Rex Hamilton III Wrote:
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> Minor modes: dorian, phrygian, aeolian. Thus these
> scales with a root of A can be played over Am,
> right?
Yes
> So if I have a static vamp of Am I can alternate
> between the three, right?
Yes
> And this would be pitch axis a la Joe Satriani,
> right?
Don't know
>
> Moving on.....
>
> I discovered that when playing modes over a static
> chord, the strongest notes are those that make the
> triad of the chord of the mode
Yes - because they're consonant with the chord root
Eg: practising the
> modes of G major: ionian over G, dorian over Am,
> phrygian over B min, C lydian over C etc. Thus it
> makes sense to aim for these notes when soloing.
Right
> But, what do we do when we have a chord
> progression? Let's say we have a mixolydian chord
> progression of D, C & G - should we still aim for
> the D, F# and A notes to drive home the overriding
> essence of D mixolydian or should we switch to the
> triads of the respective chords?
NO - Here's what happens. Every note of D Mixolydian is either a chord tone or a non-chord tone of the chord being played at the time. For example, when the chord is D major, the note D is a chord tone. It sounds strong because it's consonant with the root and so is a natural 'target tone'. When the chord changes to C major, The note D is no longer a chord tone but becomes a dissonant non-chord tone. Its role changes and it now makes a natural passing tone between the chord tones C & E. Or take F#, which is a chord tone of D maj - and consonant with the root of D maj. When the chord is C maj or G maj, then F# is no longer a chord tone but a dissonant non-chord tone with a tendency (expectation) to move up a semitone to the chord tone G.
>This would make
> more sense but then we'd drop out of playing D
> mixolydian and would be simply playing D Ionian
> over D, C ionian over C and G ionian over G.
No - You'd only be doing that if you stick with chord tones - and nobody does that when improvising. It would be the world's most boring solo with no melodic interest. If a guitarist in a band played only chord tones when soloing, they'd soon be out of a job because they're contributing nothing that isn't already there - in the chords played by others in the band.
So you don't confine yourself to chord tones. Regardless of whether the chord is D, C or G, You can still play all the notes of D Mixolydian, but you treat them differently depending on whether they're chord tones or non chord tones of the current chord. Music needs BOTH.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/07/2017 10:10PM by Fretsource. (
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