Eddie Edwards Wrote:
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> I'm learning to play the bass guitar and I have a
> question concerning modes and key signatures. I
> learned somewhere that the mode you play will be
> determined by the interval of the scale you are
> playing.
> Example: If you are playing in the scale of C
> Major and move from C to E (which is the third
> interval of the scale) you would play the C
> phrygian mode, which is the 3rd mode of the C
> scale. Is this correct?
No. C phrygian mode = C Db Eb F G Ab Bb C = Ab major scale with C root.
The mode based on the E of the C major scale is E phrygian.
> Now, my question is if the key signature of a song
> has one flat this would indicate that the song is
> most likely to be played out of the F scale. The
> first chord of the song (and seemingly the whole
> song resolves around this chord) is B flat. Do I
> play a B flat ionian or F lydian?
Neither. A 1-flat key signature indicates, basically, the notes A Bb C D E F G. No key or mode (no tonal centre) is implied.
The most common tonal usages of those 7 notes are (1) the F major key, and (2) the D minor key. (The former is so common, of course, that we call a 1-flat key sig an "F major key sig".)
However, if your key chord is Bb (if Bb is clearly the tonal centre and final note of th e piece), then the mode is Bb lydian.
But it's important that the keynote is definitely heard as Bb. Is Bb the final chord? (Being the first chord is less important.)
IOW the sound matters more than a theoretical analysis of the material (the latter derives from the former).
How you play is less relevant - as long as you are using the pitch set indicated by the key sig. As a bass player, then you would presumably be playing Bb quite a lot to underline the aural key centre of Bb.
Are there any accidentals in the music? These can point to other key centres, such as relative minor keys.
> If the first
> chord change in the song moves from B flat to C do
> I play B flat dorian out of the B flat scale or F
> mixo lydian out of the key signature scale? Sorry
> for all the talk but my question is simply
> this...what determines the mode you play?
As I say, the key signature determines the set of notes. The chords (chord roots) determine the modal sounds produced by those notes.
(A C chord in an F major context will produce a C mixolydian sound.)
However, in most cases (in real music) the chord progression will work as a whole to point towards one overall key or mode - generally either a major or minor key (Ionian or Aeolian), but sometimes another mode of those notes.
The individual chord/mode sounds are less relevant, unless each chord is held for some time (say 3 or 4 bars at least).
You don't have to "play" a mode, in the sense of choosing a specific pattern. If you stick to the scale indicated by the key sig - in any pattern - then the chords will give you the modal sounds.
The chords don't dictate any particular position on the fretboard. Every chord (and every scale or mode) can be played anywhere on the neck. (You presumably know all the places you could play, say, an F note. It's the same note wherever you play it. Likewise with scales or chord shapes or arpeggios.)
Let's say you play a Bb note. Another player might improvise over that with the F major scale. The sound produced (largely because of your Bb note) will be Bb lydian.
You can keep playing the same note, and if the other guy plays from the Ab major scale, then the overall sound will be Bb dorian. He doesn't have to limit himself to any position of those scales (or start on a specific note) because you are providing the modal key centre.
IOW, this modal business is all about establishing a key centre, to the ear. And most of the time you needn't think about it at all (esp as a bassist).
I advise learning your scales as either major scales or minor scales.
Mixolydian mode, however, is particularly useful to a bassist in blues, rock or jazz. But think of it as a major scale with a b7. Don't think of it as the 5th mode of a major scale.
Eg, if you want C mixolydian, start with C major (C D E F G A B C) and lower the B 1 fret to Bb.