How to switch from major to minor

[Kirby161]

I hear david do it alot but i cant figure out how to do it.

Is there a method to the madness? Anything helps, even if it says that im an idiot and need to ask stupid questions elsewhere.

[Charlie Derrington]

You're not an idiot.

Just remember to lower the third.

Charlie

[Gary S]

More often than not the change is from major to relative minor. Ex..c maj to a min, f maj to d min, g maj to e min.
A common way to transition into the minor would be to play the 5 chord of the minor key. for example in the key of c maj play an e. This will lead you into a min. In the key of f maj play an a to lead you into d min and in the key of g maj play a b to lead you into e min.

When going from minor to major you can do the same thing relative to the major key. When playing in a min play a g7 to take you into c maj etc. Hope that helps...Gary silverstein

[Eugene]

Just remember to lower the third.
...And 7th, again assuming parallel minor and not relative.

[mandodude]

Just remember to lower the third.
That's no fun... I much prefer raising a fifth!


...nyuk, nyuk, nyuk!


;-)

[Charlie Derrington]

I usually leave the 7 alone. I love that Hungarian sound.

Charlie

[duuuude]

Whay am I wanting a 7&7 right now? http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif

[Jim Gallaher]

Try to visualize it this way, Kirby161:

"Playing a major scale one whole step (two frets) below the tonic"

or

"Playing the A Major Scale while the band is playing a song in the key of B"

Here's the two-octave major scale fingering I use (all four fingers of the left hand). The example is in the key of A Major:

E-string: 2(index finger),4(middle finger),5(ring finger)
A-string: 2,4,5,7(little finger)
D-string: 2,4,6(ring finger),7(little finger)
G-string: 2,4,6,7

OK, we've got the fingering. Let's look at the notes of A Major vs B Major:

A Major = A,B,C#,D,E,F#,G#,A (octave)
B Major = B,C#,D#,E,F#,G#,A#,B (octave)

What notes are different? The third note of the B Major Scale is a D# (A Major has a D instead) and the seventh note of the B Major Scale is an A# (A Major has an A instead). All the others are the same.

Ahhhhhh! The A Major Scale is just like the B Major Scale, except it has a flatted 3rd and a flatted 7th! Like the other guys said!

And the beauty of all this is that it works in every key, whenever you want that "bluesy" feel (no, not every song -- that would be tooooooo easy!). It even works when all you want is a little bit of the bluesy feel. Say you're playing a B Major scale while the band is playing in the key of B. Fine and dandy, kind of a happy, well-tempered solo. But just near the end, you drop your scale down two frets while they continue in B -- instant "ancient tone" feel -- then pop back up two frets to the B Major scale for the ending.

OK, I'm sure I must have messed this up somewhere -- wrong number in the wrong place or something, always happens. Let me have it! I'll file my corrections tomorrow....

[Mark Robertson-Tessi]

Jim's method is a quick way to find that blues-ish/minor-ish scale but you can't just play like you are in A major because the strong notes aren't the same. You can use those A major notes but you have to phrase them based on the chords of the song in B.

It may be easier to just know what the third and seventh notes are, and just lower them a fret as suggested earlier, and just continue to think in B (or whatever key you in to start with). (Technically you would be playing a dorian mode scale.)

Or, you can just use a b minor scale and raise the 6th. This is maybe a more useful way to think of it because the 6th isn't used as much as the 3rd and 7th generally, so if you are comfortable with the b minor scale, it's a quick transition. Just play a g# instead of g when necessary.

cheers
mrt