gr8fullfred wrote:My experience shows me that much of Jerry's single note soloing is in mixolydian mode. FOTM (B mixolydian) Eyes and Jackstraw (E mixolydian) are prime examples. For me the trick is to hit the flattened 7th (the note A in Bmix) when the chords transition to the A chord. In other words hit the A note on the A chord. Avoid the A note on the B chord. During the B chord, you can play Bmajor scale, or the rest of the B mixolydian (not the A note). Again hit the A note on the A chord.
This is more or less the way I think about it. The song is written in B major, but playing the inside 7th degree (A#) over the A chord doesn't sound good. It doesn't matter during the verses because the entire melody is on the scale degrees one through five, so no dissonance with the ryhthm is created directly, although the A chord gives the whole song a dominant feel IMO.
For FOTM, turn on the envelope filter with a little delay, play B mixolydian and you are getting in the Jerryish zone.
My one big tip for Jerryish sounds = Mixolydian Mode
This seems like it shouldn't work, because B mixo is going to use a natural A which is outside the key, but generally it does sound good and right as long as the solo resolves back to the B major chord. I think this is because half of the rhythm of the song is using the same outside note, so there is a lot of support for playing the flatted 7th and making its sound like it blends in. Some people think of this whole song as being in E major, viewing the A and B chords as the IV and V chords of the key. I don't think that is necessarily bad or "wrong", but it makes my brain work harder to keep track of the melody. In B major, the melody in scale degrees is:
Long distance runner, what you standin' there for 34355 314432
But in E major, it becomes: 71722 751176
Maybe to some folks, that doesn't make any difference, but I find it easier from the B major view.
Mama Mama many worlds I've come since I first left home.
