The key of noodle?

[KMud]

Noodlers, what is your key of choice? Do you find there's a key that you find makes the guitar sound oh so right? Any effects that accentuate said key? It's easy to get into a rut, so I'm thinking lets help eachother try something new

At present my favourite is D harmonic minor, standard tuned guitar (9-42s), clean (some reverb) on neck or neck + middle single coils. I gravitate around the D's on the 3rd and 5th strings, but put a lot of emphasis on A for that modal feel (which in a harmonic scale seems pretty powerful).

[Cygnus X1]

Minor pentatonics, for me.

[Robert Burns]

F#minor for me.. i love that 2nd fret!

[sonicsamurai]

mninor pentatonics, 9th chords, and atm major seventh arpeggios around the neck until i remember them!

[Axewielder]

Dm is the saddest of all keys.

[delt]

^ sez joe stump.

[cdwillis]

^ Just because Nigel Tufnel told him.

I usually end up noodling with either E minor pentatonic or A harmonic minor.

[livebiz]

I like to play Am pentatonic and throw in A# and F on the high strings.

[metalhead28]

I try to ignore keys or any type of familiar fingering patterns when I'm just noodling, but I'll throw absolutely anything in there. Sometimes I just follow where my fingers want to fall and I end up working out lots of cool diminished and chromatic phrases that actually work well in several different keys.

[levantin]

A pentatonic minor, E Lydian, Mixolydian and Phrygian. I love those modes, especially as there's a beer in the Phrygian

[Axewielder]

I try to ignore keys or any type of familiar fingering patterns when I'm just noodling, but I'll throw absolutely anything in there.

I you say that you use "chromatics" and "passing tones", it sounds more impressive!

[rjohnstone]

G maj
Don't know why, but I tend to start there all the time.
I can rip on that scale up and down the neck and impress the uneducated.

[Shawn Lutz]

I don't really have one per se but when I play alone I use E minor, A minor and D minor a lot to take advantage of open string pedal tone I don't do much major stuff as I like the darker sound of minor keys.

I'm fairly comfortable in most keys and used to practice improvising in all keys just to open up my horizons and get out of rock guitar rut-keys

[jwoods986]

Definitely most comfortable in A minor and E minor. But I'll mix it up, like in A I'll jump between pentatonic minor, full minor (aeolian), adding the "blue" note (b5), or adding the #7 (harmonic minor).

But lately I've been making an effort to 1. Think in terms of major scales/keys instead of always using minor and 2. Running through the cycle of fifths to get out of always playing in A minor and E minor. Err, I mean C and G

[Shawn Lutz]

I always looked as keys are either major or minor ? Scale names are not keys in my neck of the woods. If you say you dig the B Phrygian...thats a mode based off the 3 note of the key G major scale (realtive E minor)