Month: November 2009

Posted in The Jazzy stuff (but good for every style!)

Modes of major scale Pt4

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We have seen in the three previous videos where modes of the major scale come from and how to analyze them. Here I will show you how to use them. So in this video you will find a brief introduction to how to recognize basic modal chord progressions (=chords from part of a tune, or chords that make up an entire song). I also want to demystify something I always hear from a lot of younger players: you need to know modes only if you play jazz. The sequences of chords in the video are not just from jazz standards, but from a lot of pop, rock, funk tunes.

So, why do why have to recognize modal progressions? Well, once you have identified correctly the progression, you can use the correct mode to build a solo over it, or a guitar part, with all the right notes! An obvious example of ‘wrong’ modes recognition, is when, like in ‘Oye como va’, a soloist uses the Aeolian mode instead of the Dorian. One of the notes in the scale (the 6th) will clash with the chords played by the accompanist.  Or in “Flying in a blue dream” if you used C major to solo over it, when you land on the note F natural this will sound very wrong…as the song is in C Lydian which contains F# in it.

One thing I want to add to the video: I found a lot of examples on the net about people using the Spanish example E7 – F7 to identify a Phrygian progression…that is not correct as Phrygian is a minor mode and E7 is a major (dominant) chord. That type of progression takes the Phrygian Dominant (sometimes called Spanish Phrygian scale) which is the 5th mode of the Minor Harmonic scale. But that’s another lesson…

I will list below some songs that are built around a mode or a chord progression that is not only major or from the natural minor scale. I will add more examples as I run across more of them…for now these are just those from the video.

Ionian

As we said Ionian=major scale…so all those songs that contain chords from the harmonized major scale and gravitate heavily toward the ‘I chord’ (e.g.=C major, if we are in the key of C major) . Usually, like when we say ‘this song is in the key of … major’ that’s what we mean.

Dorian

So What (M. Davis), D Dorian – Impressions (Coltrane) D Dorian – Oye como va (Santana) A dorian –

Phrygian

Nardis (M.Davis) E Phrygian, first two bars – Ana Maria (W. Shorter) intro and interludes (G phrygian).

Lydian

Flying in blue dream (J Satriani), C Lydian

Mixolydian

Kiss – (Prince), A mixolidian

Aeolian

All those songs that we call ‘minor’. An example I use in the video is ‘Europa’ by Santana where most of the original progression is in C aeolian in the original. Also the bridge of ‘Milestones’ (new) by Miles Davis is in A aeolian.

Locrian

As I say in the video this mode and the progressions connected to it are not used a lot. Maybe a good example would be a long 2-5-1 in minor, like in the second four bars of ‘Windows’ by C. Corea.

Posted in The Jazzy stuff (but good for every style!)

Modes of major scale pt3

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This is a another classic chart to understand how modes are built by comparing them to the major scale staring from the same note…you’ll see right away how D Dorian is a minor mode and how it differs from D major scale.

Printable PDF: Modes Pt3

C Ionian = C major by constitution and it is a Major mode.

C Ionian

C

D

E

F

G

A

B

C Major

C

D

E

F

G

A

B

D Dorian

D Dorian

D

E

F

G

A

B

C

D Major

D

E

F#

G

A

B

C#

As you can see the difference here is that the Dorian mode has the minor 3rd (F natural instead of F#) and the minor 7th (C natural).  The Dorian Mode is a Minor mode

E Phrygian

E Phry

E

F

G

A

B

C

D

E Major

E

F#

G#

A

B

C#

D#

Here not only we can see the minor 3rd and the minor 7th but also the minor 6th and 2nd . This last note gives the characteristic sound to this mode. This is a minor mode.

F Lydian

F Lyd

F

G

A

B

C

D

E

F Major

F

G

A

Bb

C

D

E

A major mode with the raised 4th (Bb raised to B natural). Quite an interesting sound, used a lot for its dream like qualities.

G Mixolydian

G Mixo

G

A

B

C

D

E

F

G Major

G

A

B

C

D

E

F#

This is called a major dominant mode, the characteristic note is the minor 7th on a major scale.

A Aeolian

A Aeol

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

A Major

A

B

C#

D

E

F#

G#

This mode is also known as Relative minor or Natural minor. Has a minor 3rd, minor 6th and 7th

B Locrian

B Locr

B

C

D

E

F

G

A

B Major

B

C#

D#

E

F#

G#

A#

Maybe not as popular as the other modes, but used quite a lot in many jazz standards and similar tunes this is a minor mode with minor 2nd , 3rd, 6th and 7th. Also the characteristic note is the diminished 5th, that makes this mode one of kind among those from the major scale.

Posted in The Jazzy stuff (but good for every style!)

Modes of major scale pt2

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Modes of the major scale Pt2.

In the first video I showed you all the modes from one scale (C major), where all the modes shared the same notes, each one starting from a different note. Here I’ll do something different: all my modes will start from the same note (C). Of course all these modes will belong to different major keys. This allows me to understand the structure of the modes, comparing them in a key (C) where it easier to calculate intervals. This is called the ‘parallel approach’.

C Ionian

C D E F G A B

C Dorian

C D Eb F G A Bb

C Phrygian

C Db Eb F G Ab Bb

C Lydian

C D E F# G A B

C Mixolydian

C D E F G A Bb

C Aeolian

C D Eb F G Ab Bb

C Locrian

C Db Eb F Gb Ab Bb

And, as usual, this is the nice printable PDF for you to hang on the wall: Modes of The Major scale: parallel approach

 

Posted in The Jazzy stuff (but good for every style!)

Modes of major scale pt1

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Modes are a simple subject that sometimes can be misunderstood. Modes are ‘inversions’ of a scale, a scale ‘within’ a scale that takes life of its own.

In this first series of videos about modes I show you the modes from the major scale: these are just 7 other scales, built with the same notes from the major scale, only starting from a different degree of that major scale. As an example these are the modes of the C major scale:

C Ionian

C D E F G A B

D Dorian

D E F G A B C

E Phrygian

E F G A B C D

F Lydian

F G A B C D E

G Mixolydian

G A B C D E F

A Aeolian

A B C D E F G

B Locrian

B C D E F G A

You can Check out and Print This PDF File for All the modes nicely notated: Modes of the Major Scale

I am sure you have noticed by now that, as I was saying, all these modes share the same notes, but from a different starting point. This makes them ‘sound’ different when isolated and played as a ‘key’ of their own, as the center of gravity is now shifted. I will show you in the next two videos a couple of different approaches to get to grips with these modes.