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→Current Chord
=== Current Chord ===
As the harmony progresses from chord to chord, we need to be aware of what chord is currently being played in the rhythm. Our phrasing should adjust with the harmony, enhancing its visibility. We can make use of arpeggios or simply target (accent/sustain) notes from the chord. This helps make the solo sound more like part of the song rather than simply dropped on top of it.
Progression I vi IV V7 I
C Major scale C D E F G A B C
C major chord C E G C
A minor chord C E A C
F major chord C F A C
G dominant 7th D F G B
C major chord C E G C
In particular, we want our tension and release to align with the harmony. A phrase that ends on the tonic note will be less effective over the vi and IV chords than the I. It will be confusing and conflicting to play that phrase over the V7.
The current chord is especially important for non-diatonic chords, whose notes will often clash with some of the diatonic notes from the key. Here we can adjust the scale, flattening and sharping the appropriate notes to make them match the notes of the chord. For instance in the key of C Major, instead of playing E minor, we may borrow from the parallel C Minor key and use the non-diatonic E{{f}} major chord.
Eb major chord Eb G Bb
C Major key C D E F G A B C
Adjusted scale C D Eb F G A Bb C
C Minor key C D Eb F G Ab Bb C
By adjusting the C Major scale to include E{{f}} and B{{f}}, we have actually made it a B{{f}} Major scale. We could have used the complete parallel minor, which includes the A{{f}}, but then we are moving harmonically further away from C Major. This may or may not be desirable, depending on how much contrast you want to create between phrases on this chord vs. its neighbors.
Let's try a different example - here we're using a non-diatonic E major chord (mediant chord) in the key of C Major.
E major chord E G# B
C Major key C D E F G A B C
Adjusted scale C D E F G# A B C = Ahm
Adjust again C# D# E F# G# A B C# = E
Adjust again C D E F# G# A B C = Amm (asc)
When we adjust the scale to include the G{{s}}, we actually get A Harmonic Minor. This has the unfortunate effect of tonicizing the A from the G{{s}} -> A movement, which is neither the tonic of the key or a member note of the current chord. It also creates the whole+half step jump from F to G{{s}}, which further tonicizes the A and creates an exotic feel. We have numerous options to overcome this. The first is to simply use the E Major scale over this chord. The problem with this only 3 of the 7 notes are from the original key of C Major, and it contains C{{s}}; this can seem disjointed with the rest of the solo, particularly if this phrase is part of a musical idea that has phrases in C Major over other chords. A better option may be to simply sharpen the F in A Harmonic Minor. This creates the ascending version of the melodic minor scale. This is more closely related to C Major and avoids the whole+half step from F to G{{s}}. Since A is not part of the chord, if we avoid emphasizing it in our phrasing, it won't draw too much focus away from C, while incorporating the non-diatonic tone G{{s}} of the E major chord.
=== Using Chromatics ===