[gridlock27]

My band is doing a cover of "I Get So Lonely" by Janet Jackson. The changes are roughly:

Emi7 | Dmi9 - G7 | Cmaj | Bmi7 - D#halfdim | Emi9 - A7 | Dmi9 - G7| Cmaj7 |

Why does the G bebop scale sound weird to me over the Dmi9 chords? Was my ear just playing tricks on me at rehearsal.

Sorry for the sloppy chord chart as well.

 

[Pete Thomas]

I think you'd need to post a soundclip for us to be able to answer that.

 

[Agent27]

Can't tell you. It shouldn't sound weird as long as you're not putting that F# on a downbeat.

 

[Pete Thomas]

Can't tell you. It shouldn't sound weird as long as you're not putting that F# on a downbeat.

Yes, that would be a nono!

There are several possibilities, among them:

• The style of music makes a bebop scale inappropriate. It is, after all, a sort of jazz thing but can work in many contexts depending.
• Any scale can sound odd if played in a solo without due regard for voice leading and harmonic context.
• The band is not playing the changes you think they are

Again, we can't know without hearing what you are talking about.

 

[Agent27]

• The style of music makes a bebop scale inappropriate. It is, after all, a sort of jazz thing but can work in many contexts depending.

True. I tend to try to be more diatonic in pop solos.

I wasn't familiar with the song so I looked it up on YouTube. It sounds to me like a bebop scale should work fine there.

 

[Frank D]

I agree with what Pete said. Sometimes in pop music you have to forget the "jazz rules" and just play what sounds good playing from the heart.

 

[Atonal]

I use mainly pentatonics for pop solos.