Continuing from part 1, which I'll link to in the next post.

M.Ted, I was hoping that somebody would say something like this, but with the variables filled in:

"Blues virtually always use the X minor scale. With jazz, the Y minor scale is most common, but there's a significant minority in Z minors. Both Celtic and American fiddle tunes are usually in XX minor, but Celtic tunes are more likely than American to also use YY minor. Gospel and bluegrass are usually in ZZ minor..."

But since nobody has said that, and since Greensleeves and Star of the County Down (two tunes I would have put in the same category) use different kinds of minor scales, I suspect that no such generalizations are possible.

This is why I wanted to know: I figure that if it's possible to make an educated guess about what kind of minor a song is in, just from its genre or national origin, than it would be easier to predict what chords would harmonize it or what scale to base a solo on. Knowing the rules of thumb - if they exist - would be more practical than looking at sheet music or picking out the melody to each individual song, for the purposes of playing along with others.

Thanks for your help,

Marion