In this part we’re in Larry Carlton territory for solo 3 and our first look at Vertical improvisation. Larry Carlton is a master at extracting all the juicy notes out of a scale without always running up and down in sequential order.

Solo Three: The Mixolydian Mode

A dominant 7th chord is essentially a major triad with a flattened 7th note added, like the 7th from major scale but lowered a fret. Therefore the closest related scale is a major scale with a lowered 7th, the mighty ‘Mixolydian’ mode. As there are three 7th chords in our progression we need three mixolydian modes to follow them, scale to chord as and when they occur in the sequence. Bars 5 and 10 both show a typically Carlton-like treatment for the D mixolydian.

Download backing track for Solo 3

Download PDF tab for Solo 3

A Mixolydian

Check out previous articles:

http://www.live4guitar.com/article/nailing-the-changes-through-blues-guitar-solos-part-2

http://www.live4guitar.com/article/nailing-the-changes-through-blues-guitar-solos-part-1