Modal progression to test your mettle

[gennation]

I came up with this a few months ago, and ran into it again this morning (thankfully wrote it down!).

 

This is what I have written down:

 

||: Ebm7 | Ebm7 | Ebm7 | Ebm7 | Emaj7 | Emaj7 | Emaj7 | Emaj7 :||

 

| Bbm11 | A7b5 | Gbmaj7 | Bmaj7 Bb7 :||back to beginning

 

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Messing with it this morning I also found that by splitting up the last measure into two measure it creates a really nice 5 measure turnaround, or bridge, back to the beginning. Like so...

 

||: Ebm7 | Ebm7 | Ebm7 | Ebm7 | Emaj7 | Emaj7 | Emaj7 | Emaj7 :||

 

| Bbm11 | A7b5 | Gbmaj7 | Bmaj7 | Bb7 :||repeat back to the beginning

 

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Here's some basic chord forms to work from:

 

 

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Here are some of the scales I found quickly this morning, the one I still wasn't clear on though is the Bbm11 scale...at times where I was in the melody it fit nice on it's own as Bb Dorian. But since it's the Bbm is the Vm of Eb Minor, Bb Aeolian fit like a glove too. Give it a shot, go ahead and play the both scale giving you the 5 b6 6 b7 chromatically!

 

Ebm7 - Eb Aeolian

Emaj7 - E Lydian

Bbm11 - Bb Aeolian

A7b5 - A Lydian Dominant

Gbmaj7 - Gb Lydian

Bmaj7 - B Lydian

Bb7 - Bb Phrygian Dominant

 

Give a try, and stick with it!

[Virgman]

I don't know. I'm not sure I dig modal.

[gennation]

Lay down a rhythm track for it, you'll dig it Virg.

[3shiftgtr]

I don't know. I'm not sure I dig modal.

 

 

I like modal in doses, cuz of what you can do 'ON TOP' of the chord. If you play with cats that really listen and morph what they are doing to the 'conversation' it can get really fun.

[gennation]

I like modal in doses, cuz of what you can do 'ON TOP' of the chord. If you play with cats that really listen and morph what they are doing to the 'conversation' it can get really fun.

 

 

Stick in the V7 of the next chord before moving to it and you can play TO the next chord instead of only on top it.

[jonPhillips]

Nice sounding chord progression - I might actually give this one a go...

[gennation]

Nice sounding chord progression - I might actually give this one a go...

Let me know how it turns out.

I was messing with this again this morning. I got to thinking that as an exercise, if you're (not necessarily you jon) not use to changing from one scale to the next quickly that you can double the length of the bridge progression to make it a little more manageable and it still has some nice impact...and it allows you to breathe over it a little more but it also gives some wide open space to create a big ball of tension over the Bb7 chord too.

So maybe try it like this:

||: Ebm7 | Ebm7 | Ebm7 | Ebm7 | Emaj7 | Emaj7 | Emaj7 | Emaj7 :||

| Bbm11 | Bbm11 | A7b5 | A7b5 | Gbmaj7 | Gbmaj7 |Bmaj7 | Bmaj7 | Bb7 | Bb7 :||repeat back to the beginning

You could probably lengthen any of the chords if you're (not necessarily you jon) not familiar with changing scales per chord. This kind of stuff is a great exercise though and will get you to play freely while landing on your feet at the same time.

[mosiddiqi]

Well, I had a go at this this morning...it's a really nice sounding progression. I tried to focus on the changes and keep it melodic ..certainly a good workout as I'm not used to playing over these sort of changes. I'm going to keep at this, as I think there's lots to be learned here..

 

http://www.box.net/shared/u1ety2tzep

 

Hearing this might help others have a go.

[gennation]

Well, I had a go at this this morning...it's a really nice sounding progression. I tried to focus on the changes and keep it melodic ..certainly a good workout as I'm not used to playing over these sort of changes. I'm going to keep at this, as I think there's lots to be learned here.. http://www.box.net/shared/u1ety2tzep Hearing this might help others have a go.

Good job Mos. These types of tunes are not always easy to play over. They really test your ability to find motifs and melody flow and the closest note into the next scale. My advice is playing it over and over, it will allow you to teach yourself how to react musically over almost any given Modal progression.

Plus, it will really test your fretboard knowledge by flowing into each scale and continuing to make something musical (this comes from playing it over and over, and not always right off the bat).

One thing is to make the repeat of the first 8 measure this allow more melody to settle in over those two chords without making the leap to the turnaround to quick. You missed the repeat. You'll see how it makes the whole thing a song more than just chord after chord after chord.

CRAP, it looks like you might need to be a member of http://www.wholenote.com to use these samples below. If you're not a member, it's definitely worth your time to be a member...

I made a couple versions of this progression into Grooves for anyone to practice over. The variations happen during the turnaround.

Modal1: http://www.wholenote.com/default.asp?iTarget=/member/groove/grv_prev.asp?i=19475%26myid=385389535

Modal2: http://www.wholenote.com/default.asp?iTarget=/member/groove/grv_prev.asp?i=19478%26myid=385389535

Modal3: http://www.wholenote.com/default.asp?iTarget=/member/groove/grv_prev.asp?i=19479%26myid=385389535

Personally I think Modal3 is the most cohesive (it's the second progression in post #1).

Modal1 is my original progression (the first progression in post #1) with Bmaj7-Bb7 in the last measure. Modal2 is the progression in post #7 where I double the duration of the chords in the turnaround.

Those 'grooves' allow you to change the tempo, feel/sytle, the number of repeats, and instrument mix as well as providing the chord chart to the groove.

Now you have three possibilities to practice over plus all the control of tempo and style.

Enjoy!

[mosiddiqi]

Cool!..thanks Mike!..I'll have a go at those this week...Last night I was messing with Ebm pentatonic for the Ebm7 chord and then STAYING on Ebm pent for the EMaj7..which gives it a E Lydian flavour. Neat, without having to "change" scales as it were.

[3shiftgtr]

I don't know. I'm not sure I dig modal.

Oh wait a miniute....you were being funny....

[Virgman]

Oh wait a miniute....you were being funny....

No, I'm serious.

I don't find modal music that interesting.

Dodgeman is really into modal music and I respect that. I'm not a big Miles Davis fan but I like his earlier music from the late 40's to mid 50's. I have a lot of his stuff.

"Kind of Blue" does not excite me.

My ego is sufficiently large to believe I am always correct.

[gennation]

Do those back track links work for you guys? Just let me know.

Also, I created a lesson there for this progression.

http://www.wholenote.com/default.asp?src=l&l=12075&p=1

It has the backing track, chord chart, and all the tempo/style/instrument adjustments too. Let me know if that works for you.

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Mos, Don't make it simple. For instance, even though the Eb Min Pent covers the Eb Aeolian and the E Lydian, you'll miss the change. You'll be playing the same notes over each chord, to where you want the specify the change...not ignore it.

If you want to simplify it use the R 9 b3 and 5 of Ebm7 then use the R 9 M3 5 of Emaj7. This will give you some strong motifs to work with, then use the specified scales I noted to fill in your lines.

When learning how to cover modal stuff like this, it always best to play what's changing. Then find the nearest half step to make the change of the smoothest way of changing with it sounding like you're manually going form one scale to the next. Making the change will make you a master

[mosiddiqi]

The last link with the whole lesson works fine ...I couldn't get the first three to work though..very cool site!..loads of useful stuff there!.

[jonPhillips]

The last link with the whole lesson works fine ...I couldn't get the first three to work though...

This was my experience exactly

[gennation]

This was my experience exactly