2008 week 15 lesson: Functional and Modal Approach within a Progression

[gennation]

The is from a revised/updates lesson at http://lessons.mikedodge.com

 

EDIT: I updated it with the link to the backing track, oops, sorry...

 

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It's common to hear "If you're staying in Key there is really no reason to look at each Mode, or an individual scale for each chord...because all the chords are all in the main Key. Each Mode would basically be the same scale. So, just play in Key and you'll be good".

 

But it is also common to hear "play a different Mode, or chord scale, for each chord".

 

There are times when both of these are right and and when they could be considered wrong too. As musicians it's our job to know when these times are and what the best approach is to deal with them.

 

I'm going to take one progression and look at it both as playing in Keys (Functionally) and playing it Modally. And, I'll show you how understanding the difference is vital to "creating a sound" when you play.

 

Hopefully you will find this to be a very simple and effective approach to playing over chords and progressions, this progression specifically.

 

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A Modal Progression

 

"Just playing in Key" is a very simple approach when all the chords in your progression are in the same Key. But, if you get a chord in the progression that's not in Key, then you need to approach it from a different Key (functionally) or a different scale (Modally). These are times when understanding the Functional side of the Keys is handy, but also when you need to understand the Modal side of music.

 

In GENERAL these two ideas will take you a long way in understanding an effective approach:

 

1. When songs or progressions have many chords related to one Key, they are considered progressions or songs containing Functional characteristics.

 

2. When songs or progressions have chords that don't relate to a common Key, they are songs or progressions containing Modal characteristics..

 

In the perfect world these are two separate types of songs or progressions, but in the real world these both can happen in one song or progression. The concept of a song or progression having both Functional and Modal characteristics is at the heart of Modern Modal Music.

 

These types of mixes of Functional and Modal sounds create many of the Modal Progressions we have today. You can find these types of progressions in songs by Chick Corea, Stanley Clarke, John Mclaughlin, Gary Burton, Al Di Meola, and the list Modern Modal Pioneers goes on.

 

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Here's the progression we'll work with...

 

(6/8 time) ||: Em | Em | Cmaj7#11 | Cmaj7#11 | Bm11 | Bm11 | Am11 | Cm11 :||

 

Here is it with more generic chords...

 

(6/8 time) ||: Em | Em | Cmaj7 | Cmaj7 | Bm7 | Bm7 | Am7 | Cm7 :||

 

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Let's look at the Functional characteristics...and where it makes things simpler

 

There is no doubt that the first 4 chord names in this progression are in the Key of G Major, or better yet E Minor...but that last Cm11 (Cm7) chord clearly is not in the Key of E Minor.

 

In E Minor this results in a Im-bVI-Vm-IVm progression with a bVIm being used as the turnaround.

 

Instead of getting all wrapped up in "what scale for what chord?" look at it broader as "what chords are in what Key?"...

 

The first 4 chords (Em, Cmaj7, Bm7, Am7) are in the Key of E Minor, and Cm7 is not.

 

If you use the approach of "play a different Mode, or chord scale, for each chord" you would approach the first 4 chords like: Em = E Aeolian, Cmaj7#11 = C Lydian, Bm11 = B Phrygian, Am11 = A Dorian...

 

If you use the approach of "just think of them as all in the Key E Minor" you would use one scale for all of the first 4 chords...that scale would be the E Natural Minor scale.

 

So, for the first 4 chords just play in E Minor and target the notes by ear as the chords change in the progression, as in using one scale and "playing to the progression" using the notes in that scale.

 

If you "play to the progression" using this one scale (E Minor) you will imply all those other scales/mode names...find melodies...and it's just plain simpler. It's less to think about. It allows you to play more and think less.

 

In this case E Minor/Aeolian also equals C Lydian, B Phrygian, and A Dorian. And since these are all in the same Key it's much simpler to deal with first 4 chords as...the Key of E Minor or the E Minor scale and nothing more.

 

This covers the first 4 chords but what about that last chord, the Cm11 (Cm7)??? Read on...

 

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Let's look at the Modal characteristics...and where it might be needed

 

What do we do about that last chord...the Cm11? Since it isn't in the Key we are playing in (E Minor), we NEED to change the Key, which in turn means changing the scale.

 

So, if you know:

 

a "m7" type chord could be the ii or the iii or the vi of a Key

 

or more specifically that a "m11" type chord could only be the ii or the vi of a Key

 

you'll have a few options to consider and be able to start narrowing them down. This means for Cm7 you could use C Dorian (from the Key of Bb), or C Phrygian (from the Key of Ab) or C Aeolian (from the Key of Eb).

 

But, if you are specifically playing over Cm11 (which we are) you only have two options, helping narrow things down: C Dorian (from the Key of Bb) or C Aeolian (from the Key of Eb).

 

Personally, my choice is C Dorian. The C Dorian scale creates a nice little symmetric sound when stepping away from the Key of E Minor to Bb Major then back to E Minor again.

 

Now why call it C Dorian instead of Bb Major (Ionian)? Well, there is only one chord from the Key of Bb and it's Cm11. Sure you can call it Bb Major if you wish, and you wouldn't be wrong...but, the "tonality" and "tonic" for that one chord is C, so C is the "tonal-center", and the harmony is m11. So, in this case you can just as well call it C Dorian and be a little more direct than calling it Bb Major.

 

Having one chord and using one scale for it is a Modal concept.

 

So...even though Cm11 is just "standing alone" in the progression and not connected Diatonically to any other chord in the progression, the chord is still from SOME KEY...but there are no other chords to tell us what Key it's from....so...

 

try using all three of those scales C Dorian, C Phrygian, C Aeolian, or more directly C Dorian or C Aeolian....they'll ALL work VERY nicely. Because there's no other "out of a Key" chords to dictate which scale you should be using. Try them all, you'll see exactly what I mean.

 

Each one of them has their own special twist/sound as is moves from and back to E Natural Minor.

 

But again, I really prefer C Dorian since it sets up some symmetry with the Key of E Minor. See if you can find the symmetry between the notes closest between the two scales. This helps create half-step tension and resolution which will make things sound more musically than just playing random notes and licks.

 

Just try and play "in Key" over the 4 chords, then play "out of Key" for the last chord...but remember to jump back into playing "in Key" again at the beginning.

 

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Give it a try yourself...

 

(remember it's in 6/8)...

 

Here's a backing track of the progression for you to play over.

 

Here's a break out of the Scales and Modes you can try:

 

 

Chords ||: Em | Em | Cmaj7#11 | Cmaj7#11 | Bm11 | Bm11 | Am11 | Cm11 :||

 

Scales: E Minor ---------------------------------------------C Dorian = Bb Major

C Aeolian = Eb Major

C Phrygian = Ab Major

 

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In Closing

 

If you can think of Keys, it allows you to see REAL changes...Key changes that is...and play over them a little easier.

 

I must say that while "thinking Keys" is simpler, thinking of each chord getting it's own scale is NOT a waste of time. This is a great "deep thinking" concept and practice.

 

When approaching it with "deep thinking", you can learn many interworkings of Keys, Progressions, Songs, Arpeggios, etc...and it can lead to it's own source of inspiration...

 

but you'll realize that it's easier to PLAY with the simple idea and INVESTIGATE with the more complex thinking.

 

Have fun!!!

[mosiddiqi]

Excellent stuff Mike!, thanks and keep it coming!

[gennation]

Thanks.

 

It pretty word for just "use E Minor, then C Dorian"

 

But, hopefully it'll help people understand when they are in Key and when it's useful to know when to change Key.

[mosiddiqi]

...I do think that the Eminor to C dorian move is really evocative, I just tried this over the Cm11, resolving to the Eminor root, hope this is an ok example of what you're trying to get across!

|--------------8-10-/15-11-12-15-|----|
|------8-10-11-------------------|----|
|----8---------------------------|----|
|-10-----------------------------|----|
|--------------------------------|----|
|--------------------------------|----|

[gennation]

I don't have my guitar but it looks like you got the idea.

 

Another thing you can do is, whatever you play over the Am11 chord...JUST move it up 3 frets for the Cm11 chord. Then resolve it back to E Minor at the start of the progression.

 

It really sets up a "parallel" sound that can't be beat.

 

Those last two chords, Am7 and Cm7, can be thought of as "two m7 chords a b3rd apart". This is a very common chord structure found in modern Modal Music. It boils down to two Dorian scales a b3rd from each other (IOW, like A Dorian and C Dorian).

 

That sound is very common in some Herbie Hancock stuff as well as the other guys I mentioned at the Introduction.

 

It all boils down to...whatever you play on Am, move it up 3 frets (a b3rd) to play it over Cm. Then resolve it to Em.

 

Very cool stuff.

[mosiddiqi]

..cool stuff indeed. I just realised that the "minor chords a b3 apart" is something the Beatles used quite a bit as well, "Nowhere Man" comes to mind...

[gennation]

Yes, this "two m7 chords a b3rd apart" is all over the place.

 

You can create a Modal progression with JUST this...

 

||: Am7 | Am7 | Am7 | Am7 | Cm7 | Cm7 | Cm7 | Cm7 :||

 

Use A Dorian and C Dorian.

 

The symmetry of playing something in A Dorian and then moving the EXACT same thing up 3 frets to cover C Dorian is "the real deal" stuff.

 

You can look at that as "horizontal parallelism" for symmetries.

 

But, you can also view it as "vertical parallelism" by thinking of both chords from ONE ROOT, like so:

 

||: Cmaj7 | Cmaj7 | Cmaj7 | Cmaj7 | Cm7 | Cm7 | Cm7 | Cm7 :||

 

The Cmaj7 is a harmony within A Dorian. So you can deal with it as nothing more than C Major to C Minor.

 

Scale wise you can deal with it as C Lydian and C Dorian.

 

To get the full harmonies from the Root of C you'd use these chords:

 

||: Cmaj7#11 | Cmaj7#11 | Cmaj7#11 | Cmaj7#11 | Cm7 | Cm7 | Cm7 | Cm7 :||

 

You can also deal with it all from A too...

 

||: Am7 | Am7 | Am7 | Am7 | Am7b5 | Am7b5 | Am7b5 | Am7b5 :||

 

Here you view it as A Dorian and A Locrian.

 

It still all boils down to Am7->Cm7.

 

But once you start drawing these horizontal and vertical parallelisms from each note of the arpeggios...for a "modalist" there's ton's of ways to crave this up to get you into some new inspirations. It's pure fodder.

 

Try substituting ANY of those parallel chord substitutions I just posted for the last two measure of the full progression...even though it's all relative it still takes on new characteristics due to voice leading.

 

Cool stuff. Be careful you mind doesn't explode

[gennation]

In Memory of Elizabeth Reed by the Allman Brothers uses the same type of "two m7 chords a b3rd apart" progression too, like so:

 

|| Am7 | Am7 | Am7 | Am7 | Am7 | Am7 | Am7 | Am7 | Cm7 | Cm7 | Cm7 | Cm7 | Am7 | Am7 | Am7 | Am7 |

 

This can be looked at these two ways too:

 

|| Am7 | Am6 | Am7 | Am6 | Am7 | Am6 | Am7 | Am6 | Cm7 | Cm6 | Cm7 | Cm6 | Am7 | Am6 | Am7 | Am6 |

 

|| Am7 | D7 | Am7 | D7 | Am7 | D7 | Am7 | D7 | Cm7 | F7 | Cm7 | F7 | Am7 | D7 | Am7 | D7 ||

 

Both firmly planted in A Dorian and C Dorian.