Duane Allman scales?????

[duaner58]

I have been in a solo rut for quite sometime.. Always minor/major pentatonic. I'm self taught so I have very little grasp on theory here.

As far as Skydog's non-slide playing technique what scales should I learn to solo into out of a minor pentatonic? Mix? Lyd?

And I guess better yet how do you decipher from the root note.

I'm dumb.

 

[TimH]

Although I'm not a huge Duane buff the first thing I'd suggest is to learn to move between major and minor pentatonics in the same solo. Duane did this, Clapton did, many of the early guys most interesting solos and sounds came when they started mixing the two.

 

[RLD]

Maybe Dorian or Aeolian?
I am a self taught pentatonic wanker as well...ha ha.
What has helped me is to study the major scale.
It's really that simple.
Learn the 7 positions /3 notes per string so you can see the entire neck as one giant pattern
It will help you see past the pent boxes and give you a better feel for how modes work as well.

 

[Hotspur]

Yeah, wasn't Duane mostly pentatonic? I haven't really broken down a lot of his solos, but they FEEL pentatonic. He certainly wasn't a theory hound, either. I think he was doing a lot of the major/minor pentatonic mixing thing.

 

[Elektrik_SIxx]

I hear a lot of Dorian (Whipping Post, Elizabeth Reed) and Ionian (Mountain Jam etc) in his playing. This is off the top of my head there maybe more.
But in reality I think he just added some notes to his major and minor pentatonic stuff.

 

[inca_roads]

^^this, along with mixolydian...

 

[gennation]

I have a pretty in depth tutorial on the common way the great rock guitarists mixed the Major Pentatonic scale with the Blues scale here: http://lessons.mikedodge.com/lessons/AdvPent/AvdPentTOC.htm

Read the Introduction.

Then start at the first lesson and work your way through (there are over 50 examples in the tutorial) as it will start you at the basics all the way through seeing/using it across the whole fretboard.

It doesn't cover Duane specifically but it references quite a few guitarists who use the same idea for Rock Blues, Country, Jazz, etc...Alvin Lee, Jimmy Page, SRV, Glenn Miller, Steve Morse, Ray Flacke, etc...

It's one of the tools every rock (on other stylistic) guitarists/musicians should know how to use.

Just start at the beginning and work your way through. And yes, it's completely free...not even any ads.

 

[HiddenCharms]

I don't think in terms of scales when I play, but I know enough and am familiar enough with Duane's playing to offer an explanation. A foundation in the minor and major pentatonics will get you there with the addition of other notes associated with various scales. As mentioned earlier, when playing the blues, Duane often combined the blues and major pentatonic scales. In certain phrases he uses a Mixolydian approach. In a song like Blue Sky, he is playing a major pentatonic with an added 4th for a six note scale. In Dreams, you could play licks that would seem similar to a B minor pentatonic, but I believe it is really more of a D Mixolydian. On In Memory of Liz Reed, you could play A minor Pentatonc or add the notes that are in the A Dorian scale. On the Fillmore Mountain Jam, he plays primarily in the same scale as Blue Sky, but diverts into some "outside" playing that I have no idea how to describe in terms of scales. He also throws in some E minor pentatonic in that solo.

 

[stevel]

In a song like Blue Sky, he is playing a major pentatonic with an added 4th for a six note scale. .

To me, this is one of the things that sets the ABB apart and one of the things that most quickly gives you "that" sound (at least in major) - Major Pentatonic with an added 4th (or Major Hexatonic if you like):

Yes, major and minor pent with blue notes, as well as dorian and mixolydian things, but this "hexatonic" scale sounds very ABB (could have been Dickey I guess but you get the idea).

Steve

 

[Rumblur]

Duane was a huge BB King fan, and BB uses a lot of major blues...

 

[buzzp]

good thread, subscribed

 

[john archer]

When I play a mixolydian scale in a solo it instantly reminds me of the them.

 

[bobbymack]

Alot of the harmonized riffing between Duane and Dicky was major hexatonic (no 7th, or the combination of the I major and II minor triads))...try harmonizing that scale in thirds and you'll have instant ABB

 

[bigdaddy]

I have a pretty in depth tutorial on the common way the great rock guitarists mixed the Major Pentatonic scale with the Blues scale here: http://lessons.mikedodge.com/lessons/AdvPent/AvdPentTOC.htm

Read the Introduction.

Then start at the first lesson and work your way through (there are over 50 examples in the tutorial) as it will start you at the basics all the way through seeing/using it across the whole fretboard.

It doesn't cover Duane specifically but it references quite a few guitarists who use the same idea for Rock Blues, Country, Jazz, etc...Alvin Lee, Jimmy Page, SRV, Glenn Miller, Steve Morse, Ray Flacke, etc...

It's one of the tools every rock (on other stylistic) guitarists/musicians should know how to use.

Just start at the beginning and work your way through. And yes, it's completely free...not even any ads.

Mike's stuff here is a major eye opener.

Is it minor pent? major pent? major? mixolydian? The answer, as Mike explains, is yes.

A lot of Duane and Dickey's harmonizing was in fourths.

 

[rongtr1]

Duane and Dickey also listened to "Kind of Blue" for hours on end-so I would think the Dorian mode would creep into his playing in songs like Liz Reed.

 

[kidmo]

I have a pretty in depth tutorial on the common way the great rock guitarists mixed the Major Pentatonic scale with the Blues scale here: http://lessons.mikedodge.com/lessons/AdvPent/AvdPentTOC.htm

Read the Introduction.

Then start at the first lesson and work your way through (there are over 50 examples in the tutorial) as it will start you at the basics all the way through seeing/using it across the whole fretboard.

It doesn't cover Duane specifically but it references quite a few guitarists who use the same idea for Rock Blues, Country, Jazz, etc...Alvin Lee, Jimmy Page, SRV, Glenn Miller, Steve Morse, Ray Flacke, etc...

It's one of the tools every rock (on other stylistic) guitarists/musicians should know how to use.

Just start at the beginning and work your way through. And yes, it's completely free...not even any ads.

Good stuff, thanks Mike

 

[Crowbar]

I think I hear an odd double-stop shape in Allman's playing. Fret the 12th fret 1st string and the 10th fret 2nd string and slide it around.

 

[kirk95]

Try this 6 note scale (Blue Sky) .... Major or Mixo without the 7th degree...

 

[bobbymack]

Try this 6 note scale (Blue Sky) .... Major or Mixo without the 7th degree...

Yep, that is the major hexatonic scale (no 7th)...one of Dickey's favorites.

 

[Seraphine]

Duane and Dickey also listened to "Kind of Blue" for hours on end-so I would think the Dorian mode would creep into his playing in songs like Liz Reed.

So True... Miles Davis was a Major influence and can be heard throughout ABB... Whipping Post is a prime example ( think Dorian )..

For the OP... to work out some of their approach gtr wise... Learn the Modes.. as they used them out the yin yang...