In this video
In this key, a prominent song/ riff writing choice is to play the Dominant 7th note of E major. The dominant 7th is another altered AKA borrowed chord, which just means that it is out of key.
Theory points
The chords in the key of F# are; F# major, G# minor, A# minor, B major, C# major and D# minor.
In this key, a prominent song/ riff writing choice is to play the Dominant 7th note of E major. The dominant 7th is another altered AKA borrowed chord, which just means that it is out of key.
On guitar, the low open E to 2nd fret F# is one of my absolute favourite guitar moves. It is born out of the theory above, but far more important than that - it sounds awesome and it is used in 1000s of great songs and riffs!
Lead - F# hybird scale
Below is a common hybrid of the minor pentatonic, dorian mode and the blues scale, which is used as the basic of the lead in this jam.
Blue = Minor pentatonic shape 1, Green = added hybrid notes
N.B. There are no official 'hybrid' scales. It simply refers to a mix of scales. In this case, this is a mix of the Minor Pentatonic (Blue in diagram above) and the Dorian Mode (Green), plus the Blues Scale note (the C note)
Full example - Interactive tab
What songs are in F# anyway??
Here's a fun video that I filmed with by buddy Mike Bradley a while ago where we play a bunch of our favourite songs and riffs in F#.
Course Outline
Acoustic Looper Bootcamp