theory ?

[Markf]

Function scale intervals Chord

 

I Ionian 1,2,3,4,5,6,7 Major

ii Dorian 1,2,-3,4,5,6,-7 minor

iii Phrygian 1,-2,-3,4,5,-6,-7 minor

IV Lydian 1,2,3,#4,5,6,7 Major

V Mixolydian 1,2,3,4,5,6,-7 Dominant 7

vi Aeolian 1,2,-3,4,5,-6,-7 Natural minor

vii Locrian 1,-2,-3,4,-5,-6,-7 minor(-5) dim

 

 

 

So any chord with a (I) function has to have intervals in it which

come from the Ionian scale.

Any chord with a (ii) function has to have intervals in it which

come from the Dorian scale.

Any chord with a (iii) function has to have intervals from the

Phrygian scale.

And so on, and so on, ....

 

 

 

Now to solo over a progression of these functions, I need only

know the order of the chords/functions, the key, and tempo.

However, after awhile the listener would grow tired, because

I keep going through the changes in only one tonal center and I

tried various voicings. So now I need to modulate. How do I do

modulation smoothly without sounding too disjointed?

[dsimon665]

You can use a pivot chord - a chord that is common between
the two keys. This is called pivot chord modulation.

You can also use a modified version of this where you borrow
chords from a parallel key as a pivot chord. For example
in C major, you can use a Fm to modulate to a key which
shares the Fm chord. Even though in C the IV (F)
is a major chord the Fm will work. You are borrowing the
Fm from C's parallel minor and using that as the pivot chord.

This borrowing gives you more new key options.

[Markf]

Could you elaborate more on the idea of parallel minor? I'm
not savvy to this concept.

[Markf]

bump

[dsimon665]

Sorry if this was off topic of your original question. Borrowing chords
can be used for modulation or just to add color to a chord progression.

There are a lot of ways to look at these things but this is some of
my thought process on it.

In a paralell minor key, at least the 3rd is flatted (while keeping
the same root). This gives the I chord a minor quality. Also the 6th
and 7th are flatted. Not only is the I chord affected, but any chord that
shares the tone that was altered will be affected.

For simplification, look at the triads in the keys C and Cm:

The chords F, C and G are major in C. In the parallel minor, F, C, and G are minor
chords. The only difference in these chords is the third has changed. The F chord
in C for example, is spelled F A C. In Cm it is spelled F Ab C.
The A is the 6th of C. In Cm the 6th is flatted which in turn is F's 3rd.

The A and E chords are minor in the key of C. The parallel Cm chords for
these are Ab (major) and Eb (major). When comparing these chords two notes
have changed (as opposed to the F, C, and G where only one note changed).
For example in C, the VI chord is spelled A C E. In Cm it is Ab C Eb.
So the 3rd (E) and 6th (A) of C are the root and 5th of the VI chord and these
both are different in the parallel Cm.

If you look at the triad built on B, in C its a diminished triad. Depending on
the style of music this chord might not be useful. However in the paralell minor
this chord is a major chord. In C this chord is spelled B D F. In Cm it is Bb D F.
Only one note changed - the root. If you notice B is the 7th of C. A flatted
seventh works nicely in a major key. The only alteration to the key of C when
playing a Bb (major) chord is a flatted seventh. A flatted seventh could also
be viewed as coming from C mixolydian which is not a minor key. So a Bb chord
in the key of C could be borrowed from the parallel minor or borrowed for C mixolydian.

[dsimon665]

An example for modulation. To change keys from C to Eb, you could use Fm as a pivot
chord. Fm is borowed from Cm (the 6th tone of C is included in the F triad). In Eb,
Fm is the ii chord with no alterations. So you could do a progression like C G C Fm Bb Eb.
In this case the C G C are in C, the Fm is a pivot chord, and Bb Eb are in Eb. With
roman numerals it would be I V I iv in C and ii V I in Eb where the iv in C is the same
chord as the ii in Eb. (To add further confusion, Eb is the relative major of C's paralell
minor!)

To change keys from C to F, you could do a similar thing to above (the pivot chord becomes
the ii of the next key). In this case G is the V of C and Gm is the ii of F.
So in C you could modulate to F using Gm as a pivot chord. In this case, Gm contains
Bb which is the flat seven of the key of C. Compare this to the other example,
where Fm contains the flat six of the key of C.

[Markf]

dsimon,
thanks that explains alot! Many relationships in music don't
seem so apparent to me. It feels like I almost can see how it all
fits together but not quite. I'm still waiting for that epiphany.