When to use different scales or modes over chord progressions?

Question

I know my major/pentatonic/blues scales pretty well, and I can apply it pretty fluently when playing over 1-4-5-min6 chord progressions, but I find that when I try to improvise over more "non-standard" progressions (for example, a 1-flat7-4 progression like EMaj-DMaj-AMaj), I'm pretty much lost. I know about the different modes of the major scale and how to find them, but I'm not sure how to choose a certain mode to go well with a certain chord progression. What's a good way to quickly identify the mode(s) I should think about when given a chord progression? If you can talk about the E-D-A example above, that'd be great.

Answer 1

You are making the most common mistake guitarists make. Many rock and folk songs allow the soloist to pick a single Pentatonic scale or mode for soloing.

Grow up! Get over it! It never was a good idea, but you have to start somewhere.

Solos are ALWAYS more interesting when they lead the listener through a musical journey, through a harmonic sequence. Play the chords, not the scale.

Musicians practice scales ONLY to familiarize themselves with common pitch collections and to gain a degree of dexterity in playing arpeggios and to connect chord tones.

All 7-tone diatonic scales have 7 triads and 7th chords. Once you can play these ascending and descending, you are ready to start addressing these harmonic elements. Chord progressions are built from these.