Stray Cat Strut

Anyone know what scale is used for this song. It looks like C Dorian??

For what I remember, I don't think there's only one scale, even the riff is chromatic...
Most Setzer's solos are quite jazz-like when it comes to scales, which means that no scale will save your butt, you have to play the changes :)

Lets expand this thread a bit, what scale or mode is most closely related to Rockabilly Music?

Originally posted by Tele Master
Lets expand this thread a bit, what scale or mode is most closely related to Rockabilly Music?

Originally posted by lalimacefolle
no scale will save your butt, you have to play the changes

:|
Well, what works on the actual chord progression. Let's say you take a typical rockabilly prog:

C Am F G
C Am F G
F Fm C C7
F Fm G G7

In the first 2 lines, you can play C major pentatonic (it's the same as A minor)
But the 2 F Fm chords don't allow you to go by just ripping the fretboard. Most players will outline the change by playing the 3 to the m3, like this

-----13-15)----------------------------
---13----------------------------------
-14------------------------------------
----------------------------------------
--------------(scoop vibrato bar)--------
---------------------------------------

-----13-15)----------------------------
---13----------------------------------
-13------------------------------------
----------------------------------------
--------------(scoop vibrato bar)--------
---------------------------------------

Like in Jazz, you can't get the whole picture in one page... But that's a start. Also, if you wanna play rockabilly, get yourslef a nive slapback echo, you'll see that those major pentatonics sound niftier with it...

That's the greatest thing about Jazz; the realisation that you can use all 12 notes, and make it sound great, without limiting yourself in any way at all. It's why I love jazz.

~Incidents

Alot of the 50's Rockabilly guys grew up listening to jazz and swing players, and the solo to Rock Around the Clock was actually played by a session player that was a jazzer, (his name escapes me, Sal Somebody?) one of the things I've noticed about most rockabilly playing is no matter what scale is being used, somewhere in their playing, chromatics always seem to make an appearence somewhere, could be in the solo or in the bassline, they seem to be a regular staple of the style, which is why I always thought Brian Setzer really did justice to Rockabilly when the Straycats came out, the boy had the right riffs, guitar, amp and even the right hair, a great rockabilly album if you haven't heard it before is Jeff Beck and the Big Town Playboys' Crazy Legs. Rockabilly was 50's Shred and I think really an overlooked part of the legacy of Rock music, those guys really were pioneers in so many ways........................

Yeah, I really enkoy listening to some guys like dany gatton, that can play blues, country and rockabilly, all in the same solo :)

Stray Cat Strut is such a good guitar piece, and a brilliant song. Setzer is such a class guitar player, very under-rated nowadays. I like his rockabilly style, better than any others. Mixed with classcial, and jazz, his style is great.

Stray Cats reunited not too long ago, Brian, Slim Jim, and Lee Rocker did a gig together, and it was excellent!

A lot of Rock a Billy players will overlap Major and Minor Blues scales. You can also use a Dorian with a major 3rd added into it. Almost identical to what country swing players do.