Day 21.

Read this entire section, Lesson VI, modes. Begin to play some of the modes of the C major scale.

Lesson VI - Modes

Of course there's a lot of technical music theory about modes most of which you can learn little by little over time. But, if you have a basic understanding of what modes are and at least the following basic ways of creating them, you'll be a long way towards your most immediate goal: playing music with other people, especially those who are more developed than you.

Modes are: other scales.

You create and formulate them in the same way that you derived a minor scale from the basic reference point, the major scale. In the same way that you derived the positions of the minor scale from the positions of the major scale you memorize simple rules.

Starting with the major scale in terms of the numbered positions,

1st ~~ 2nd ~~ 3rd ~~ 4th ~~ 5th ~~ 6th ~~ 7th ~~ 8th ~~ 9th ~~ 11th ~~ 13th

what do you do with these positions to derive the natural minor scale ?

Rule: you flat the major 3rd, flat the major 6th and flat the major 7th. You know this rule.

Natural minor scale ~~~ b3rd ~~~ b6th ~~~ b7th ~~~ ( b13th) ( Octave of 6th ).

Likewise, here are the rules (formulas) for creating modes:

(Note: the major scale is already a mode, the Ionian mode.)

Play all eleven notes, all the positions. You can play the l0th and the 12th as connecting notes if you like.

Major~~1st~~2nd~~3rd~~4th~~5th~~6th~~7th~~8th~~9th~~11th~~13th

(Ionian)

Dorian ~~~~~~~~ b3rd~~~~~~~~~~~~~b7th

Phrygian~~~~b2nd~b3rd~~~~~~~~~b6th~~b7th~~~~ b9th~~~~~~b13th

Lydian~~~~~~~~~~~~#4th~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ #11th

Mixolydian~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~b7th

Aeolian~~~~~~~~ b3rd~~~~~~~~~b6th~~b7th~~~~~~~~~~~~ b13th

(What scale is this?) _______________________

Locrian~~~~~b2nd~b3rd~~~~~b5th~~b6th~~b7th~~~~b9th~~~~~~b13th

I mean, what could be simpler ( to start out with) ??

Note: I start with the key of C because it's a common Rock key but modes exist in all keys. Just as you would sharp or flat certain numbered positions of the major key to derive the minor scale, you would likewise sharp or flat the positional notes of other scales to obtain the various modes of that particular scale. For example, the key of G#. Take the notes of the major scale G#: G#, Bb, C, C#, D# or Eb, F and G and sharp or flat them according to the rules above and you'll have your modes of G#.

Definition: key: a musical structure comprising notes which are said to be related in some ways. The key of a song can usually (but not always) be labeled by its basic root note, the 1st note or 1st position in the scale. It is called the tonic.

ANOTHER WAY to understand modes is this: using the notes of a major scale, say Cmaj, C, D, E, F, G, A, B and C, start the 1st mode (Ionian Mode) with the tonic note: C in this case. Play the notes, going up or down or using inversions or whatever... C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C. You've just played notes in the Ionian or first mode. Now take the same notes, C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C, but start with the note, D. If you move your starting note two half-steps up on your fret board or anywhere else you want to play a familiar D note and start in that position (given that it is now a D note), and play the notes, D, E, F, G, A, B, C and D (note that the notes haven't changed, they're still the unflatted or unsharped notes of the Cmaj scale), you've just played the Dorian or 2nd mode. Count the number of half-steps between the notes, D and E, E and F, F and G, etc. . . and compare them to the half-steps of the Dorian mode of C major.

If you move your starting note up four half-steps or two whole-steps to E or anywhere else you want to play a familiar E note and play E, F, G, A, B, C, D and E (the unflatted or unsharped notes of the Cmaj scale), you've just played the Phyrigian or third mode. (Of the Cmaj key). Get the idea? Just move the starting note up or down, start the scale with that note but play only the actual notes of the (Cmaj) scale and you'll have one mode or another of the Cmaj scale. It's really that simple. A little complicated coordinating your mind with your fretting fingers at first. You bet ! But, it's another way of understanding modes. Personally I prefer the first way that I described, above, the way of just memorizing the rules of sharping and flatting notes. It's similar to how you've learned to create the minor scale (by flatting certain positions of the major scale). However, with more advanced musical theory, sometimes the second method is more revealing of the music structures involved.

I'd spend three days on this topic. It's so close to the ideas on altered and extended chords that if you have that topic down pat (after having spent five days on it) modes will be fairly easy to understand and play.

These modes are sometimes used in the following genres:

Ionian - the major scale, the fundamental mode in western music, much rock, classical, theater and pop.

Dorian - rock, jazz, blues, minor blues, some funk.

Phyrigian - some metal, opera, international music.

Lydian - new age, operas, jungle, jazz.

Mixolydian - rock, funk, major blues.

Aeolian - romantic music of all types, minor key ballads.

Locrian - jazz, metal - If you want to play Metal, pay particular attention to this mode. Also learn to build bass note sequences based on having created chords from the positions of this mode using the rules of chord creation. This'll open your eyes wide! Better reread this second to last sentence a million times, or more.

All these modes can lead into each other and be used in combinations. Play around. But don't get obsessive !

Of course, just because you can now play correct notes doesn't mean that you're an expert musician. It just means that you can come up with the correct notes from which to make your selections of notes that you're going to play when you hear that such and such mode is being used or that a certain series of chords is about to be played. Then you fiddle around (pun intended) with the other musicians until you begin to sound good and this good-sounding-ness becomes the basis on which you (all) build a more concrete music structure: a song. Or a tune. Or a piece. Or whatever you call it in whatever genre (rock, jazz, classical, country, bluegrass, etc . . . ) you (all) are trying to evolve within.

I do not attempt to teach you to 'feel.' This comes with practice and playing with other musicians or along with CDs and tapes of your favorite artists. This is what you learn on your own as well as you can. May I make a suggestion? Try anything anyone else suggests that you try and don't let other peoples' frustrations affect you.

Note: the above are only the most usual modes used in our (western) culture. Modes can be created based on just about anything. You can take any scale, use it as a base and derive other modes from it ( in musical theory and by just following sets of rules, as above ). For example, pick an unusual scale, say, the natural minor scale with the flatted 3rd, flatted 6th and flatted 7th positions in the key of, say F# (or any other key you like), and write out the notes' names below the scale's positions and then below that write out the notes' names that are in, say, the Lydian mode of the natural minor scale.

You might even want to try to just totally invent a never-heard-of scale with eight (or more, or less) notes in it, octave to octave (or create a scale that, as in Indian scales, has no octaves!). Play the scale. Create some chords. Create its modes! If you can do this you really have these ideas down pat. Again, don't be obsessive. If you can't do this or just don't want to bother, don't worry about it. It's just a goofball exercise.

Note: all this is by way of learning to play bass without learning to read music. However, it is helpful to learn to read music. You might want to familiarize yourself with music notation, at least the basics, because you will run into written music from time to time and it's good to at least be able to follow a lead sheet (several pages of basic sheet music) written in treble clef for singers and other musicians. Take your time with this because it can be about as frustrating as learning how to type. Annoying but useful. Bass clef is just notes written a little lower and it's fairly easy to learn. You only read and play one note at a time.

Definition: clef: symbols used to indicate the pitch of notes on the staff.

Definition: pitch: the highness or lowness of a sound.

Definition: staff: the five lines, with the spaces between them, upon which the notes are written.

Yet one more summary: you'll hear a lot about modes or modal music but in reality, in Rock music, you won't be called on too often to actually demonstrate your knowledge of modes. There's a lot of confusion among musicians about how to use modes. Most musicians play snippets of modes without knowing exactly what they are doing or how what they're playing relates to the musical structures at hand. It won't hurt you to be among those musicians, but, on the other hand, if an opportunity comes along to play with some new people whom you might like for one reason or another, it might be a good idea to know as much as you can. You never can tell what's going to be pulled out of the hat at any given moment. Knowledge of modes, the ability to shift from one mode to another just might come in handy. It can certainly make your playing stand out from the crowd.

End of Day 21.