Here we have a standard major key 12-bar blues progression known in the industry as a Grinder. It’s one of the more common rhythmic grooves that you will find in the blues. Lots of time on each chord and this groove is often played as it is here with 5th chords and embellished with 6th chords.

What Relates to all the chords:

Try D Minor Pentatonic & Blues over all the chords for that minor bluesy vibe. Minor Pentatonic & Blues exudes that killer bluesy sound and is often the first choice for soloing over all the chords in a major key blues jam.

D Minor Pentatonic & Blues = D, F, G, Ab, A, C

Try D Major Pentatonic over all the chords. Remember that for most major key jams you can use Major Pentatonic over all the chords. This will give you that sweet major bluesy sound that is quite different than the minor sound. Major Pentatonic takes its five notes from the Major Scale, just leaves out the 4^th and 7^th intervals:

Major Pentatonic = 1, 2, 3, 5, 6

Major Scale – 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

D Major Pentatonic = D, E, F#, A, B

D Major Pentatonic is the same as B Minor Pentatonic. D Major and B Minor are relative major and minor. Play all your B Minor Pentatonic scales, but start on and emphasize the D notes and it will be D Major Pentatonic and have that sweet major sound.

D Major Pentatonic = D, E, F#, A, B

B Minor Pentatonic = B, D, E, F#, A

(Same notes – just emphasize the root of the mode, D.).

Try D Dorian over all the chords. Dorian is considered more of a minor mode but works great over major key I-IV-V blues, swing, and shuffle progressions. The Dorian Mode is a seven-note scale often used in blues, rock, and many other musical genres.

Dorian is considered a minor mode and is always the 2nd mode in any major key. Dorian produces a mystical, minor sound that is a bit sweeter than Aeolian. There is only one note difference between Dorian and Aeolian – the 6^th interval:

Dorian Mode = 1, 2, b3, 4, 5, 6, b7

Aeolian Mode = 1, 2, b3, 4, 5, b6, b7

Remember that Dorian is the second mode in any major key. So to play D Dorian, ask what major scales 2^nd note is a D note. The answer is C. C major has the same notes as D Dorian. So play C major scales but start on and emphasize the D notes and you have D Dorian. If you want to learn more about modal playing and Dorian please see the written lessons in this series.

D Dorian = D, E, F, G, A, B, C

C Major = C, D, E, F, G, A, B

(Same notes – just emphasize the root of the mode, D.)

Try mixing D Minor Pentatonic & Blues, D Major Pentatonic, as well as D Dorian over all the chords for some cool tones. Killer sounds can be created by switching back and forth from the pentatonic scales to Dorian scales. Fun stuff, give it a try and keep on rocking!

Treat each chord like a separate event:

• Be sure to time your changes over each chord and listen closely to the rhythm to ensure you don’t get caught playing the wrong scale over a given chord.
• Try moving Minor Pentatonic & Blues over each chord. Play D Minor Pentatonic & Blues over the D chord. Play G Minor Pentatonic & Blues over the G chord. Play A Minor Pentatonic & Blues over the A chord.
• Try moving Major Pentatonic over each chord. Play D Major Pentatonic over the D chord. Play G Major Pentatonic over the G chord. Play A Major Pentatonic over the A chord.
• Try moving the Dorian mode over each chord. Because the rhythm of this jam is embellished with 6th chords, Dorian is a great choice as that is a key interval in the Dorian mode (1,2,b3,4,5,6,b7)
• Play D Dorian, (=C major), over the D chord. Play G Dorian, (=F major), over the G chord. Play A Dorian, (=G major), over the A chord.