What Scale to use

elduder

I have a song and the chords to the intro are as follows:

A5,G,A5 D, C, G ,.....E5 , G..A5,G,A5....D,..C G/B...Gm/Bb...


What scale or mode would sound good over this?

KeithTS

Many scales will work over those chords, what sounds are you going for and what scales do you know?

You could use Am, Gmaj, Em but choose your notes carefully for the Gm and Bb.
You can always play the scales above then modulate to the different key on the last two chords but it's a lot easier to play the relevant notes of the scale you're in, ie, hit a D over the Gm and Bb or any relevant passing tones.


On a side note:

Please, learn more about modes before asking what modes to play.
Modes are driven by the underlying chord progression and not the notes played in the scale, this type of progression won't be modal.
However, you can play the major scale in a variety of positions, ie, 1st position, 2nd position etc. these will give the tonality of that scale being played in those positions and should not be viewed as playing modes and it won't sound as such.

Sorry, people read about modes but most of the folks doing the writing don't understand them themselves which has led to wide spread misunderstanding about scales in general and it wrecks my head, not aimed directly at you OP!

18AD

elduder wrote: »

I have a song and the chords to the intro are as follows:

A5,G,A5 D, C, G ,.....E5 , G..A5,G,A5....D,..C G/B...Gm/Bb...


What scale or mode would sound good over this?

It's very difficult to tell from those chords. The A5 chord gives no indication of tonality, ie. major or minor.

It completely depends on what sound you're going for, there're literally hundreds of options to play over those chords.

I would completely hazzard a guess and say that an A pentatonic would work over it, because you have the C chord which is a minor third from the A, making it A minor. That would be the simplest thing you could do, but as mentioned above you may have to change for the Gm/Bb as that's hitting a semitone above the root of an A scale, ie. the Bb. And watch out for playing a C over the G major chord, that usually clashes, and also a G over the D major chord.

KeithTS

Sent you a pm re modes just to clear some bits and pieces up for you!