Quote:
Originally Posted by Timothy Lawler
... something about that raised 6th degree (compared to natural minor).
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Sounds cool. Just some thoughts about my experience with modes.
A few years back I spent 8 months graphing out all the modes and their relationships, because I wanted to be able to play strong sounding modes on the fly. ie: Hit the exact notes required to force modal sound changes.
Eventually I started seeing modes as intervals. eg: Dorian replaces the minor6th with major6th. Therefore, the Dorian mode is more "major" sounding than Aeolian (natural minor).
If you extend that thinking to Phrygian. Then, Phrygian replaces the major2nd, with a minor2nd. ie: More minor sounding, than Aeolia.
I also think of mode overlapping.
ie: D Dorian shares 6 notes with D Mixolydian and D Aeolian. Or, another way to think of it, only one note separates Dorian from either Mixolydian or Aeolian.
Therefore, in order to maximize the Dorian sound, you must make sure you hit on the intervals which separate it from its overlapping modes. (Otherwise how would someone know you are playing Dorian ?)
Basically, the Minor3rd and Major6th only appear together in Dorian. None of the other 6 modes have both those intervals.
Therefore, those 2 intervals should be emphasized to achieve a strong sounding Dorian melody.
For me, this was the key to playing strong modes. Being able to identify the two notes that make the biggest impact. And then, hit those notes exactly when I want to change modes.