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GMC Forum _ Theory (Muris) _ Finding Out Which Mode To Use

Posted by: X-Ray Jul 2 2008, 05:30 PM

I have a question about how to find the correct mode.

Lets say we compose a jazzy II - V - I progression, for example in C major.
Then we would get the chords dm7 - G7 - Cmaj7.

And now we want to make a solo over this backing, how do we find out the correct mode to use over which chord?
My guess now is that over the dm7 chord, we have a flat 7th and should therefore use a mode with that; the mixolydian mode. And since the mixolydian scale is the 4th mode in C major, we go 4 steps from the C and finds F. So over our dm7 chord we use F mixolydian scale.

Or now I'm getting confused, since the G7 also has a flat 7th, aare we going to use the F mixolydian again and then go for C Ionian over the Cmaj7?

Please help me understand this mess tongue.gif
Thanks!


Posted by: kjutte Jul 2 2008, 05:34 PM

Sorry for posting here muris, didn't see it was your forum!


QUOTE (X-Ray @ Jul 2 2008, 06:30 PM) *
I have a question about how to find the correct mode.

Lets say we compose a jazzy II - V - I progression, for example in C major.
Then we would get the chords dm7 - G7 - Cmaj7.

And now we want to make a solo over this backing, how do we find out the correct mode to use over which chord?
My guess now is that over the dm7 chord, we have a flat 7th and should therefore use a mode with that; the mixolydian mode. And since the mixolydian scale is the 4th mode in C major, we go 4 steps from the C and finds F. So over our dm7 chord we use F mixolydian scale.

Or now I'm getting confused, since the G7 also has a flat 7th, aare we going to use the F mixolydian again and then go for C Ionian over the Cmaj7?

Please help me understand this mess tongue.gif
Thanks!


Well, you are obviously in C major, if that's 1. So you already chose your scale.
Thing is that the scale will sound modulated over each chord. so, when you are playing the C major pattern, it will sound mixolydian over the G7 chord.

The chord pretty much defines your mode.

Edit:

Ok, you're misunderstanding a bit. There's no such thing as C major and G mixolydian. Well, sure, it is, but you're still in the completely same scale.

If you wanta whole solo in the mixolydian mode, all your chords will have to contain a dominant characteristic.

Hard to explain, please say what you do, and don't understand tongue.gif

Edit again:

And Dm7 is for dorian, aeolian, and phrygian mode.

Mixolydian has a major 3 and minor 7, that's why it's special. Min3 maj 7 = dominant.

Posted by: Muris Varajic Jul 3 2008, 11:18 AM

No problem at all Kjutte,you were only helping smile.gif

Here my opinion tho.
Chord progression we are talking about here
is indeed simple one, Dm7,G7 and Cmaj7.
And these chords are all included in key of C,right?
This means that you can use C major scale( C Ionian) all the time!
Of course you won't get much of Jazzy sound from it,
but my point is to explain that you don't need to think
of D Dorian while playing over Dm7 chord
or to think about G Mixolydian while playing over G7 chord.
All these modes have the same notes
and C would be our root all the time
so you can think of C major only,to make things easier to follow. smile.gif

Posted by: Andrew Cockburn Jul 3 2008, 12:54 PM

To add to that - these are what are called relative modes - and you play them in passing because you are visiting a different chord but you are really staying in the same key because your root chord stays the same ... and it is the root chord that really matters here - you are not changing key for each chord, it is the progression as a whole that matters.

Now, having said that, looking at combinations of those 3 particular chords, if you start your song with Dm7 as the root chord you will be playing in Dorian mode. Cmaj7 as the root makes it Ionian, and G7 as the root chord would make it Mixolydian. But in each of these cases, your tune would end up sounding very different because you would be using different modes. These 3 modes are all relative to each other because you are deriving them from the same major scale.

C major or Ionian is the mother scale. Dm is the relative Dorian of C,and G is the relative Mixolydian of C.

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