that sounds really cool man, I'll have to try that modal approach.

lol, are you for real? It's not nuts, it's fairly uninformed though.

BbMaj and Fmaj Aeolian...

First...D Aeolian (FMajor Scale) over these chords yields Bb Lydian, and F Ionian, and nothing else. The chord dictates the mode not the other way around. Aeolian, and this discussion about it being the natural minor (which it is, not sometimes always) is just wierd in the context of these chords (ie. Without a Dmi7 chord).

Secondly...You could look at D-G as a V-I, although mixolydian will make, by definition, the D a D7, and thus give the impression of G as being the home key, which it may be, although I suspect that Gmi is more likely the tonic key as indicated by Genation and JonR's analysis, in which case Gmi Pentatonic will go a long way. Viewing them as two seperate I-V /V-I (Bb-F-D-G) is probably the most logical way to go using Bbmaj and Gmaj as your scales.

Read the whole post. The same thing was written prior [Bbmaj/Bb lydian - Fmaj/F ionian]. There are a variety of ways to look at things in music. D minor does work if you have the presence of mind to realize while your improvising that if you finish your phrase on the note D amidst a rhythm section Fmaj chord that the pitch would be a 6th and that some listeners find that interesting. How about the same D against a Bbmaj chord? Does that not work? How about the 6th in the D minor scale? Bb is the answer that many would raise their hands to. Does the Bb all of sudden not work against a Bbmaj chord?

The point is there are many different ways to look at things and more often than not there may be a few paths to be taken.

Read your own post...it's awkward and wrong.




"You can also take a more modal approach to your improvisation...

Over the Bbmaj and Fmaj you can use the D aeolian scale to build from. "

This is just incorrect. The correct way to say what your trying to say is use the Fmaj scale. Throwing D aeolian into this discussion of Bbmaj and Fmaj is not another way of looking at things, it's an uninformed way of looking at things.

Captain: The point is not that your idea is wrong, but that you're using the wrong language. If playing over F and Bb chords, the concept of a "D aeolian" scale makes no sense. You may get a focus on the D note. That doesn't make it aeolian.
And you can focus on a D note from any pattern or position on the neck, so it's not a question of choosing a particular pattern.
OK, you can call your pattern "D minor" if you want. But it's not D minor in any musical sense - unless the overall key is D minor (or unless the chord is Dm).
The whole concept of "modal playing" within a key-based sequence is nonsense. This is simply a matter of correct definition of terms.
You can call the scale F major or D minor (It needs a name of some sort!) - as long as you realise (a) the modal effect on F is F ionian, and on Bb is Bb lydian; and (b) these chord/mode effects are largely irrelevant anyway, assuming a fairly quick-changing set of chords with an implied overall tonal centre.
Choosing to focus on a D is simply aiming for the 6th of F and the 3rd of Bb. Modal terms have no place in the discussion.

You both harbor valid points of view and a correctness in thought and form. We've all said the same thing about scale choices except for what I was talking about with the whole Aeolian thing. Perhaps the language touches a nerve but hear me out in one regard. The arpeggio for the tonic chord in D minor is DFAC, which over the Bb chord represents the 3rd, 5th, 7th, and 9th. The remaining pitches in that mode are just passing tones over that chord. Over the F chord a similar circumstance arises.

I've never heard either of you play because neither of you have yet to submit any videos of your own personal style showing your approach to guitar playing and your own art. My words represent an opinion based on my approach to improvising. People may think differently than me [which I celebrate] but that certainly doesn't make them wrong. When I read your words about the unalterable chord/scale relationship, whereas I think it's two dimensional, I don't think you're wrong. Some improvising musicians take a scale based approach, others focus on chord tones and the multitude of ways to approach of the tones of a given harmony, etc.

Art is a process and any artist I think should be expected to embrace the uniqueness of his predecessors and peers alike. I can say legitimately that I am looking forward to hearing [or seeing] you everyone in this community play and being positive catalysts for one another.

I agree with gennation: on the face of it - assuming all major chords, evenly distributed - this looks like a typical rock sequence in G major, beginning with bIII and bVII chords (Bb and F) borrowed from the parallel minor (G minor).
As such, G minor pent should work all the way, with perhaps some bending on the G and omission of 1 or 2 notes on the D.
If this isn't quite the sound you're after - if you want to mark the chord changes more clearly - then use Bb major scale on Bb and F (making them a I-V in Bb major) and Gmajor scale on F and G (making them a V-I in G major).
You'd get a slight stranger sound - making the 2 halves of the sequence more different - by using the D major scale on D and G, making it a I-IV in D major.