Dividing Rhythm - Major/Minor Soloing

Grettings Guitar Slingers!! In this tutorial we will use the final example, 7b, from my Muting Techniques tutorial. As you recall, this example alternated between major and minor in every bar. The first bar isn't really major or minor, since no third is included in the chord. However, when soloing over this riff, it is best to approach this first bar as minor, thus giving you Minor-Major-Minor-Major over the 4 bars. You could use a pentatonic approach when soloing over this riff, but I also recommend you use Mixolydian and Dorian as well. First, go through my solo, and the analysis of it, then try improvising yourself, targeting the major and minor in every bar. Don’t just target the minor and major third on the 1st beat of every bar, as that will sound a bit predictable, but it will be a good exercise. But try to make an overall tonality change every time. The use of Dorian and Mixolydian is an excellent choice, since these both includes the b7 (E), which is present in all 4 bars of the riff. They also share the 6th degree (D#). Thus the only difference between them is in the third degree, thus making it easier for you to keep focus on targeting those initially. Then, as you progress, you might want to target different notes every bar, such as the 7th, 6th, 5th or whatnot. Experiment and use your ears! So, with that said, let's begin shall we!