Members timbuk3 Posted February 24, 2003 Members Posted February 24, 2003 There have been a lot of good posts recently on modes and I thank all of you who have generously shared your knowledge on this subject. I am just begining to study modes, so I wanted to ask a question to see if I am understanding them correctly. In choosing which mode to play you should first determine which key you are in, e.g., C. Once you determine the key, then you can study the changes in the song, e.g., ii-V-I or Dm-G-C. You then select the modes that correspond to the ii-V-I chord progression, i.e., D Dorian, G Mixolydian, C Ionian. Does this sound correct?
Members billybogner Posted February 24, 2003 Members Posted February 24, 2003 That's one way to look at it, and it works just fine. Another way is to just think of the whole thing as C major. [Modes are just the Major scale starting from different points. If you play the C major scale but leave out the first note (so you're starting on D), well now you've just played D dorian minor.] So just play in C major and it will work over all of the chords you mentioned. To me, what makes soloing interesting is when you start bending (or breaking) the rules. Over the ii chord (in this case Dm) when ascending, try using the Melodic Minor - same as the Dorian mode, but with a natural 7th (C#) instead of the b7th © - right there you're creating dissonance coz yer ear wants to hear the C not the C#. Remember, that's when you're going up the scale. On the way back down, use the dorian mode - again that is sort of breaking the rules coz the accepted way to descend the Melodic Minor is to use the natural minor (Aolean mode) scale. Over the V7 chord (in this case G7) you could use a combination of G mixolydian, G Lydian, and C Harmonic Minor (you may want to stay off of the Ab, unless you resolve it with the A:D ) Clear as mud? Just remember..... "You're always only a 1/2 step away from the right note.":eek:
Members Phil Brigham Posted February 26, 2003 Members Posted February 26, 2003 You can think of D dorian, G mixolydian and C ionian as three seperate scales, or just think of them as one scale with different beginning and ending notes. Something to be aware of when improvising: which notes are "chord tones" and which ones are "passing tones". Also which octave you're in makes a difference. If you're playing D dorian against a Dm chord, a low E will probably sound bad if it's sustained - after all, it's kinda close to low D (an expected note), without being low D. Soumds more like you're out of tune than you made aninteresting note choice. Going up an octave to middle E - while it's obviously not a chord tone, and sounds dissonant, it's kind of a cool note choice. By the time you play high E, it sounds pretty good (still dissonant) - it's like you've added a 9th to the minor chord. If you're jamming against Dm7 (1-D b3-F 5-A b7-C), the root and 5th (D and A) sound strong in the low register, while the b3 and b7 sound strong in the higher register. G7 (1-G 3-B 5-D b7-F) root and 5th (G and D) low register, third and b7 (B and F) high register, etc.
Members Viktor Johanson Posted February 26, 2003 Members Posted February 26, 2003 Excellent post, Phil.
Members WattsUrizen Posted February 26, 2003 Members Posted February 26, 2003 Originally posted by Phil Brigham You can think of D dorian, G mixolydian and C ionian as three seperate scales, or just think of them as one scale with different beginning and ending notes.- This is a good point you make. In C major, we don't hear D Dorian or G Mixolydian, since they don't function as such.
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