All posts by Charles Martin

How to Implement Dorian Mode in Lead Sections

October 16th, 2020 by

Dorian Scale Modes

It’s always a good idea to find a way to expand your soloing “vocabulary”. Whatever is your instrument, finding new ways to approach your lead sections is a must if you’re a lead player. You might prefer to write them first, or you might feel like improvising them completely. However, you need to have a better grasp on the matter and have more material to work from. While the choice of scales for lead sections is somewhat limited and usually relies on the minor pentatonic scale or natural minor and major scales, there are a few others worth mentioning. One of the examples is the Dorian mode, which comes as a very interesting collection of notes (so to speak) that can completely reinvent your music and add a new dimension to it.

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Best Substitutes for Minor Pentatonic Scale

September 25th, 2020 by
Play minor pentatonic scale on acoustic guitar

Be it guitar players, keyboard players, or any other instrumentalists – playing lead sections always comes with its challenges. And that’s especially the case if you’re either improvising or writing your own solos. These days, it seems as if everything has been tried. And knowing how much the minor pentatonic scale has been (ab)used, it gets harder to come up with something that sounds original. Of course, you can always use the same old licks and maybe rearrange a few things here and there. However, if you’re really planning on sounding unique and “reinventing” your approach to soloing, here are a few great substitutes for minor pentatonic.

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    Rhymes are generally categorized as ‘perfect’ or ‘near.’ A perfect rhyme is not the best rhyme; the name just refers to the way it is. For instance, the two words ‘mind’ and ‘find’ are considered perfect rhymes. The consonants following the rhymed vowel (in this case I) are the same. The two words ‘find’ and ‘line’ are considered ‘near rhymes because the consonants after the rhymed vowel are different.