Communication Breakdown Key?

[tugboat]

I feel adventuresome today and have started messing around with the solo to Communication Breakdown. Not getting too bogged down on the exact notes since it seems like he's just wanking around in general areas on the fretboard half the time. I'm trying to get myself oriented to help in my loose (and ham-fisted) attempt at getting in the ballpark. Is the song in A Mixylodian or Dorian? I'm leaning towards Mixylodian.

[chuckocaster]

Mixolydian or Dorian will work, depends on whether you want a G or G# in your scale. Blues based songs like,this usually use a flat 7. So I'd say for all intensive purposes it's mixolydian. Pagey uses a lot of "color notes", but the chord structure gives it away. As for the "B" chord that resolves to "E", that's just a V of V.

Ham fist away bruthaman!!!

[tugboat]

Thanks Chuck! I need to work on my speed to really finish tackling this song though. My fingers go fast enough for some pretty cool solos but can't go quite fast enough yet for something like communication breakdown.

[Wilko]

G# should never really show in this one. All pentatonic box in E. If you really ant to call it a mode, mixolidian would be closest, but that G# kills it.

He's not playing "modes" per se. Just as you mentioned, wanking in certain places on the neck using the comfortable pentatonic/blues scale.