a few questions

[GNRguitar]

Ok #1. I have a riff I made from the chord progression Cmaj Emin Dmaj Amin Dmin in that order, so what key is the riff in and therefore what scale should i use to solo and improvise??
#2 I was looking at cyberfrets blues basics and learned that the basics blues chords are A D and E or A7 D7 and E7... so why is the blues penatonic used with the A minor pentatonic on the fifth fret???(that sounds confusing sorry) and also as in #1 what scale should I use to write a blues riff and/or solo
#3 If improvising when you hold a note in a riff/solo should it ALWAYS be on the root of the scale your using for example if I'm improvising off of a Cmaj scale if i want to hold a note longer or emphasize a note should it always be the root???

Any help is appreciated

[Andrew]

Your riff is probably in C major. If a C chord sounds like home, it is. If it doesnt, it could be in D or A minor or something. I dont really understand your second question.You can play A minor pentatonic anywhere on the fretboard, using different shapes, not just the 5th fret.You can hold different notes for different chords and for different styles of playing. For example, you might decide that the b7 is a particularly good note to emphasise over a 7 chord and incorporate that into your style.The root is easy to use, though and it always works.

[cyberfret]

#1 This is not 100% in any key. But it is closest to C major......but because of the D and the Dm chord in the same chord progression I might consider playing a C major pentatonic scale to be safe. A plain C major scale will sound funny over the D chord (that is the only chord that is not in the key of C major)

#2 In that basic blues lesson you are playing an A blues. This is an A minor pentatonic scale at the 5th fret. If you were playing a blues in G, they you would play this same scale at the 3rd fret.....G minor pentatonic.

#3 No. There are other notes that you can land on or emphasis. But if you are new to improvisation....be sure that you are very aware of where the roots are in the scale, they will be guide.

--Shawn