We’ve gone over a lot about scales, but now it’s time to actually use them in context. Soloing on guitar may seem complicated, but as long as you know what scale you’re using, you’ll be fine. But how do you determine what scale to use when soloing. You may have heard of the pentatonic scale, but in case you haven’t, here it is.
This is a great scale for beginners, and all we’re going to do in this lesson is expand your boundaries. In order to determine which scale to use in a particular song, you must know the key of that song. But how do you find the key of a song? Well, it involves using the information at the beginning of a piece of sheet music.
So if we look above, we can see a treble clef along with 3 flats. This means that every A, B, and E within the piece will be flat. Observe the circle of fifths, what key has 3 flats. That’s right, the key of Eb Major, or C Minor. That means you can use the Eb Major scale or C Minor scale to solo over this piece. Since you’re first starting off, just play around with it, use different rhythms and change your dynamics (volume) to create a solo. Soon we’ll get into more depth, but this should help you get more comfortable soloing over different keys. Just use the circle of fifth as a reference, and you’ll be soloing over your favorite songs in no time.
Guitar: A Divergent Path 