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When practicing scale patterns, some notes don't "sound good". Why is that?


Breakthrough Guitar

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By definition, all 7 notes in the major (or minor) scale are "in key." So technically, they are all the "right" notes.

The reason some sound better than others at different times depends on the chord being played in the background. Quite simply, the notes in the scale that match the notes being playing in the chord (called chord tones) will generally sound best (or more accurately, most "consonant"). When you play notes that are in the scale, but NOT in the current chord being played, that's where you begin to hear some "wrong-note-ness" (called "dissonance").

It's your job to practice improvising to discover which notes feel good to you at which times, and how you can use the "not so good" sounding notes to spice up your playing. THAT's what you will discover through playing with backing tracks!

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