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The songwriting guitarist's basic tool kit for lead breaks and fills consists of: the major scale, the natural minor scale,
major and minor pentatonic scales, the blues scale, and the Dorian and Mixolydian modes. That will get you through
most situations.
A quick guitar solo can often be turned out using the pentatonic major or minor scale. The pentatonic major will fit
major keys but not minor ones. The pentatonic minor will fit minor keys, and it can also be used in a major key if the
song has a strong blues element. In chord terms, this means it will sound acceptable over I, IV, V and bVII, or if you
use the hard rock formula it's I, IV, V plus bVII, bVI and bIII. It won't sound as good over the major key's minor
chords (II, III, VI).
There are songs where the guitar acts as a kind of second voice to the vocal – 'Ten Storey Love Song', for example.
In 'Sultans Of Swing', 'You And Your