must be able to identify any chords you'll be playing with or over. This is an "ear skill" that will come
with time, but I'm assuming that you'll at least be aware of the chord sequence you'll be playing over, whether you're
improvising or writing a lead part for a song.
Let's say the piece begins on a D major chord, and you want to apply a major scale phrase over this chord.

The first thing to do is locate a potential shape for this D major chord. As there are several main shapes for this chord
(based on those 5 barre/movable chord shapes) we should at this stage just pick one and run with it...

D major chord shape

This is one major chord shape you should know. It's the basic A form barre chord. Rooted at the 5th fret gives us D
major.

Now, when learning scales, it's important to learn their boxed patterns on the low E string and A string root notes, for
the very reason that it gives you a good starting point for playing over chord shapes like the above. I show you these
patterns in the individual scale lessons.

D major scale pattern

We've simply superimposed the A string scale pattern we know right over the A form chord shape we know.

You only really need to identify the corresponding root notes, as this is the point from which both the chord shape and
scale patterns are built.

However, we can also see a chord scale relationship between the 3rd and 5th tones used in both the major chord and
the major scale. We could use these tones as "starting notes" if we wished.

So that's the basic idea. Identify a possible chord shape for the chord you're playing over and use a scale pattern in the
same position. Again, it helps a great deal if you learn the main boxed patterns for each scale (that's why I include them
in my guitar scale lessons!).

Now, I could give you a hundred and one examples of this same process with different chords and scales, but the
concept is the same whichever chord-scale relationship you use.

For example:

A flat minor added 9th (Abmadd9) chord shape

So first we establish that the above is a minor chord. But there is also an added tone (the 2nd/9th) that we could (if we
want) highlight in our solo. There is more than one minor scale that will work over this chord, but for this example I'm
using Dorian...

A flat Dorian scale pattern

Again, notice how we can use our knowledge of the root note position of the chord shape and correspond it with
a scale pattern that uses the same root note position. We now have a solid starting point for our A flat Dorian
phrase/solo.

If in doubt, at first, start on the root note and work through the rest of the pattern from there. Eventually, you'll be able to
identify other tones that reside in the scale pattern and start on those (e.g. the b3, 5, 2 etc.).

In a later lesson, we'll look at how this technique can help us solo over chord changes. For now, make sure you
reference this lesson when learning individual scales. It really is a great way to find your bearings at first.
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Name

ian
4 years ago
− ⚑

Hi mike thank you for all the info it makes perfect sense when its explained in layman's terms it really does open up the fretboard thank
you
△ ▽ Reply
Sigurd Notøy
− ⚑
6 years ago
Hey man! I love this site, but i am confused. You say that every mode has its own flavor, but you also say that if you have a mode, D
dorian for example, and play a relative position of that mode and call it lydian, then lydian sounds like dorian. How is this the case?
Also, you say that every scale has seven degrees, and you can build a chord on every degree that fits with the scale. How can i flavor my
solo, if i can only play that one scale that the modal progression is built from? Can you build degrees from a mode like lydian, and have
chords that fit on the degree of that mode? I dont understand how modes can be used sometimes, and sometimes not, and sometimes
they sound different, and sometimes they sound the same?
Sorry for the confusing formulation.

Sigurd.

△ ▽ Reply
Mike Beatham > Sigurd Notøy
6 years ago
− ⚑

Hey Sigurd,

I get asked similar questions about modes a lot. This has prompted me to plan more lessons around when to use different modes
and scales.

In the meantime, let me try to explain...

Firstly, modes are relative to their parent scale. So D Dorian is relative to C major, as is C major's other modes - E Phrygian, F Lydian,
G Mixolydian, A Aeolian and B Locrian. They all share the same 7 notes in common. The only difference is the root we start the major
scale on - C D E F G A B - 1 2 3 4 5 6 7.

So you see that we can think of F Lydian as relative to its parent (C major) but also to its siblings (the other modes of C major),
including D Dorian.

Modes get their flavour when you play them against a related chord or chord progression.

For example, if you tried to play D Dorian over a Cmaj chord, it would sound like C major, because the backing chord puts that related
mode into the context of C major.

But if you played D Dorian over a Dm chord, now you'd hear Dorian's flavour, because it is now connected to its own root - D, and its
see more

△ ▽ Reply
Sigurd Notøy > Mike Beatham
6 years ago
− ⚑

Thanks a lot. I think i just need to practice this, and explain it to myself, with using other songs and examples to put it to context.
By the way, i have played guitar really good the last years, but never completely understood how modes connected with chords.
Hours of reading on this site has taken me from not understanding anything, to knowing almost everything, but having to put it to
context to understand. Thanks a bunch!

△ ▽ Reply
Mike Beatham > Sigurd Notøy
6 years ago
− ⚑
 6 years ago
− ⚑

True, you have to play/hear it for yourself to fully internalize it. Everyone will have their own subtle ways of organizing this
information in their mind. I'm working on lessons that will give you ear training and backing tracks to help you work out when to
use a mode. Stay tuned!
△ ▽ Reply

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